The Death Club by Rick Wood

Author:Rick Wood [Wood, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blood Splatter Press
Published: 2020-12-28T16:00:00+00:00

31

Harper

You know that feeling when you’re tuned into what’s happening, but you aren’t really paying attention? When you are aware enough to react to the words that are spoken to you, but in such a trance that you would not remember them?

That’s what it’s like. To sit here. With the police officer. Going through text messages he’s prepared and confirming whether or not they sound like me.

Which is ridiculous.

Does anyone actually know what they sound like? Is anyone aware of the idiosyncrasies of their language, or what sociolect they use with different groups of people?

He asks me stupid questions, like, “Would you use a smiley here?” or “Would you abbreviate this word?”

I hadn’t really thought about it, but Danny rarely abbreviates words. He never even says rofl or lmao or lol, he says haha. It’s one of the reasons I love him; he never talks like a stupid person, even when texting.

I go along with it. I tell Felix how I think I would phrase a sentence and what words I wouldn’t use.

Danny doesn’t text back. He will when we’re alone, when I can text him from the secret phone and let him know it’s okay to talk.

Felix wants me to agree to meet Danny.

They want to use me as bait, like I’m a worm on the end of a fishhook and Danny’s the trophy catch.

I say no.

Felix asks why.

Because I’m not ready yet.

In truth, I am both elated and terrified at the thought of meeting Danny. I would love to see him in person so I can know what it feels like to have his arms around me, but I would be petrified that he would see me and decide he’d made a mistake.

Either way, I am not going to meet him on the officer’s terms. And I am not going to meet him so they can arrest the wrong person and put him in a cell.

I could tell Felix the truth. That Danny is innocent. That he has a second-hand phone and the last owner was dodgy. But I know what they’d say.

“Don’t be so naive.”

“That’s what he wants you to think.”

“Trust us, we’ve been onto this guy for a while.”

And that’s why I say nothing.

Neither Felix nor my dad know what it’s like to be completely unheard. To be wanting to scream so loud they can’t help but hear your voice, but knowing that, if you did, they would just cover their ears.

Dad doesn’t even sit with us as we do this. Felix said that, due to my age, I have the right to have an appropriate adult with me. But I wasn’t bothered about him being here, and he seems far too engrossed in something on the computer to even care.

Felix shows me some more messages. Asks me to check them.

He says he’ll send them for me. I don’t need to do anything but keep the phone nearby. They’ll see everything that’s done on the phone, so I needn’t worry.

Except, it does make me worry. They have access to everything.

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