The Spider Catcher (Redemption by A.L. Tyler Book 1)

Author:A.L. Tyler [Tyler, A.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-07-05T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Ember sat in rigid silence as Asher brought around drinks and a plate of veggies and dip that Zinny had carefully arranged to resemble a teddy bear. Flat slices of carrot made up the body, with little bits of shredded cabbage making the fur, and tiny cut up radishes for the face and eyes. It frolicked through a celery and broccoli forest with a river made of ranch, and as Ember tried to look appreciative while she ate the food, she couldn’t help but stare at Zinny. Mostly, she just couldn’t bring herself to look at Acton.

We’re not bad people. Ember wasn’t even sure if they qualified as people. The stuff that had come oozing from Kaylee’s hand hadn’t been blood; it had been thick and dark, like chocolate syrup. The fact that Asher had laughed at the sight of a girl cutting her own fingers off was grotesque, and if Acton was to be believed, he had made her do it to remind her he was in charge.

She could hear them, sitting next to her, laughing and joking about the tourists and how the wife hadn’t figured out yet that the husband was flirting with someone named Beatrice. Asher talked about the women on the island, his loneliness, and Acton made a remark about how his relationships never ended well, and he needed to give up. Then, they were cut short on a conversation about Isaac’s latest “work”—Ember wasn’t sure she wanted to know what that was—when Isaac walked back into the bar.

He had a dark stain running down the leg of his pants from stuffing Kaylee’s fingers into his pocket, but outside of that one reminder, it was all so mundane that Ember almost felt the urge to yawn.

“Hey.” He said, taking a seat at the table. He picked at the grime around his finger beds. “What did I miss?”

“Whole lot of nothing.” Asher replied. “Trish might get lucky, so we can expect a screaming match by dawn. Might be he’ll hang around here a few days extra, if she takes off with both kayaks or something. How’s the queen bee?”

“Ah…” Isaac laughed, shaking his head as he stared at the table. “She’s pissed.”

Asher reached across the table for a bottle of beer, giving Isaac a significant look as he twisted the cap off. “You keeping those fingers?”

“I told her I lost them, but, yeah…”

“You can’t lie to a mind reader, Isaac.” Asher said, sighing as he watched Beatrice sit down in the tourist’s lap. “What the hell are you going to do with her fingers?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Huh. You’re sick. I’ve known a lot of sick guys, Isaac, but you take the cake.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Ember pretended to eat her food, wondering if she would be alive come sunrise, and wondering what she would do after that point if she was. Acton hadn’t spoken a word since Isaac’s return. She supposed that was as close to an apology as he would come for causing his girlfriend to be short three fingers and a thumb.

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