Page 101 of Limbo

“Holy shit,” Connor says, jumping out of the way as we come through.

My back hits the wall, her forearm across my chest. I’m about to do something I never thought I would—punch my mother in her fucking face—when Cate screams from her doorway. Terrified blue eyes watch, her hands covering her ears as Lauren continues to berate me with incoherent nonsense.

Connor’s panicked gaze meets mine, pleading with me to tell him what to do, but I can’t because I have no idea. Everything went from zero to fucked up so fast, my head is spinning from it all.

The only thing I can think to do is stop fighting her. I let her yank me away from the wall by the shirt and drag me down the hall and through the living room and push me out the door. Once outside, she releases me with one last shove. I straighten up and turn around just in time for her to slap me across the face so hard that my head jerks to the side. I suck in a breath at the sting and bring my hand to my cheek, looking back at her.

She’s fucking wrecked. Mascara runs down her face, lipstick smudged, hair more of a disaster than mine after she used it as reins. “He said … it’s your fault,” she stutters, wobbling on her heels in the grass.

It’s the most terrifying vision of my potential future I’ve ever seen.

Connor witnesses it all from the doorway while Cate clings to him, burying her face in his shoulder. Lauren storms to the house and pushes past him. He only makes it a step in my direction before she reappears and tugs on his arm to stop him. Her fingers fumble with something, and she cusses at what I realize is a set of keys. She slips one off and throws the rest at me. The key ring lands on the ground in front of me. I don’t need to look to know they’re mine.

“Get inside, Connor,” she says.

The lines between his eyebrows form deep, my brother more torn in this moment than he’s ever been. I force a small smile and nod at him. With tears in his eyes, he disappears into the house, and then it’s just Lauren and me.

She glares, backing inside. “Never come back, bitch.”

Even though I see the door closing, I still jump when it slams.

Then it’s just me, standing in the front yard. No phone. No shoes. Nowhere to go.

Trey’s house is a bust. All the lights are off, and his truck’s gone. Not wanting to break out a window and crawl in, I turn my car around.

On my way back to Main Street, I drive behind the bar. Light shines through the still-propped-open back door, and I jerk the wheel to make the turn into the parking lot. A familiar head pops out the door as I park.

“Pete,” I call, climbing out.

He heaves the black trash bag into the dumpster and slaps his hands together. “Six months,” he says.

“What?”

“You purposely avoided me forsix months. Now I can’t fucking get rid of you.” He grins as I stop in front of him, but it fades when his gaze drops to my feet. “Why the fuck are you barefoot in Sutterville at this hour?”

I sigh. “Because my mother’s a crazy alcoholic.”

He gestures to the door. “Join the fucking club.”

When we get inside, he sets the jukebox music to something eighties and wanders behind the bar. I pick the stool dead center on the other side. While he finishes cleaning up, I give him my extensive explanation of why Lauren threw me out in the middle of the night.

“I have no fucking idea.”

Okay, so not so extensive. I really don’t know though. She took off Friday to spend the weekend with Tyler, not even waiting until I got to the house to leave. I haven’t heard from her since. Other than her cryptic comment abouthimsaying it’s my fault, I have little to go on.

Pete loans me his phone to text Trey about what’s going on and to see if I can stay with him. He doesn’t answer. Thanks to technology, I haven’t memorized a number since I was, like, eight, so I can’t call Connor’s phone to check in on him and Cate. I’ll just have to wait on Trey.

“Here.” Pete tosses me a pair of thermal socks when I look up.

I allow my face to tell him what I think of the shade of brown. They go up to my knees, but they’re warm and preferable to running around the bar without shoes on.

“Thanks,” I say.

“Where’s Jordan tonight?” he asks. “I thought he’s been coming with you to Lauren’s.”

“His band played their last show at a bar over by State tonight.” I considered going but couldn’t find anyone to take Cate to her first swim lesson. It ended up working in my favor since I tripped my way into a job. “I ran into your grandparents at the gas station earlier.”

“They told me. Sounds like I’m your boss again.” He runs a rag over the top of the bar. “I’ve been saving up so much shit work for whoever they suckered into working here this summer. Now I’ll have to do it all because I’ll feel bad making you do it.”

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