Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
No one left the house for four days. We weren’t on lockdown, but all of us seemed to respect the need to recuperate before we headed out and assessed the damage, if there was any. Then I broke the uneasy quiet as I packed my bag and headed toward my car.
Kellan stopped me outside the door. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to school.”
Vespar came out behind him at that moment. He passed us by with only a look as he headed down to the river. Gus followed, but she kept her head down when she walked around us. She hadn’t talked to us since that night; neither had Vespar. They sat with us at meals as we ate the little bit of food our human sides needed, but no one spoke. There were a lot of looks. Vespar looked anywhere but at us. Gus mainly only looked at Vespar or at her hands. Then there was Kellan and I. We stared at them, at each other, everywhere, but still no one said anything.
I’d had enough, and the urge to paint was strong. I had taken to drawing in the privacy of my room, but it wasn’t the same. I needed the large canvas. I needed to shut off everything and let the painting come forth. I couldn’t do that in my house, with my siblings there.
I reached for my car handle again, but Kellan took it instead. I glanced up. “What are you doing? I’ll be fine.” I waited to see if he’d say something about my messenger side, but he didn’t. He hadn’t spoken one word about that, and neither had I. With Vespar and Gus around, I was always fearful they could overhear our conversations. I didn’t trust them, especially since Kellan told me they couldn’t find out.
His eyes were trained on our siblings, and he nodded toward them. “What are they doing?”
“They’re going swimming.” I saw that he wasn’t going to say anything about it anytime soon.
“They’re not.” He frowned. “Let’s follow them.”
“Kellan, no.” I stood my ground as he tried to pull me behind him. “I’m going to school. Someone has to, or they’ll send the cops out here to make sure we’re all still alive. It’s weird that all of us haven’t gone back for a while and no one’s called.”
Kellan let go of my hand, but trailed behind the other two.
“I’m going to school,” I called after him. Did he no longer care?
He waved, dismissing me.
“Fine. I’m…” I stopped since he’d gone too far.
When I parked in the lot, I knew things were different. It wasn’t the same as before when we had changed Matt. And I wasn’t sure if this was because Dylan was dead, but as I walked inside and down the hallway, there was no grief in the air. I should’ve sensed it. His death should’ve been known. Then, as I got to my locker, my hand reached up to open it, but I froze when I heard Dylan’s laugh in the hallway. It had always been distinct, but it was even more so now.
Everything in my body went numb as I turned. I felt like it was in slow motion when the crowd parted and Dylan was at his locker, laughing at something Matt said in his ear. The two stood close with their hands on each other’s shoulders, giving their sign of bonding and approval to the other. Leah smiled beside them, eager for their attention.
It was how it had been a month ago.
I had thought… Oh God. I had no idea what to think anymore.
Leah caught sight of me, and her eyes widened in anticipation. She skirted over and clasped her hands together. “Is Kellan here? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Do you—wha—how’s your stepdad?” I had no idea what to say, but I needed to know what else he’d done.
She froze. All the liveliness died, and she backed away a step. “I don’t have a stepdad. You know that, Shay.”
“She doesn’t even have parents.” Matt laughed, coming up behind her. He rested both of his hands on her shoulders and drew her against him. She tensed, but looked away, biting her lip.
“You don’t have parents?”
“Foster homes, Shay. Get with the program.” Then he winked. “We haven’t seen you in a few days. How’s it going? Where is the rest of the Braden foursome?”
I narrowed my eyes and sensed into Matt. Everything we had done was gone. I looked at Leah and then at Dylan. I thought Kellan had killed Dylan, but now I cursed myself for not realizing it before. He’d gone back and wiped all of their memories. Somehow, the death of Leah’s parents hadn’t been changed, and it was now known that she lived with foster parents.
Kellan cleaned up all of our messes.
I remembered the exhaustion he’d felt when he’d gotten home that night. He’d been tired before, but he’d been depleted of all energy. He’d slept through the night, then the next day. I hadn’t thought about it, but I gave him some of my energy. In fact, I’d given it the very moment he’d reached for my hand that night.