Page 248 of Phobia
“I have a date,” Pup says, pink lips sloping into a smirk.
Rory’s eyes run him over. “You are absolutelynotleaving the house like this.”
“Dad said it’s okay,” Pup croons, sticking his tongue out.
Rory snarls, slamming Pup even harder into the wood. “That fucking oaf doesn’t make the rules.Ido.”
“Hang on, your dad is here?” I butt into whatever the hell is going on. “Can I talk to him? Maybe he’s seen Lena…”
“Do I look like a little boy to you, Kingston??” Rory turns to hiss at me. “You don’t need to ask if mydaddy’shome. He’s irrelevant.”
“Okay, well you’re not exactly being helpful,” I mutter, and he squints at me.
“Behelpful, Terror,” Pup sings softly, licking his lip.
Rory is watching him intently, something simmering between them that I don’t want to think about. He lets out a breath, releasing Pup with a vexed sigh.
“Last I saw Lena was about a week ago,” he finally concedes to give me what I need. “She came by after her shift and brought groceries for Gram. Then we went upstairs for a while.” He gives me a knowing look that makes me a little nauseous. “After that, she left. I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”
Rory’s eyes slink back to Pup, who’s giving him some look I don’t understand. Then Pup pushes himself off the door, sauntering past us.
“Nice seeing you, Asa,” he mumbles to me, smirking at Jules. “And very nice meeting you.”
He winks, strutting away, hopping over the knives and shards of glass everywhere the way a child plays hopscotch. It’s severely disturbing.
But I’m distracted when Rory growls, shoving me out of the way to storm after his brother. “Get back here, dog! You are changing your clothes, goddammit!”
Jules and I watch Pup scurrying away, taunting Rory while Rory chases him, shouting something aboutguttingsomeonelike a fish.
I let out a long breath, rubbing my eyes.
A pile of trash rustles, and we both jump as a girl with pink hair scurries out, scampering inside the house.
“What in the hell??” Jules mutters.
“That’s May.” I grab his hand.
Jules looks around one last time, his eyes widening. “Ohh, now I get it! Theriot…The Riot!”
Peering at him, my lips curve into an amused grin while I pull him along. “Come on. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
***
The walk is a quiet one.
I can’t stop my mind from running… Worrying and obsessing about my sister’s whereabouts.
The last time anyone saw her was a week ago. I’m scared to death that something happened and I have no idea what to do next.
We’re about to pass the big willow tree when Jules stops me, pulling me over to it.
“Asa, can we stop for a sec?”
I fist my hair, pacing in front of him. “I need to get back… I just need to…” My voice cuts off into a whimper.
My eyes want to closeso bad.Everything feels heavy, and my temples are throbbing.
“I know you’re worried,” he says. “But I think the best thing would just be to… get some—”
