It Will End Like This by Kyra Leigh

Author:Kyra Leigh [Leigh, Kyra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2022-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

“I should probably call my sister,” I say.

“Do you want to stick around for food or something? We could order a pizza? Or maybe we could hang at your place? I know my house is kinda boring,” Lana says. She sounds disappointed, but honestly I don’t really care.

Why did you do this?

Why did you come here?

“I don’t know,” I say.

We sit in silence for a few minutes. I stare at the shiny stones and rocks on her desk and wonder what someone would need them for.

“I’m sorry that letter wasn’t much help,” Lana says. Almost embarrassed. She gets off her bed.

I call Maddi and she agrees to come pick me up. Lana and I head into the kitchen to wait for her.

“Thanks for letting me come over. I’m sorry to leave so early. Maddi is sort of pissed I ditched school without telling her,” I say. Lana opens the fridge and looks inside. She grabs a soda and sets it on the counter, then walks over and gives me a hug. My body stiffens, and I wish she wouldn’t touch me. I feel sick, and I’m not sure why.

“It’s okay. I’ll keep looking. If there are more letters, I’ll tell you,” she says.

I nod, then head outside and wait on the porch for Maddi to pick me up. The smell of the house was making my stomach turn, and the fresh air is a relief. The cold calms me down. It’s stopped raining, and the sun is setting. I knew it was hiding up there somewhere.

Maddi turns onto the street and I watch her drive up the road. She pulls into the driveway and parks. She looks pissed. When I get in the car, I’m relieved by the heat.

“I can’t believe you went without me,” she says. “Not only that, you skipped school? I was freaking out when you didn’t meet me at the lockers.” Her voice is raised, but she isn’t yelling. I’ve only seen Maddi lose her cool a handful of times.

“I’m sorry, I just needed to get out of there. Lana had another letter.” I hold out the note. Maddi looks at it and then sighs.

“I’m driving, Charlotte. Should I pull over?”

This is important. Of course she wants to pull over and read it. I couldn’t wait. But I want to get home. My brain needs to rest.

“Just drive fast and we can read it together at home,” I say.

Maddi does a heavy sigh and then takes a puff off her Juul. She only smokes when she’s really stressed, and I know this is my fault.

The rest of the drive home is silent, and when we pull into the driveway my stomach drops.

“Shit,” I say.

Dad and Uncle Jake are out on the front porch. Practically blocking the front door.

The setting sun makes the snow almost pretty. Maybe, at the right angle, it’s beautiful.

“What are they doing back? I thought we weren’t meeting him until later,” Maddi says. She’s talking about Uncle Jake. We’d planned on getting dinner. I wasn’t expecting to see him until then, and especially not with Dad.

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