The Best Liars in Riverview by Lin Thompson

Author:Lin Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Published: 2022-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

CALUMET

“AIR-CONDITIONING,” TEAGAN SAYS RIGHT AWAY, AND MAKES A BEELINE for the E-Z Mart. I hesitate. Strolling into a store just one town over from ours seems like a really good way to get recognized by someone who would ask questions about what we’re doing out here—and probably call our parents. But the E-Z Mart looks quiet enough. The gas pumps out front stand empty. A handful of dusty cars and pickups are parked beside the building.

Mari and I glance at each other, and another drop of sweat slides down into my eye, and I have to admit that standing in the chill of an air conditioner for a couple of minutes sounds nice.

The bell over the glass door chimes as we push inside, and the older guy at the cash register nods at us. The cold air hits with a whoosh like opening an air lock. Mari meanders off down one of the aisles, and I trail behind her, not really looking for anything in particular. Teagan heads to the refrigerated section at the back, even though we’ve already got food and water with us and we didn’t bring any money—or at least I didn’t. She’s just opening each fridge door for a second, letting the burst of cold air hit her in the face, and then closing it again.

I glance up toward the front counter to see whether the cashier is glaring at her. I figure he’s probably not happy about a bunch of kids coming into his store and wasting the refrigeration. But he’s busy with a customer.

Then I look closer, and I freeze.

It’s Joel’s mom at the counter.

She’s talking to the guy at the cash register—she must’ve been off in the shelves when we came in. Now she’s showing the cashier a square of paper in her hand. A note? A photo? Joel’s photo? My stomach clenches up. When she was talking to me outside the church, she mentioned that she was “asking around” about Joel—is this what she meant? Does she know Joel came through this way? Is she out here to track him down, just like we are?

That thought makes my stomach clench even tighter. I’m remembering what Joel told me by the campfire that night, and the way his mom said my name yesterday, serious and gentle and hard to look away from, and all I can think is He’s leaving me, he left me, and I don’t want to be here. . . .

I duck back behind a wire rack of beef jerky sticks and Hostess cupcakes before Joel’s mom can see me. I don’t know where Mari and Teagan are. Don’t have time to find them. Joel’s mom will most likely recognize Mari, but she’ll definitely recognize me and Teagan, and then it’s phone calls to our parents and having to explain ourselves, and it’s so much more than that, anyway. I don’t want to deal with it. I don’t want to deal with her. I hurry for the E-Z Mart door,

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