Page 28 of Make Me Scream
“Okay, honey. Drive safe. Love you.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. I watch her walk to her car and drive off before getting in. Abel’s cranked the heat, and I sigh at the warmth that envelops me when the door latches closed.
My head drops back for a minute before I start the quick drive home. Abel shatters the silence that had settled between us just before we arrive. “Why do you think she was there?” he asks so quietly, I almost don’t hear him. My eyes dart over to him, and I hate how small he looks—only because she made him look that way.
Normally, it doesn’t bother me. Abel is small, and he’s supposed to look it, but right now, with his face pinched and his body curled inward… it feelswrongsomehow, and there’s no one to blame but her.
I open my mouth to spew hate, then close it, thinking about it for a minute. I pull in beside Ma’s car and shift into park, restingmy twitching fingers on the gear shift. “Probably to unsettle us,” I answer honestly. It’s one of the only things I probablycanbe so honest about.
“Yeah,” he says after a minute. “You’re probably right.”
“Why? You think it’s something else?” I move my tapping fingers to dig my nails into the grooves of the steering wheel. The outside light brightens the car but not his ghastly pale face, which appears even more washed out than usual.
Abel clicks his tongue. “Nah.” And then, he’s out of the car and walking into the house, legs bent at a bit of an awkward angle. I stare at his retreating form for a few minutes before heading inside myself.
When I walk through the entryway, I find Abel curled up on the couch with a blanket pulled up to his neck. “Where’s Ma?” I ask, avoiding his eyes.
“In the kitchen,” he says as he flips through movie channels, acting like nothing is wrong wheneverything is fucking wrong.
I hate it so much, I can’t look at him.
I find Mom filling a few plates with snacks, from veggies and pretzels and crackers to lots of candies—many of which are Abel’s favorites. I raise my brows, and she shrugs. “Figured we could have a movie night. We haven’t had one of those in a while.” She worries her bottom lip.
“We just had one,” I tell her bluntly as I steal a gummy worm from the package.
She playfully smacks my hand. “Doesn’t count if we don’t have snacks.” She winks. “Now help me grab these.” I sigh dramatically but grab two of the three plates and follow Ma out to the living room. Abel sits up when he sees us coming, his eyes widening as he draws the blanket up to his chin.
“What’s all this?”
“Snacks.” Mom beams as we set the trays down on the coffee table. “For our movie night.”
“Movie night?” Abel drawls, looking up at me with big, wide eyes.
“Oh, I forgot drinks!” Mom rushes past and back into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” Abel asks in a rush.
“She’s trying to make you feel better,” I explain as I drop down on the cushion beside my runt with a handful of popcorn.
“Oh,” is all he says as he looks down at the array of snacks in front of him.
“Yeah, I know. Just… take a deep breath,” I tell him, brushing my knuckles down his bicep in a reminder just before Mom walks back in the room, multiple cans of pop in hand.
“Wasn’t sure what everyone wanted, so I grabbed a bunch.”
Abel blinks up at her, andgoddamnit,I can see the tears in his eyes. He better not let them fall…
“Thank—" He clears his throat quickly. “Thank you, Elise. This is great.”
Mom beams, her eyes shining too, andJesus fucking Christ, can wenot?
“Of course, honey! Did you find a movie?”
“Oh.” Abel blushes prettily, and I can’t not stare. “Uh, yeah. Is-is this okay?” He pushes play, but I don’t turn toward the screen. My eyes are stuck on him and the flush that blooms across his high cheekbones and down his long, slender neck where it disappears beneath the border of the navy blue blanket.
“Absolutely! Peris and I used to watch this movie together all the time when he was a kid, didn’t we, buddy?”
“Huh?” I mutter when Mom’s elbow finds my ribs. “All Dogs Go To Heaven.Damn, haven’t seen this in years.” I feel myself smiling. “This used to be my favorite.” For some reason, this makes Abel smile, and it’s all over for me.
Throughout the entirety of the movie, I find myself watching him more than the screen, the way his jaw clenches as he chewshis favorite candies—picking through the bowl to find the green and sour ones first. How his throat rolls with each swallow, his Adam’s apple bulging deliciously.
