Page 69 of Dark Ugly Places

Emmy tries to think. “What were we doing?”

“Nubia was here. She made us breakfast. You called her because you were afraid.”

“Yeah, I remember. You—she—got really upset at me.”

My throat tightens, and I instantly feel the urge to break something. “Damn you, Martha!”

“Calm down, Mom. She didn’t hurt me or anything. She’s just a little … intense.” Emmy looks at her phone. She scrolls and lands on a picture of waffles and huevos rancheros. It was last Sunday morning.

“I still can’t believe I’ve been gone all week.”

“I know. I guess it makes sense now. All the pizza. The late nights. You collapsing on the bed at night. You—she, I mean—hardly said two words to me.”

“Well, where have I been going?”

“I don’t know what you do. I just know you got a new job. You come in, you go to bed. You get up, and you leave.”

“That can’t be it.”

Emmy looks blankly at me. “Mom, I swear. This past week has really sucked.”

“Okay, so walk me through. I get up, and then?”

“I hear you come downstairs.”

“What time is that?”

Emmy rolls her eyes. “Like, 6:30.”

“Then?”

“Then you do some random stuff in the kitchen. You make noise in here. Sometimes I hear you on the phone.”

“Do I come home for lunch?”

Emmy shakes her head. “Nope.”

“What time do I get home?”

“Around 8 or 9 p.m. Sometimes later, I guess. Usually, I’m starving, so I text you, and you tell me to order in. So, I get pizza or whatever.”

“What do I eat?”

Emmy shrugs. “I have no idea, but it’s not anything here. I mean, there’s literally no food in the house.”

I feel myself nodding. “Yeah, I saw. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I sort of had a feeling something was wrong with you anyway.”

“You did?”

“Well, yeah. You’ve been acting so weird lately.”

“Emmy, there’s a way I can fix this. I’ve done it before. I can get rid of her.”

Emmy’s eyes look worried. “What do you mean? How?”

What are you going to tell her? You know there’s no way to get rid of me.