On my left, Angie stretched on my couch, sporting double buns that stood up from her head at a weird angle, while I sorted through my mail. I was suddenly reminded of Killian when the times square new years recap played on TV. Not much had changed since we returned from vacation two weeks ago, except that we would text occasionally. Okay, maybe he would text a bit more often. Friends texted, right?
I had been itching to ask about his conversation with Alicia, but he hadn't said anything else about it. Then again, it was none of my business.
"You haven't told me about your school day yet," I said as I opened the next envelope. Electricity bills. Yay.
Frowning, I turned my head when there was no reply. For some reason, the little chatterbox had been strangely quiet today.
Angie kept staring at the TV, seemingly immensely absorbed by—I glanced at the screen—pure whitening toothpaste. Something was up.
I put the bill onto the correct stack and reached for the remote.
"Hey, I was watching that," Angie complained when I turned the TV off.
"And I was talking to you," I countered.
She shrugged theatrically. "There's nothing to tell. Can we continue watching now?"
"The advertisement?"
"The next episode," she whined, not meeting my gaze. "It's gonna start soon. We are going to miss it if you don't turn it back on."
Angie never whined about anything.
"You already know the next episode," I pointed out, watching her a little more closely. Her shoulders were slightly slumped and she turned her head away, still staring at her feet.
I made a show of studying the next envelope as I asked nonchalantly, "Did somebody bully you? Do I need to beat them up?" No name or sender. At least not another bill.
Her eyes seemed to roll into the back of her head. "No. Can you even fight?"
I held up my arm proudly and flexed. "Of course, I can. I'm strong."
"But you never work out," she pointed out dryly.
Damn. She knew me too well.
"That's not true," I lied and opened the nameless mail. A single sheet piece of paper fell out.
Angie's loud scoff made me lift my head. For a ten-year-old, her exasperated expression was pretty impressive.
"Anymore," I relented. "Suzy dragged me to the gym, remember?"
"You went like how many times?"
I really had to work on my poker face. Apparently, I couldn't even bullshit a kid. "Once. But I went for a run the other day."
She heaved out a long sigh.
I nudged her with my foot. "So, spill. Or should I come over there and make you?" I raised my hand and wiggled my fingers at her.
"Fine." Another sigh.
The clock ticked and time seemed to stretch endlessly as I waited for her to continue. Then I waited some more. "Angie. Today?"
Her tiny shoulders slumped as an incoherent string of words tumbled out of her mouth. The only things I could make out were "homework" and... "father"?
"Excuse me, what?"
She blinked and stared at her yellow duck socks. "Our homework. Everyone presented what their dad did and I didn't prepare anything. I don't have a father."
A tight fist wrapped around my heart and squeezed. "Did you ever talk to your mom about your dad?" I asked carefully.
She hesitated. "No. She... doesn't talk about him. Ever."
I always had the feeling that there was a reason Sofia never talked about Angie's dad. The topic had only come up once after I moved in. She'd let slip that Angie's dad wasn't in the picture. I could still clearly picture the way her back went rigid and how she turned away, hiding her expression. "Why didn't you pick your mom instead?"
She continued to stare at her feet. "Lisa said that's cheating."
"And since when do we listen to other people's opinions?" Yeah, I was one to talk. Not that she knew that.
Again, she mumbled something incoherent under her breath.
I kept my tone calm and steady as I asked, "Are you sad you don't know him?"
Her voice was quiet. "Not really..."
"Then?"
"The others said it's weird."
I snorted. "But the others don't know your mom. Or your situation. And you don't know theirs. So it's wrong to judge others like that. Especially about their circumstances."
"So... I'm not in the wrong."
"Of course not. Besides, you have other things they don't have right? Would you judge them for it? Because you got better things?"
She tilted her head. "Better things? Like what?"
"Oh come on. You can think of at least two."
"Huh?"
"I'm gonna feel really hurt if this is going to continue..."
"Oh!" She whipped around. "You?"
I knocked her forehead gently, pulling a face. "Of course me. Who else in your class has such an amazing, great, and pretty neighbor like me?"
She finally laughed. "Since when do you talk about yourself like that?"
Since I'd started spending too much time with a certain hazel-eyed pain in my ass. "I wonder? Why? Do you disagree?"
