Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle

Author:Katie Coyle
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

We stop at a cheap motel in Keystone, and Peter books the room by himself, borrowing from Harp a handful of twenty-dollar bills. When he comes back to the car with the keys, his face is tense and nervous. He has us huddle behind the car as he carries the bags into the room by himself, and then one by one, with him keeping lookout, he sends us into the room.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” he whispers, sliding the deadbolt behind him. He’s turned on the desk lamp, and in its dim glow, we can see how grim the room is—dead flies swatted flat against the white walls, the sink in the bathroom dripping noisily, the huge and gruesome crucifix hanging over the bed. “The owners are not faking it. After I paid, I turned around and there was a line of obvious, real Believers behind me. They’re all here for Mount Rushmore, obviously. And they seem a little testy.”

“How is this possibly New Orphans headquarters?” Harp hisses. “How do they manage it, if it’s crawling with Believers?”

“I don’t know,” says Peter. “I didn’t realize how bad it was. Either my information was wrong when I got it, or it’s wrong now.”

I feel a tension headache crawl up between my eyes. Edie sits on the edge of the damp-smelling bed and hugs her huge stomach; she begins to cry as silently as she can.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpers. “It’s probably the hormones, but I’m just so hungry.”

“It’s okay, Edie,” says Peter. “I’ll go out and bring us back some food.”

“I’ll go with you,” I volunteer.

“That’s okay, Viv. You’ve had a rough night. Harp, do you want to?”

But Harp sinks down next to Edie on the bed. I notice she’s brought her slowly depleting supply of vodka in with her. Her eyes are wide as she shakes her head. “I can’t,” she whispers.

Peter and I dress in the most conservative outfits we can put together out of our four suitcases. I have a shirt I can button to the collar, and Edie gives me a long black skirt to wear. Peter puts on a tie and shaves. Just before we leave, Edie clears her throat and then hands me a small gold band.

“Oh, Edie,” I say. “That’s all right. We’ll pretend to be brother and sister.”

“You’ll be safer if you don’t go out there as a single woman.” She puts the ring in my hand and folds my fingers over it. “Just bring it back to me, okay?”

We turn off the light before we leave so it will appear that nobody’s in the room. Harp and Edie are happier to wait for us in the dark than attempt to see what it’s like out there. When we reach the street, Peter points to a restaurant in the distance—La Casa de Millard Fillmore: Mexican Done American Style—and we head there. Peter walks in short, staccato steps, and keeps turning to look at me.

“What do we do?” he says. “What do you think I should do? Should I hold your hand?”

“No.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.