CHAPTER 16
BELLE
Fourteen Years Old.
“Scumbag,” Dad spits on the floor.
Oh boy. Mom’s gonna smack him in the head for that.
He’s lying on his incliner, catatonic, in front of the TV after a long workday.
Mom is somewhere in the house, having a breakdown. Not a huge one, just a mini meltdown. She’s been a mess for … how long now? Since Auntie Tilda died, over a year ago. Auntie Tilda raised her. They had a ten-year gap between them. Auntie helped raise us too, so of course I’m bummed. But Mom … sometimes it’s like she’s on another planet.
“Daddy, language.” Persephone gasps from her spot on the carpet, working on her two-thousand-piece puzzle, her tight braid swung over one of her shoulders. She looks so wholesome. I wish I could be her.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I get riled up when I see stuff like this.”
I look up from my homework, which I’m doing on the sofa. It’s the local news channel, and they’re talking about a geography teacher who was caught having an affair with a junior at the local high school he worked for. They show his mugshot. He can’t be under fifty-five.
“People like him should rot in hell.” Dad stands up, starts stomping around the living room.
I tell myself that it’s no big deal.
That it has nothing to do with me and Coach Locken.
Besides, what the hell am I even thinking? Coach and I haven’t kissed, hugged, or touched in any way that’s inappropriate. He helps me with my bad knee and short thigh muscles. It’s not his fault that I’m broken.
And let’s get real here, it’s not like Dad’s mood is all because of this news article. He’s been worried sick about Mom, trying to convince her to go to therapy. But Mom says everyone is fed, clean, and that the house is in top condition. Which is all true. She’s a great mom, even when she is sad.
“I hope you girls know you should tell Daddy if something like that ever happens.” Dad points at the TV.
“Yes, Daddy,” Persy and I say in unison.
Later that evening, I get a text message from Coach Locken. It’s not out of the ordinary to get texts from him. Sometimes practice needs to be rescheduled or moved around because of the weather.
Only for the first time, the text is not dropped in the cross-country group with all the other runners. It is sent directly to me.
Coach Locken: morning practice time change. Meet at the entrance to Castle Rock Reservation at seven. Don’t be late.