Come to Me Quietly(56)

Jared’s mom, Helene, called out even louder, “Jared! What have I told you about playing rough in the house? That’s for outside.”



But Helene was smiling when they came into the kitchen. Affectionately she ruffled Jared’s hair as he passed, and then she turned back to piling the containers of food into a basket for their picnic.

Chaos ruled the kitchen. Aly’s dad, Dave, lugged folding chairs from the backyard while their moms put everything they needed in paper sacks, yelling at the boys to get their things together. Jared and Christopher and Aug stuffed firecrackers and sparklers in their pockets.

Aly loved the buzz of excitement in the air.

The Fourth of July was one of her very favorite days.

“Jared, do you think you could help me out?” Helene asked as she maneuvered the basket from the counter and held it out for him to take.

“Sure, Mom.” He came to her side, grinned up at her as he took the handles in his hands.

“You got it?” she asked, her hands poised to help him get a better grip if needed.

“Yep.”



“Thanks, bear,” she said with a gentle smile. She turned back to take Jared’s little sister, Courtney, by the hand and grabbed a paper sack with the other.

Jared’s dad, Neil, hefted an ice chest from the floor and balanced it against his stomach. “Everyone ready? We need to get a move on if we’re going to get a good spot.”



“Ready,” everyone said in near unison.

They all filtered out the front door and piled into the old station wagon Aly’s mom drove. The kids were all cramped in the far backseat, Jared’s arm pressed up tight against Aly’s.

“You excited?” he asked as he looked down at her.

She bounced a little, unable to contain just how excited she really was. “Fireworks are my favorite.”



Jared’s smile was soft. “Mine, too, Aly Cat. They’re mine, too.”



FOURTEEN


Jared



Twilight spread its fingers across the yard. Oranges and reds and golds rose up and shot from the brink of the distant horizon, bright rays streaking through the sky to clash with the waning blue as all the light was sucked from the sky. A few of the brightest stars had begun to make their mark on the inky canopy above.

And it was hot. Really f*cking unbearably hot.

I tugged at the neck of my T-shirt, hoping to find some sort of relief. I pressed a cold beer bottle to my cheek in search of reprieve.

Voices were too loud and too carefree, the crowd laughing and chatting. A steady stream of people had slowly but surely filled Timothy’s backyard far past capacity.

I’d hidden myself in the farthest recesses of the yard, concealed my discomfort in a bottle of beer while doing my best to ignore the constant urges that poked and prodded at me, alerting me that it’d be a really good time to run. I’d developed this perfect radar, a warning system that told me when to grab my shit and get out.

It was blaring now.

With a harsh shake of my head, I rushed a hand through my hair and rubbed at the tense muscles coiled at the base of my neck. If there was any possible place on this earth where I could feel comfortable, this definitely wasn’t it. Holed up at some party with the people Aly and Christopher had come to know, with their friends. Everyone seemed to know each other and they laughed without restraint and talked as if they’d known each other for years. These were all people they’d met after I’d gone and had been erased from their lives.