All the Little Lights(22)

“So?” I spat.

“Elliott?” Mom was standing at the curb, holding her hands to her cheeks to form a makeshift megaphone. “Elliott!”

I glanced back at the house and then jogged over to the black iron fence. Even as the sun sank low in the sky, sweat dripped from my hairline, the air almost too thick to breathe.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, grabbing the sharp tops of the Calhouns’ black iron fence.

Mom’s eyes scanned the police and paramedics, and then she looked up at the house, clearly unsettled by the sight of it. “What’s going on?”

“Catherine’s dad, I think. They won’t let me go in.”

“We should go. C’mon.”

I frowned and shook my head. “I can’t leave. Something bad has happened. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

“Who?”

“Catherine,” I said, impatient. I turned to walk back to where I stood before, but Mom grabbed my sleeve.

“Elliott, come with me. Now.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re leaving.”

“What?” I asked, panicked. “But I’m not supposed to go until tomorrow.”

“Plans change!”

I yanked my arm away. “I’m not leaving! I can’t leave her now! Look what’s happening!” I used both hands to point at the ambulance.

Mom squared her body, ready to pounce. “Don’t you dare pull away from me. You’re not that big yet, Elliott Youngblood.”

I recoiled. She was right. There were few scarier things than my mom when she felt disrespected. “I’m sorry. I have to stay, Mom. It’s the right thing to do.”

She lifted her hands and let them fall to her thighs. “You barely know this girl.”

“She’s my friend, and I’m going to make sure she’s all right. What’s the big deal?”

Mom frowned. “This town is toxic, Elliott. You can’t stay. I warned you about making friends, especially with girls. I didn’t realize you’d walk face-first into Catherine Calhoun.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I called Leigh today to coordinate your pickup. She told me about the Calhoun girl. She told me how much time you were spending with her. You’re not staying here, Elliott. Not for her, not for your aunt Leigh, not for anyone.”

“I want to stay, Mom. I want to go to school here. I’ve made friends and—”

“I knew it!” She pointed down the street. “That is not your home, Elliott.” She was breathing hard, and I could tell she was getting ready to offer me an ultimatum, the way she always did with Dad. “If you want to come back before you’re eighteen, you’ll march your butt to your aunt and uncle’s and get to packing.”

My shoulders sagged. “If I leave her now, she won’t want me to come back,” I said, pleading in my voice.

Mom narrowed her eyes. “I knew it. That girl is more than a friend to you, isn’t she? That’s the last thing you need, to get that girl pregnant! They’ll never leave this hellhole. You’ll be stuck here forever with that little slut!”

The muscles in my jaw ticked. “She’s not like that!”

“Damn it, Elliott!” She raked her hair back with her fingers, keeping her hands on top of her head. She paced a few times and then faced me. “I know you don’t understand it now, but you’ll thank me later for keeping you away from this place.”

“I like it here!”

She pointed down the street again. “Go. Now. Or I’ll never bring you to visit again.”

“Mom, please!” I said, gesturing to the house.

“Go!” she yelled.

I sighed, peering over at the officer, who was already amused at my exchange with Mom. “Will you please tell her? Tell Catherine I had to go. Tell her I’ll come back.”

“I’ll drag you to the car, I swear to God,” Mom said through her teeth.

The officer raised an eyebrow. “You better go, kid. She means it.”

I pushed through the gate and passed my mom, trudging to Uncle John and Aunt Leigh’s. Mom struggled to keep up, her nagging lost against the flurry of thoughts in my head. I’d have Aunt Leigh take me to the hospital to meet Catherine there. Aunt Leigh could help me explain why I’d left. I felt sick. Catherine would be so hurt when she came outside and I wasn’t there.

“What happened?” Aunt Leigh said from the porch. I climbed the steps and passed her, yanking open the door and letting it slam behind me. “What did you do?”

“Me?” Mom asked, instantly on the defensive. “I’m not the one letting him run around with the Calhouns’ daughter unsupervised!”

“Kay, they’re just kids. Elliott’s a good kid, he wouldn’t—”

“Don’t you remember what boys were like at that age?” Mom yelled. “You know I don’t want him staying here, and you’re looking the other way while he’s out there doing God knows what with her! She probably wants him to stay, too. What do you think she’d do to keep him here? Remember Amber Philips?”

“Yes,” Aunt Leigh said quietly. “Her and Paul live down the street.”