“Oh,” I said. “I had music on. I fell asleep for a while.”
Her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Her cracked lips pursed. “Do you think I’m stupid? Why are you lying?”
I blinked at her. “I was just upstairs and came down.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. She marched over to the hall closet and pulled out a wooden bar stool. She pulled it to the middle of the kitchen and pointed to it. “Sit,” she commanded.
I swallowed. I hated the stool. I was sore already from the hours of working, too. I said nothing, moving across the floor to perch on the stool. The flat part bit into my butt as it was hard and uncomfortable. I put my feet on the cross slats between the legs.
“Stay right here,” she said.
“It’s late. I’ve got school,” I said.
She ignored me and went back to her bedroom.
I sighed. It hurt but it wasn’t kneeling in rice.
A footstep sounded behind me and I twisted in my seat. Luke stood in the living room archway. His head tilted, puzzled.
I gasped and covered my mouth with my fist. I silently yelled at him with a glare. Get out! Are you crazy? What are you doing here?
He put a fingertip to his lips, motioning to me to keep quiet.
Well no duh. I couldn’t whisper. I couldn’t think of how to tell him to get out of here. I tried spelling it with sign language, “Go! You’ll get caught.” He was a smart Academy student, he’d figure it out.
His eyebrows raised and he grinned. He flashed some sign language but I didn’t know any words.
I shook my head, spelling to him. “I only know the alphabet.”
He spelled out, “Where did you learn?”
This wasn’t the time to talk about it! I spelled, “You can’t stay. She might come back.”
He smirked at me, a blond lock falling away from his ear and hanging in his eyes. He stepped further into the kitchen. He was barefoot. He did a circle around me, tiptoeing and testing the floor for creaks. He started down the hallway toward my mom’s bedroom and the staircase. I gulped, pushing my palms to my cheeks. He couldn’t be serious thinking he was going to poke around. I swallowed, my heart thundering in my throat, listening for what I was sure was the inevitable discovery and the chaos that would happen when it did.
Luke returned via the living room again after making a full circle. He took a quick peek in at the family room. I waited for my father to see him but Luke pulled back. He seemed at ease with sneaking around. He tiptoed back into the kitchen and held out the pink cell phone to me. I blinked at him, confused and checked the phone for messages.
Luke: “How long do you have to sit there for?”
I sighed, pursing my lips and typing in a message for him.
Sang: “Until she lets me go.”
He jumped up until he was sitting on top of the counter near the sink. He held his cell phone in his hands and typed in a message.
Luke: “Why not get up now? She’s not paying attention.”
Sang: “She could come back. If I’m not here, it’ll be worse.”
Luke: “Will she make you drink vinegar again?”
Sang: “Maybe. I don’t know.”
He frowned. He typed something else into his phone and put it aside.
I twisted my lips, confused, frustrated, scared to death. Since my phone didn’t rattle, the message wasn’t for me. I typed into the phone.
Sang: “Why aren’t you leaving?”
He checked the phone, smirked but put it down, not answering me.
I spelled with my fingers, “Stop sitting there. North is waiting for you.”
Luke smirked at me, signing, “Not anymore.”
No matter what I said, Luke refused to leave. He would sign or text me to say something or ask a question. He pawed through the cabinets for food. He brought me water and crackers and found an apple to eat for himself. On occasion, he’d slink away, as silent as a whisper, and trek into other parts of the house.
He was there for at least two hours. No matter how many times I begged, he refused to leave me behind.
Luke: “You’re one of us.”
He repeated it often. It became too frustrating to try to convince him to leave.
I got texts from some of the others, too.
North: “I found your shirt. You left it in the kitchen.”
Sang: “Hang on to it for me?”
North: “Will do.”
Nathan: “I’m bored and my body hurts and I can’t move and this sucks and my back hurts and I’m hungry.”
Sang: “Get better. We’ll hang out then.”
Nathan: “I want taco soup. Come rub some of this lotion on my back again. I can’t reach.”
Sang: “Are you coming to school tomorrow?”
Nathan: “No promises.”
Gabriel: “You weren’t supposed to leave your house. I’ve been texting you all afternoon. I thought you were in trouble.”
Sang: “I was with North
and the others. I’m sorry I forgot my phone.”
Gabriel: “How’s your face?”
Sang: “Fine. How’s your nose? Are you hurting?”
Gabriel: “I’m fucking peachy. Next time listen to me, will you?”
Sang: “Sorry.”
Gabriel: “Stop apologizing. It makes it harder to be mad at you.”
Sang: “I don’t like it when you’re mad at me. So I’m sorry.”
Gabriel: “You’re still grounded.”
Sang: “Thanks again for the violin. It’s beautiful.”
Victor: “Get good at it and we’ll play together sometime.”
Sang: “I still haven’t heard you play.”
Victor: “Soon.”
After a few hours, I was rocking on the stool, sore, uncomfortable and embarrassed. I wanted to get my mother’s attention and get this over with.
Steps echoed in the house. Someone was coming. My eyes shot to Luke, he nodded, slipped into the living room and disappeared.
My father came into the kitchen. His eyelids drooped. He’d finished up work and was heading to bed. When he spotted me on the stool, his head tilted at me in confusion. Did he get a haircut? I couldn’t tell. There were more gray hairs at his temples, though. And what did I know? I never saw him.
“What happened?” he asked me.
“I came down when she called me,” I said flatly. He’d been here the whole time and he now just noticed?
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that it?”
“She thought I was lying to her when I said I came from my bedroom.”
He shrugged. “Alright. Go to bed.”
I jumped from the stool, taking the side hallway to avoid walking near him. I was too angry and didn’t want to be anywhere near my parents. I was aching and exhausted. It was tempting to feign sick the next day and stay home. Maybe I’d sneak over to Nathan’s house and spend the whole day with him.