The Invisible World

Chapter 21: Heat of the Moment

The next day, I got in the passenger's seat of Jack's truck ready to look my parents in the eye again...mostly.

Jack got in the driver's seat next to me. "Is there a reason you want me along? You could just drive to your parents' house. I'm sure you know how to get there better than I do."

"I just want someone with me," I replied. "I don't want to know what'll happen if I show up on their doorstep, and they think I'm just some thing that took the place of their daughter. Besides..." I held up the map in my hand– "I can just show you the way with this map." Finally, weeks after I stole it from Jenny, it had a use. I opened it up and found those stupid circles that Jenny had drawn on it. "How am I supposed to read this?"

Jack looked over my shoulder. "Is that Jenny's map?"

"Okay, I sort of stole it from her, but I'm a changed woman now."

Jack scowled at me.

"Are you going to drive or not?"

"Fine." Jack started the car. "Which way?"

"North," I replied. I had to navigate now. Those circles would be distracting, but if I could read this map with the circles on it at night, I could read it in the daytime, too.

Jack drove forward. "But still, why me? I thought you hated me and that you were going to lean on Brian ever since he offered to cover all your costs."

"Same reason as you," I said. "He's too busy Frenching Jenny, so I had to go with the next best thing."

Jack wrinkled his nose a little.

"Don't like imagining your two best friends French-kissing?"

"I just don't like imagining that stuff in general."

"Unless it's you and Alice."

"Katie, please don't."

"Still, it's funny," I said. "Even though I don't like you, you feel like I've been the only constant in my life ever since I came back. I've been living in your house, sleeping in your crummy guest room, making your life a living hell. No matter how bad things got, I knew you'd always be waiting for me so you could treat me like a criminal. You're my something to live for."

"Your something to live for?" Jack asked.

"It's a phrase Jenny used," I explained. "It means whatever keeps our minds off of the impending doom of the entire book. Jenny picked Brian, and I've picked you."

"You mentioned that before, that all this is a book. Was that true?"

"Yeah, that's true. What do you think, I was lying?"

"Well..."

"Name one time I've lied."

"You got a haircut a couple weeks ago without telling me. That must mean you're hiding something."

Oh, no. He's onto me. He's going to figure out I played hooky from therapy. Play it cool, Cat. "You think you need to know where I am at all times?"

Jack shrugged. "Fine. I guess I'll lay off."

Lie accomplished.

I looked down at the map. "Turn right." He turned right. "Why do you think out of all the houses in Allwine, the void decided to drop me and Misty in yours?"

"You see all those circles?" Jack asked. "That's when Jenny was explaining that my house was at the center of the paranormal hotspot." He chuckled. "Man, do you remember when Jenny was getting on my case about defending the town from ghosts and demons? That did not really pan out. Sure, there was the ghost that stole Brian's car, but that's it."