Where Silence Gathers (Some Quiet Place #2)(18)

Hesitating, I dare to take two steps closer. Is he going to mention the application I lied about? “Some freak broke it. He came so close I was lucky the mirror was all he hit.”

“What?” Saul’s head jerks up. An Emotion appears. “You don’t know who it was?”

I take a banana out of the fruit bowl and shrug, leaning against the counter while I unpeel it. “Must’ve been someone passing through.” A glance at the clock on the wall tells me there’s no possible way I’ll make it to my first class. I take a bite and a bad taste greets my tongue; I didn’t see the bruise. Making a face, I toss the banana into the trash.

“No one passes through Franklin.” Saul turns his attention back to the paper and shovels more cereal in his mouth. “I’ll talk to Frederick about it. And you should pay a visit to Erskine about the mirror. He always gives us a good deal. Shouldn’t you get going?”

Crunch. Tick. Crunch. Tick. I watch my uncle and—though there aren’t any Emotions around him now—know that he’s disappointed. And hurt. And angry. That clock won’t stand still long enough for me to attempt to bridge the distance between us, and I’m already late. I move to the doorway again. Just as I reach the threshold, I pause and think about saying something meaningful. But, like with Missy, all I have are lies. So I slip away without saying anything and Saul doesn’t try to stop me.

I wish he would.

Angus watches me leave again. He doesn’t wave or smile while I drive off into the fog. Saul must have fixed my car window, because it’s finally shut.

I’m halfway to school when the urge to run consumes me again. Briana will be there, probably wondering about the flash drive I haven’t been able to unlock and looking at me with those troubled eyes. The teachers will drone about times and things and places I don’t care about. And Emotions will be there. So many Emotions. Disorienting and constant, relentless and meddlesome.

I think of Missy’s face in the glow of the television last night, and how Saul avoided my gaze this morning. They’ve already lost hope, and Franklin High eventually stops bothering to call when a student skips too many times. That’s how things work here. Why keep fighting when I’m not sure I want to fight at all?

Of their own volition, my hands yank the steering wheel to the side and I’m turning onto Halbrook Lane. No one comes this way anymore, but the dirt remembers when men rolled over it in their trucks every morning and night. Grass doesn’t grow. Trees surround the road, green-brown blurs as the miles pass. Then the signs begin appearing. Bright, rusted warnings. DANGER. MINE SITE. NO TRESPASSING.

There it is.

The opening is black, empty, expectant. There’s more than one entrance to the mines, but this is the biggest and the safest. Someone put up a fence and another sign, both easy to ignore. I park and get out. Despite the mist, it’s warmer today. Spots of sunlight touch the ground and birds call. I stay by the car, staring at that wide mouth and remembering when Dad took me down there. The damp walls frightened me and the low ceilings were terrifying. I lasted twenty minutes before crying and begging him to take me back up to the surface, where everything was bright and safe and familiar. He did, and he never expressed any disappointment or impatience. I didn’t see the Emotions, either. In many ways, Dad really was perfect.

And then he was taken from me.

The quiet is too loud, so I tap an erratic beat on my thigh. After a few minutes, I know I can’t go in there. My movements jerky, I yank the passenger door open to grab the gun. The handle is freezing on my skin. The door slams shut again with a hard kick from my boot. I spin around, close one eye, and pull the trigger.

Bang. The thunderous echo vibrates through the woods. The bark of a tree explodes. My ears ring.

“Your aim could use a bit of work.”

I jerk at the sound of Revenge’s voice. Before I can turn, he comes up behind me and I feel the furnace of his skin as he plays with my hair. My limbs lock into place.

“Relax your grip,” he whispers. He’s careful, so careful not to touch me. But he could. He’s just a inch away, so close. He could. I could.

Once again Lust sidles up next to me, a creature with full lips and yellow hair. She’s not the one I want, but her touch has all the same effects Revenge’s would. She taunts me with that vicious mouth, brushing them over my cheek, my jawline, my ear. “My, my, Revenge,” she purrs. “This one really wants—”

“You’ve done your job. Now get lost,” I hiss, breaking my own rules by acknowledging her. She smirks at me before leaving.

In the silence that follows, a blush ebbs through my face; there’s no way Revenge didn’t see her. Hear her. I close my eyes and breathe. Parts of me still quiver and tingle. Talk about something, instinct urges. Anything.

“Revenge … ” I make myself face him as if nothing has changed. His expression gives nothing away. I clear my throat, silently telling my pulse to calm. “I’ve been … I think I’m going crazy. I just thought I should warn you. In case I start going rabid or something.” How does the gun feel so hot now, when moments ago it was so cold?

Revenge’s eyes soften in a way that makes the breath catch in my throat again. “You’re not going crazy, Alex.” His voice is strangely tender.

“How do you know?” I manage to ask.

He shrugs, as if it’s so obvious. “Because I know you.”