Page 116 of Life and Death
She put her hand on my cheek. The blood under her fingers felt burning hot next to her cold hand. “Don’t be upset. I didn’t mean any harm. I promise, I was very much in control of myself. If I’d thought there was any danger, I would have left immediately. I just . . . wanted to be where you were.”
“I . . . That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“What are you worried about?”
“What did Isay?”
She smiled. “You miss your mother. When it rains, the sound makes you restless. You used to talk about home a lot, but it’s less often now. Once you said, ‘It’s toogreen.’” She laughed softly, hoping not to offend me again.
“Anything else?” I demanded.
She knew what I was getting at. “You did say my name,” she admitted.
I sighed in defeat. “A lot?”
“Define ‘a lot.’”
“Oh no,” I groaned.
Like it was easy, natural, she put her arms around my shoulders and leaned her head against my chest. Automatically, my arms came up to wrap around her. To hold her there.
“Don’t be self-conscious,” she whispered. “You already told me that you dream about me, remember?”
“That’s different. I knew what I was saying.”
“If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I’m not ashamed of it.”
I stroked her hair. I guessed I really didn’t mind, when it came down to it. It wasn’t like I expected her to follow normal human rules anyway. The rules she’d made for herself seemed like enough.
“I’m not ashamed,” I whispered.
She hummed, almost like a purr, her cheek pressed over my heart.
Then we both heard the sound of tires on the brick driveway, saw the headlights flash through the front windows, down the hall to us. I jumped, and dropped my arms as she pulled away.
“Do you want your father to know that I’m here?” she asked.
I tried to think it through quickly. “Um . . .”
“Another time, then . . .”
And I was alone.
“Edythe?” I whispered.
I heard a quiet laugh, and then nothing else.
My father’s key turned in the door.
“Beau?” he called. I remembered finding that funny before; who else would it be? Suddenly he didn’t seem so far off base.
“In here.”
Was my voice too agitated? I took another bite of my lasagna so I could be chewing when he came in. His footsteps sounded extra noisy after I’d spent the day with Edythe.
“Did you take all the lasagna?” he asked, looking at my plate.
“Oh, sorry. Here, have some.”
