Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston

Author:Bret Anthony Johnston
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780812996166
Publisher: Random House Inc.
Published: 2014-05-12T22:00:00+00:00

GRIFF COULDN’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME HE’D HAD THE house to himself. Justin was sleeping, so he wasn’t completely alone, but with both of his parents gone, the rooms seemed cavernous. When his mother left, he’d been on the phone with Fiona. He’d invited her over, thinking they might be able to fool around in his room instead of at the elementary school, but her father was making her go to lunch at the yacht club. (Griff didn’t entirely understand what the yacht club was, couldn’t surmise if it was an organization or a physical building, but he didn’t want to embarrass himself by asking.) Since then, he’d been walking from one room to another, trying to imagine how Justin viewed their house now. After they went for their drive that night, Griff had decided to be more vigilant, more aware. He wanted to perceive the world as his brother did. He wanted to look at something—their furniture, the hedge near the marina, Rainbow and their parents—and understand what Justin would see. He didn’t want him to have to spell everything out if they took the truck again.

So far, though, Justin hadn’t invited him on any more of his drives. It made Griff think he’d failed a test. He felt antsy and over-eager, the way Rainbow got just before feeding time, the way the mice got when someone unlatched the lid on their aquarium. They ran around like crazy, stopping to stand on their hind legs and sniff the air, trying to find the crumbs that were about to be dropped, then if nothing materialized, they started running again. “They’re such little spazzes,” Justin had said one night. He was holding Sasha, letting her slide from one hand to the other. She writhed like a hose with too much pressure, and Griff realized he was a little afraid of her. It was disillusioning, for being afraid of her was like being afraid of Justin. Griff wanted to change that, too.

He was standing by the sink eating a handful of cereal when Justin limped into the kitchen. Griff nodded at him coolly, as if they were passing on the street. He offered him the cereal box, but Justin declined and took a coffee mug down from the cabinet. He was wearing the bathrobe their mother had bought him at the mall. Griff had helped pick it out, and seeing him in it was always gratifying. Justin poured what was left in the pot and took a loud sip. He said, “What’s Dad’s deal?”

“He’s at school. Mom went to the library. We’re by ourselves.”

“Dad’s pacing in the driveway, talking on the phone. He looks pissed.”

“He must have just got here,” Griff said, sounding inane. “Do you think he knows we took the truck?”

“If he does, it’s because you told him.”

“I didn’t,” Griff said.

“I’m just fucking with you, Lobster. No, I don’t think he knows.”

“Me either,” he said.

“I went to the island last night. I watched a coyote bark at the waves for an hour.

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