Page 15 of Lifebound

I bet in institutions there was at least one person who would believe me if I said I could move things with my mind—and he’d tell me he could do it, too.

Those thoughts all crossed my mind, and I realized just how silly it was of me to try to move that chair, bring it forward just a little right now. I realized this was serious and I could get into a lot of trouble for this. My dad, too. And Betty andherdad.

Yes, I realized I shouldn’t have done what I did last night, but I still tried.

Of course, the chair didn’t move.

“What do you have to say for yourselves, girls?”

This from Mrs. Owens, the mother of that girl who’d invited Fi to her home.

My sister was your responsibility. How dare you let them do that to her in your own home?!went the thoughts in my head.

“It wasn’t me,” I said instead, and Betty said it with me.

Eventually, the deputies were able to calm them down enough so they stopped screaming, so they agreed to walk outside and leave the four of us alone to talk.

The look Dad gave me when they closed the door behind them was enough to break me into a million pieces. Not just because of the bruise and the small cut on his nose, but he looked so disappointed I wanted to break something so bad—possibly my own damn neck.

What the fuck was I thinking?!

Too late now.

“Officer, I’m sure we can come to an understanding,” Betty’s dad said, and Mr. Rogers was a very calm man. Betty had gotten her crazy from her mom, she said, back when she was a teenager. Because now, they were both the calmest people I knew.

But even so, Mr. Rogers sounded upset.Veryupset, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

I looked at the deputies who stood before us. We’d never been here before, Betty and I. Normally all our pranks and troubles were dealt with in the principal’s office, but what if now they called us here every time?

No,I said to myself. Fuck, no, I was never doing another prank ever again. This was the last time.

“I’ll pay,” said Dad, and my heart jumped. “I’ll pay for all damages and I’ll deal with it myself, deputies. If you let us go, we both will.” He pointed between himself and Mr. Rogers.

Betty looked at me. I saw the regret flashing in her eyes, too.

We really,reallyshouldn’t have done that last night.

But no amount of feeling sorry or wishing I could turn back time changed anything.

four

“Just tell me why.”

I closed my eyes, fisted my hands to keep them from shaking when I poured the milk in the glass. Just something to do because I wasn’t hungry or thirsty or anything at all.

Just sorry.

“Please, Nil, just tell me why so I don’t beat myself up over it. Tell me why.”

My stomach twisted and turned something awful. I offered Dad my phone with the video on it playing on repeat—with the sound turned off. If I heard one more of those shouts, I was going to fucking set something on fire.

Dad watched the video.

He put the phone on the kitchen table face first and closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I choked—the hardest thing I had ever said to anyone in my whole life.

“You couldn’t just come tomeabout it?” he said, and it was like he was driving this very sharp knife right into my gut.

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