Page 96 of Ominous: Part 1
He looks alarmed as his gaze comes to me, his brows knitted together.“What?”
I smile, knowing Ms. Corbin kept her word, not alerting Dad after I told her I’d rather break the news to him myself. She doesn’t think I had anything to do with Winslet’s disappearance, of course. Might have something to do with the fact I fucked her a few times since my sophomore year in the financial aid office, but if she used her brain, she might realize that makes memorelikely to be a criminal.
I rub my thumb over my phone screen as I feel it vibrate, but I don’t look away from Dad as I slide my feet up on the lower rung of my stool, smiling at him.
“Yeah. Yesterday. They wanted to ask me a few more questions. I think I know why Dominic has been skipping.” My stomach flips even as I keep my voice calm. “They didn’t tell me, but I think they found something—”
“Yeah,” Dad cuts me off, voice low. “There’s talk this is shifting from a missing persons investigation to homicide.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “Who questioned you?” He demands it, like he’ll burn down the entire police precinct if he just gets a name. He steps toward me, thrusting his arm my way. “Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday—”
“You weren’t home,” I remind him, my tone icy.
He drops his hand, shaking his head.“Who questioned you?”he asks again. “Did you get their badge numbers? What did they ask? Where did they eveninterrogateyou at Trafalgar?” A vein throbs in his temple, and I know he’s about two seconds away from calling the headmaster of Trafalgar and waking his ass up.
I don’t want that. It’s what an innocent person would do, sure, be pissed off, but I dealt with the cops. I have nothing to hide.
“They didn’t interrogate me,” I explain, holding his gaze, my fingers still wrapped tight around my phone. “They just asked me a few questions about where I was and what I did that night, again.” I shrug one shoulder. “Trust me. My story was consistent.”
Dad stares at me a long moment, then he says, “Eli, they had no right to drag you out of class—”
“Oh, don’t worry. They waited until I was between classes, Dad.” I smile at him and his jaw jumps.
“Next time something like that happens, you call me,immediately,okay?” He sounds so sincere, for just a second, I want to take it. The olive branch. I want to stop hating him, which is something I do so easily.
I know he feels the same about me, doesn’t he?
He’s the reason Mom left. But so am I.
If he could just get rid of me, I think he’d start a new family. Arealfamily. But I’m still fucking here, so he’s still left with a haunting reminder of all the ways he went wrong with Mom.
And I’m stuck knowing I couldn’t be normal enough for either of them.
“Sure thing, Dad.” I slide off the barstool, glancing at the letter he dropped my way. “You still think I should open that?” I ask him, speaking past the lump in my throat.
He has his hands on his hips, but with my question, he drops them, and his gaze. “No,” he finally answers me, his voice hoarse. “Leave it. Have a good night, okay, son?”
I bristle with his words, but I nod all the same, glad this conversation is over, but I’m sure he’ll have more questions in the morning. He knows, though, how I can’t sleep well. I think he’s scared of me when I’m sleep deprived, more than he is when I’m rested.
Sometimes, exhausted with delirium, I even scare myself.
“Yeah. You, too.” Then I head up the stairs, reading Eden’s text as I do.
Her: What if I told you I’m on my period so I can’t swim?
I snort at that, shaking my head as I pad down the hallway, toward my room, shutting my door behind me. But just before it catches, I hear a crash downstairs, like shattered glass.
I know enough about breaking things to understand it’s nothing serious.
Just pain.
20
Eden
Apprehension movesthrough me as I head out the glass door to Eli’s pool. The stones are hot beneath my bare feet, the sun bright overhead even through Mom’s cheap plastic sunglasses, and I feel as if I’m immediately drenched in sweat.
Worse than that, with the glaring sun, I know my every flaw is visible to a boy who has none.
I’ve spent the week getting up early to do the silly workout DVDs, and I’ve tried to affect confidence in myself all week. Heavy eyeshadow, lots of eyeliner, matching underwear and bra, I’ve held onto the occult and New Age principles of using your mind to conquer your body.
