Page 152 of Wild Embers
Furrowing my brows, I nod. “You all were yelling with Daddy outside, then it got quiet, and you came into my room.”
Walker tilts his head. “Do you remember us coming in your room before the yelling?”
Focusing on a spec of dirt on top of the snow at Walker’s feet, I search for the recollection. “There are some holes in memory. I’ve always chalked that up to trauma.”
“That’s perfectly normal,” Levi assures me.
My eyes remain on the dirt as they take turns reminding me of what my brain is blocking out.
“The three of us came over to watch the big NBA game, LA Lightning versus San Francisco Knights.”
I remember Daddy loved watching the Lightning. His schedule revolved around the Lightning’s games.
“The front door was always unlocked, so we went right in.”
Yes. That changed when Mama and I moved to Riverbend Trailer Park.
“We knew Loretta had already left for her shift.”
That adds up.
“We went down the hall looking for Landon when we didn’t find him in the living room with the pregame show on.”
Make sense.
“He wasn’t in his bedroom.”
Because he was in mine.
“We heard a noise and opened your door.”
My body goes rigid, and my pulse quickens in my throat. I can see the glow-in-the-dark stars on my bedroom ceiling. They’re so clear, so bright.
“Shit!”Daddy curses as I feel him jump to his feet, rattling my bed.
He’s not supposed to do that. Mama always tells him he can’t swear in front of me.
I’m lying on my bed, flat on my back exactly how he tells me to. When he comes in here, I look up at the stars Mama put on my ceiling and find shapes like I’m making my own constellations. I even started giving them names.
Elanor the elephant.
Millie the monkey.
Hailey the hippo.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Daddy curses again as his belt buckle clinks.
I recognize the sound.
“Lan?” I hear someone ask as my doorknob turns.
Who is that?
I turn my head toward the door and find Daddy’s friends there. Levi, Santiago, and Walker.
Mama says I’ve known them since I was a baby. They’re really nice. But why are they in my room?
One of them flips the light switch, and I squint from the brightness.
