What We Forgot to Bury by Marin Montgomery

Author:Marin Montgomery [Montgomery, Marin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-30T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

Charlotte

I knock on Elle’s door after she’s hit the snooze button a third time.

“Go away,” she grumbles. I take it she must not be a morning person.

“Absolutely not,” I say in a singsong voice. “It’s time to rise and shine.”

“I’ve never understood that expression.”

“Is it okay for me to enter the room?”

“I’m not decent!” she yells.

“Elle, I’m giving you ten seconds to open the door,” I warn. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six . . .”

“Okay, okay, come in.”

I open the door.

“How did you know?” Elle shoves the pillow off her face.

“That if I didn’t come in, you’d go back to sleep? I was young once.” I click my tongue at her. “Do you want me to sing to you? My mother used to wake me up by jumping on my bed.”

Elle moans, “She did not.”

“Yep, but I’m not going to do the same to you. I’ll dump a glass of water on you first.”

Mumbling, she squeezes the pillowcase over her face. “You wouldn’t dare. I’ve never been a morning person, and, coupled with this insanely comfortable bed and no caffeine, I’m a lazy zombie with an attitude problem.”

“Come on, Elle. Breakfast awaits.” I toss the pillow aside and hear a grumble rise from her stomach in protest. After I push back the gossamer curtains, the sun shines in. I stare out the window and motion to the lake. “My room has a walk-out patio with the same view.” I’m dressed in all-black sweats and a hoodie, my hair in a messy bun. I’ve removed the bandages from my hands, but you can see the jagged red gash across both of my palms.

“So, you’re going to stand here?”

“Until you get up.”

“I’m not wearing much.”

I cross my arms. “I’ll turn my back.”

Sighing dramatically, Elle sits up and tosses a flowered throw pillow at me. In the glass, I see what she wore to bed. “Kansas State, eh?” She’s wearing a Kansas State shirt with a wildcat on the front, ready to pounce.

“Yeah, thanks, I found it in your drawer.”

“Willie the Wildcat.” I rearrange the decorative pillow back on the bed. “Best times of my life.”

“Is that where you met your husband?”

“Uh-huh,” I say, smiling. “So you can see why it holds a special place in my heart.”

I notice her phone’s blowing up on the nightstand, and I wonder if it’s Diane or her ex-boyfriend.

“Hurry,” I say to her, “so you have time to eat breakfast before school.”

I close the door behind me to give her some privacy. After waiting for the sound of the shower, I reenter, and my hand grips her phone. It’s locked, but the message still shows a name and the first part.

Justin: We need to talk.

A second one comes through from him: Need ride to visit dad today?

Dad?

I thought her father was dead.

Does she have a stepfather?

But she said she has no one but Diane . . .

The water shuts off, and quietly I back out of the room, shutting the door gently behind me. Then I busy myself in the kitchen making Elle a sack lunch, my hands trembling.

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