I wiggled my fingers close to her armpits and she shrieked and broke into another fit of giggles. "No, no. You are great."
"See. If they knew, all your classmates would secretly be jealous. And then look at your mom. Who else has a loving mom like you? Maybe their parents are home but they don't care. Maybe they do. You don't know, right? But still, your mom's the best, don't you think?"
"Yes! The best mom in the whole world." She giggled again.
"So, is there anything to be embarrassed about? That you don't have a dad?"
"No," she stated and lifted her head.
I started opening the letter still clutched in my hand. "And I think when your mom is ready. She will tell you about him."
"Okay," she replied and swung her legs. "Can we continue watching now?"
I quickly checked her posture and let out a breath. "Fine." She seemed to have reverted to her usual self at least. Finally, I straightened the letter and froze.
Dark red blotches stained the white paper. The words were scrawled in jagged, erratic handwriting, each letter barely distinguishable from the next one, but I still managed to read the message.
"Time's up. Run or I'll come for you."
Sofia came home around seven like usual. Angie and I got up and spread our homework over the dining table. I had thrown the letter into the trash before Angie could notice. What a stupid prank.
"Tay, dear, this is for you." Sofia handed me a white envelope before she spread out the groceries, and started cutting up onions.
I quickly escaped the kitchen as my eyes began to sting. Onions always made me cry. I turned over the letter, checking the front and backside. No name, no sender. It was completely blank.
"What's this?" I called out.
Her reply was muffled by the constant chopping noise. "No idea. It was lying on your doormat."
Huh.
I slipped my finger under the top of the envelope, ripped it open, and peeked inside. A card was stashed next to a folded letter. Was that... a student ID?
The familiar green and white PSU writing greeted me as I pulled it out. But it wasn't just any student ID. It was my student ID. My missing student ID to be exact. I turned it over, the small card nearly slipping through my shaking fingers.
My own face was staring back at me, but it was...distorted. Deep scratches ran across the small picture as if someone had used a sharp object and etched away at the image until it was barely recognizable. My heart pounded unsteadily as I unfolded the note. A sharp, acrid scent hit my nose. Only a single sentence was written, but in the same dark red color and jagged handwriting as the other letter. "Run away or your face will look like this soon."
A chill ran down my spine as my eyes kept tracing the letters. This had to be some sort of twisted prank. I gripped the paper more tightly, wrinkling the edges. Who the hell would do this?
A quiet clatter startled me and I spun around at the sudden noise. Angie reached down to pick up her pen.
"So," Sofia called from the kitchen and I jumped. "What did it say?"
Somehow, I kept the tremor out of my voice. "Someone must have found my student ID and dropped it off."
"Oh, that's nice of them."
Yeah. Right. I quickly walked into my room and hid everything inside my bedside table. I would deal with this later.
"Did you hear the news?" Sofia asked when I returned to set the table. Her forehead was wrinkled as she decapitated a bell pepper with more force than necessary.
"I haven't really been following them, why?"
"They still haven't caught that crazy guy."
"Who?"
She regarded me. "Someone escaped from the asylum around Halloween, remember? It was all over the news two months ago. And they still haven't caught him."
She...she heard about that? Wait, she wasn't talking about the abandoned one. "Oh, yeah. I remember."
"I just don't get what the police is doing." She sounded angry now. "How can they let such a dangerous person walk around?"
I touched her shoulder. "They'll probably catch him soon."
"They better. I'm not going to let Angie play outside alone until this is done. And you shouldn't be out on your own either."
I nodded but my thoughts were elsewhere. How should I bring up Angie's dad?
I didn't get a chance to talk to Sofia alone until after dinner. After getting Angie ready for bed, I wanted to check if she showed any indication that she was still hung up over what happened at school but found none. She'd reverted back to her usual bubbly self. Kids were really amazing sometimes.
I closed her bedroom door and found Sofia frozen in the kitchen, staring at her phone, unblinking. All the color had drained from her face.
"Sofia?" I asked tentatively.
I walked around the counter and touched her arm.
She flinched but quickly gathered herself again. "Ah, y-yes?"
"Everything alright?"
There was a pause but then she said, "Of course." She flashed me her usual smile but it seemed strained. Her eyes still held that deer-in-headlights look.
Maybe it was better to talk about Angie's dad some other time. It seemed I wasn't the only one keeping secrets tonight.