The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron

Author:Kalynn Bayron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

CHAPTER 11

I sleep but not soundly. I see Aaron’s face behind my closed lids. The sound of his voice echoes in my head and I wake up so many times thinking I hear the gravel hitting my window but when I get up to check there’s nothing. When the sun slants through my curtains, I accept the fact that I’m not going to get any more sleep and drag myself into the hallway. I hear my dad’s voice downstairs and he sounds upset.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” he asks.

“The boundary held,” my mom says.

“You don’t know that,” Dad says. “Did she tell you what she saw? Does she even know for sure?”

There is a long pause.

“No,” Mom huffs. “Listen, the downed tree is a perfect excuse to do the work. We need to get it out of the yard as soon as possible, though.”

“It’ll be gone today,” my dad says.

“Will you have enough time to put in the reinforcements before dark?” my mom asks. “I don’t want to take any chances.”

“I think so,” Dad says. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

There is another long period of silence. “I’ve already begun,” says Mom. “I don’t think we have a choice. Even if it’s for nothing, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

I don’t know what boundary my mom’s talking about. The fence? It only separates us from Cedrick’s yard on that side so getting it fixed shouldn’t even be a big deal. Cedrick and his dads are family. All I want to do is talk to Jules and Ced.

I go into the bathroom to brush my teeth and text Jules.

ME: I need to talk to you and Ced ASAP

JULES: Ok

I get dressed and go downstairs. My dad is waiting with his car keys in hand.

“Ready?” he asks. He shoots me a big smile but now he’s got that same look on his face as Mom. That scared, worried look.

I nod. I don’t see my mom before I leave and that’s probably a good thing. She was so mad the night before. My dad drives me to school and drops me off out front.

“Hey, Boog,” he says through the open window.

I glance back.

“Be aware of your surroundings today, okay?”

“Um, okay, Dad,” I say. He sounds like Mr. Rupert.

He drives off right as Jules and Cedrick get there. I grab them both by the arm and pull them inside.

“What is going on?” Cedrick asks. “My dads were up all night. Walking around the house like they were on patrol or something.”

“My mom, too,” says Jules.

I pull them against the lockers in A building and they huddle in. “Listen. Something happened last night and I don’t even know how to tell you what it was.”

“Tell us, Boog,” says Ced. “Because something is goin’ on and I feel like it’s bad. Not just regular bad either. It feels like it’s something terrible.”

I take a deep breath and lower my voice to a whisper. “I saw Aaron again.”

Jules and Cedrick freeze. I think they even stop breathing for a minute.

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