Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
CHAPTER NINETEEN
FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS, “SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY”
Gabby
My parents picked me up at the airport and played twenty questions about school on the way back to Devil’s Head.
Yes, I was passing my classes.
Yes, I liked my roommate.
Yes, I was making friends.
Yes, I was going to church every (most) Sundays.
Yes, I’d seen Matt on multiple occasions.
No, I wasn’t drinking.
No, I wasn’t doing drugs.
No, I wasn’t tempted to have sex.
That last one was more complicated, but accurate enough.
“I want to see Ben,” I said, staring out the window as we passed fields of browns and gold.
“Your sisters want to see you,” Mom said.
“They can see me after I see Ben.”
“I have some things to do this afternoon, Gabby. As much as I’d like to visit with Ben and his family, I need to get home.” Dad gave me a quick glance in the rearview mirror.
I shrugged. “Just drop me off. I’ll call when I need a ride home. Sarah or Eve will come get me.”
My parents exchanged a look.
“What?” I asked.
Mom cleared her throat. “Ben’s still having a rough time.”
“He’s still sick?”
“No. He’s having a rough time dealing with his hearing loss.”
“So.” I shrugged. “I’ll talk with him.”
“That’s just it. I talked with Carmen yesterday morning, and she said he’s not up for company.”
“Well, they don’t usually have family in town for Thanksgiving anyway.”
Again, my parents exchanged a look.
“Jeez, what? Just tell me.”
“Ben doesn’t want any visitors, including you. I’m sorry, honey. Carmen said you shouldn’t take it personally.”
Visitors? I wasn’t a visitor. I was his best friend. And there was no way I would not take it personally. There was also no way I wasn’t going to see him. “I will not let him sit in his room and rot. Just like I didn’t let those stray animals die when Dad used to tell me to let them perish the way nature intended. So take me to his house.”
Again, Dad looked in the rearview mirror.
I returned a toothy grin. “Please.”
“You’re acting like your sisters now. I knew public college was a bad idea,” he said.
“I’m acting like an adult caring about people. How is that acting like my sisters? And I said please. Did they say please?”
“Fine, we’ll stop by his house. But your mom and I will wait in the car while you run up to the door, and when Ben’s parents politely tell you Ben doesn’t want to see you or anyone else right now, you can turn around and get back in the car,” Dad said.
“We won’t even say ‘I told you so.’” My mom shot me a grin that was just as toothy and sarcastic as the one I gave my dad.
“Fine. But when I disappear into the house, go home. I’ll be a while because I’m not taking no for an answer.”
As we pulled down Ben’s gravel drive, I unbuckled and hopped out the second the car came to a stop. Carmen opened the door after I rang the doorbell twice.
“Gabriella.” She gave me a smile, but it was more reserved than the one I was used to getting from her.
“Hi.” I stepped inside before she could say anything. “Is Ben upstairs?” I headed for the stairs.
“Gabby?”
I stopped halfway up and took a deep breath while glancing back at her. “Yeah?” I smiled.
“I’m sorry. He’s not in the mood for visitors.”
“Well, I’m here. So maybe I can put him in a better mood.”
“Gabby,” she shook her head. “His door is locked. He won’t hear you knock, and even if he could, he wouldn’t open it. I’m sorry, sweetie.”
My smile faded, but I continued up the stairs. His bedroom was the first on the right. I knocked several times.
No answer.
“Ben,” I said as if he could hear me. I tried the handle. Yup, it was locked. I pounded my fist against the door again.
The door behind me opened, and his sister Tillie stepped into the hallway.
“Hi,” I said with a pained smile.
“Hey, Gabby.” She held up a straightened paperclip. “He’s being an asshole. Excuse my language.” She shrugged. “You just have to go inside. My dad drags him out twice a week and makes him shower, but he won’t let anyone mess with his face, so he looks like Teen Wolf. And he’ll probably yell at you.”
I nodded slowly, taking the paperclip from her. The last time I saw him, he was sad, but he hugged me. He even tried to kiss me. And he braided my hair. What changed?
After unlocking the door, I slowly opened it and poked my head inside. He looked up from the floor where he sat in the middle of a pile of Legos.
No smile.
No words.
Just a brief glance before adding a new Lego to whatever he was building. Tillie was right; he had a beard that was longer than I had ever seen it. Ben looked thirty, not nineteen.