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“Answer the question.” I wondered if she could even understand the order through my gritted teeth.
“Buzzkill.” She rolled her eyes and puffed her cheeks up into large balloons before expelling air. “Simple. You registered Henry for some online program, like to get school workbooks or something. I guess you didn’t realize that it made your town public, at least to anyone on the same site. You always were so bad with the internet. I’d made a couple of friends on the inside who knew some people on the outside who didn’t like hearing that a mother was separated from her little boy. Anyway, it said you were in Rough and Ready, I figured out which one, and when I came into town, locals gave me directions. It didn’t take me much more than thirty minutes of hard work to find you.”
How had I been so stupid? Meghan was right, of course — I was a mess when it came to working the web. I tried to be as thorough as possible, but there was a limit. And, in my defense, I hadn’t realized that the online schooling site I’d downloaded the pages from had some kind of social media component that would make things available to others. But the reality didn’t stop me from kicking myself. I’d been trying to help my son’s education, and instead, I’d put him in grave danger. Some father I was.
“Listen, Carter,” she said, staring me directly in the eye with a cold, dead stare. “I’ll keep it short. I’m out, so we’re a family again. I want you back, I want my son back, I want our whole cute little bitchy life back. M’kay?”
“No.”
She shivered with excitement. “Ooooh, I thought you might say that. Yay! So much more fun.”
Meghan arched her head further up at me. In any other scenario, it’d look ridiculous, but coming from her, it was frightening.
“If you don’t take me back, lovey, I’m gonna ‘accidentally’ set your house on fire again. You know I know how to get in there,” she added with a wink.
“So that was you with the match.”
Her mouth dropped. “Fuck, was it too subtle? Or are you just slow? Either way, yes, it was me. Oh, oops, additionally, I saw you with that little girl last night, looking all romantic and shit. I’ll burn her too, just for kicks. I don’t really care if you fuck anyone else, but I wouldn’t mind hurting you, not after everything you’ve put me through.”
“You mean what you put yourself through,” I spat. “I didn’t set the house on fire.”
“Proverbially, you did!” she shrieked. “If you’d loved me more, I wouldn’t have had to.”
She was still out of her goddamn mind. Or rather, still clear-headed and manipulative. Classic. It was, in some small way, reassuring to know that she hadn’t changed. At least I knew this version of Meghan, could predict some of her patterns. It’s easier to face a known evil.
My heart pounded in my chest as I said, “Get out of town or I call the police.”
“And then what? Say I left a match? You have no proof.”
She was right, and I knew it. Get Henry, my heart told me. And get the fuck out of town.
We needed to run. Again. Better to get a head start on it. I looked around, and saw that Meghan clearly didn’t have a car – she must’ve hitched a ride. If I moved fast, I could outpace her.
I bolted to my truck.
“Where are you going?” she called out, her voice singsong even at that volume.
I didn’t answer.
“See you later, lover boy.”
Instead, I got into my truck and drove like hell.
CHAPTER 24
Phoebe
WE HADN’T even been in bed an hour when Jo-Beth set her book down and said, “Phoebe, I’m hungry and I need to go for a walk. I’m heading over to Miss Keller’s for a bite to eat and do some work on my computer.”
“But…” My voice was whiny, but only because I didn’t know how else to capture the urgency of this.
“I know, but I’ve got shit to do. And I believe you that you think there’s some kind of weird, dangerous situation going on, but I’m feeling guilty about how behind on my work I am, especially with school so close around the corner. Come with me, we’ll have fun.”
Fuck. She’d promised! I didn’t blame her for wanting to leave — being trapped in a tiny trailer all day is miserable – cramped, hot, and boring. Plus, she’d been diligently prepping for this school year all trip. It’s not like I didn’t know she was taking it seriously.
But come on. Couldn’t she just this once go on blind faith and trust me that something very wrong was afoot?
“You have to stay,” I begged.
She took my face between her hands, cradling it reassuringly. “Phoebe, I believe that you believe that there’s a danger out there. And if you want to stay in here, that’s fine. I just know I can handle myself, so I’m comfortable going outside. Okay?”
