The Birch House

Chapter Twenty-four

I couldn't believe how much had poured out of Chase... all that grief and horror and bitterness and anger. He'd always seemed sort of, well, normal, and it was a shock to see all the emotional bloodshed... and a shock to hear him talk so much, about things so personal. Chase wasn't a talker.

I collected the dishes and did them alone, comforted by hot water and the fizz of soap on my hands; I cleaned up pots and pans and splashes of red sauce, and thought about Chase finding his mom dead in a bloody bathtub. "I wasn't in a real good place," Chase had said. The master of understatement. I wasn't so sure that I'd ever have been able to smile again, laugh again, function again, if that had happened to me, especially after losing a sister and winning the Drunk-Asshole Lottery with Dad. How did he do it? How did he keep it together, and stay so... brave?

I wanted to cry for him, but I was almost sure that he'd have been embarrassed, so I kept the misery inside, and scrubbed dishes clean. He doesn't deserve this. Why don't they all just leave him alone? Why does he have to be the one everybody beats on?

Maybe just because he'd shown he could take it, and make himself stronger for it.

The kitchen door swung open, and I jumped, expected Chase, but it was Alex. He walked over to the sink, ran some cold water in his hands, and splashed it over his face and the back of his neck.

"Bad night," I said.

"Tell me about it." He cut a sideways look toward me.

"Do you think he's right? About them, you know, killing his mother?"

"I think Chase's carrying around a load of guilt the size of TrumpTower. And I think it helps him to be angry." Alex shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible. But I don't think we can know one way or the other."

That felt... sick, somehow. No wonder Chase was so reluctant to talk about it. I tried to imagine living with that kind of uncertainty, those memories, and failed.

I was glad I did.

"So," Alex said. "I've got about three hours until morning. We need to make some plans about what we're going to do, and what we're not going to do."

I nodded and set a plate aside to dry.

"First thing is, none of you leave the house," Alex said. "Got it? No school, no work. You stay indoors. I can't protect you if you go outside."

"We can't just hide!"

"We can for a while, and we will. Look, Chase's dad can't run around out there forever. It's a temporary problem. Someone's going to find him." The unspoken subject of what would happen to Chase's dad after he was caught was a whole other issue. "As long as we don't do anything directly that ties us to whatever his dad does, were okay. Sophia's word is good for that."

"You're putting a lot of trust in-"

"A vampire, yeah, I know." Alex shrugged and leaned a hip against the counter, looking down on me. "What choices do we have?"

"Not too many, I guess." I studied him more closely. He looked tired. "Alex? Are you okay?"

Now he looked surprised. "Sure. Chase's the one who's got issues. Not me."

No, Alex was all good. Killed, dismembered, buried, reborn... yeah, just another day in the life. I sighed. "Guys," I said mournfully. "Alex, I'll stay home today, but I really do have to go to school, you know. Really." Because me missing school was like a caffeine addict going without a daily jolt.

"Your education or your life, Evie. I'd rather you be alive and a little bit dumber."

I met his eyes squarely. "Well, I wouldn't. I'll stay home today. I don't promise about tomorrow."