Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Kyle lifts his eyebrows. “Cade? Cade took the phone?”
“With the video, yeah. Hey, don’t worry,” Jeremy quickly adds, noticing the change in Kyle’s face. “I don’t think she’ll see it. She just took it away to punish her or something. I heard it from my dad. Haven’t been able to talk to Layna since.”
Kyle closes his eyes, at his limit.
What has he done?
“I’m sorry. I know it’s all fucked up. But I think you’re safe. Maybe in another day, her mom will give her phone back. She never stays mad at Layna for too long, she’s a softie.”
“Okay,” says Kyle, out of breath. “Alright.”
“Anyway, that’s the main issue. But … uh, hey …” Jeremy speaks calmly now. “Can I ask you a question? It’s something else that’s been bothering me a bit.”
Kyle has nothing left in him. He’s floating. “Sure, kid,” he mumbles. “Ask away.”
“Um …” Jeremy’s voice comes closer. “Why’d you tell the guy your name was Kyle?”
Kyle lets out a sigh. “Just a name I made up,” he decides to say, feeling flippant. “It didn’t matter what name I gave him. I was just trying to calm him down.”
“You mean before you bit his ear off?”
Kyle looks at Jeremy.
Jeremy lifts his hands at once. “Sorry, sorry, I’m not trying to be weird. But, hey, whatever you are, we won’t tell anyone, you can trust me and Layna. We think you’re awesome. We know you’re one of the good guys.”
Kyle’s face wrinkles up. “Good guys?”
“You’d never harm anyone in this town. My dad knows it, too, he saw everything, he saw you go crazy. My dad knows you were doing it to protect us, to protect me … the town.” Jeremy smiles so big, he can’t wipe it away. “I feel so lucky to have you here, looking after all of us. Weird stuff happens out here in Nowhere. Now, we don’t have to be afraid of it.”
Kyle feels a vacuum in his chest.
A complete and utter lack of self.
Whatever he thought he was building, this safe zone, this place to be invisible, this place to fade in, a paradise of oblivion, it’s fallen apart overnight. Jeremy is saying things. The chief of police is drawing conclusions no normal person would draw.
And Kyle is on video now. In a video that is now in Cade’s possession. Kyle, in his most vile state, his most private nature, contained to an amount of bytes of data on a teenager’s phone.
“Jer …” Kyle tries to take hold of the situation. “Whatever you think … Whatever you think is going on … I promise you, it’s … it’s not what it looks like, okay? I just went a little crazy. I think you’re right, I think the gun misfired, nothing happened. I’m just Henry, a bartender. I’m no one special.”
Jeremy smiles. “You’re a bad liar.”
Kyle cringes in frustration. “Jer …”
Then Jeremy gasps. “Oh, I nearly forgot.” He produces a tiny item from his back pocket—a handcuff key. “I came in here to uncuff you. Snatched it off my dad’s belt. I know, I know, I’ll get in trouble, but hey, I’m the victim, and you’re the hero, and why are you being treated like this?”
With a few clicks, the cuffs come undone. Kyle brings his sore wrist to his chest, massaging it. “Uh … thanks.”
“You probably want to get home to rest. My dad won’t see you if he’s still on the phone, so we gotta go now.”
It’s a quick endeavor to get out of the room. As predicted, the chief is still chatting away heatedly on the phone, so the two of them are able to sneak past to the front lobby. When they spill out from the doors of the clinic, the sky is already far too bright for comfort, the morning sun somewhere behind them, the shadow of the front of the clinic falling forward, Kyle’s only mercy.
But it’s not the presence of the morning sun that brings him to an abrupt stop.
Leaning against the wall nearby is Elias. Hanging from one fist, a hooded jacket, and in the other, a closed umbrella.
He spots Kyle, comes alive, pushes away from the wall with a start. “Hey!” Elias greets him at once. “I’ve been—” His eyes fall upon Jeremy. He draws quiet. “Uh, hey there.”
Jeremy looks at him, then slides his hands into his pockets. “Hi,” he greets him, reserved suddenly. Then he turns to Kyle. “This a friend of yours?”
Kyle isn’t sure what to say, staring at Elias, both relieved and filled with a hundred questions at the sight of him. “Yes,” he finally settles on. “A friend.”
“Just here to pick him up,” says Elias. “Uh, and take him … back to his house.” He seems unsure what to do with the jacket or umbrella suddenly.
Jeremy’s eyes grow double when he spots them. “Wait a sec. Are those for Henry? To protect him from the sun?” He gasps and looks at Kyle. He is too quick for comfort. “You … You really are a—!”