Page 46 of Riot

“Don’t remind me of him.” The bitterness in his voice was sharp enough to cut. “He sent another box this morning. Cufflinks this time. Silver. Very masculine.”

“What’d you do with them?”

“Threw them in the trash…then dug them out.”

I laughed despite the heaviness in my chest. “Of course you did.”

Finishing with my shoes, I grabbed the phone properly and headed out of my bedroom. The hallway stretched dim and quiet ahead of me. Mom’s door was closed, which meant she was either still sleeping off her double shift or already gone for another one.

Ramos’ door was also closed. No light crept from underneath either one. I wasn’t sure he was even home.

“I’m making my lunch for work,” I told Niles, heading for the kitchen. “You want to stay on the line while I assemble a sad sandwich?”

“Thrilling. What kind?”

“Turkey. Maybe cheese if we have any.”

“Living large.”

The kitchen was at the back of the house, past the living room and down a short hall. Morning light filtered through the window over the sink. Everything looked normal. The dishes from last night sat drying in the rack. Mom’s coffee mug rested next to the machine, still half full.

I pulled open the fridge and crouched to grab the lunch meat. The cold air felt good against my skin.

“So,” Niles said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, “on a scale of one to religious experience, how good was the sex?”

“We’re not discussing this.”

“That good?”

“I’m hanging up.”

“You’re blushing. I can hear it.”

Standing with the turkey in my hand, I started to respond. Then the feeling hit me.

I was being watched.

I felt the weight of eyes on the back of my neck. The hairs on my arms lifted.

“Calvin?”

Turning slowly, I scanned the kitchen. Empty. The doorway behind me was clear. The hall beyond stretched quiet and still. Nothing moved.

“Hang on.” My voice had come out lower. “Thought I heard something.”

“You okay? You sound weird.”

The feeling didn’t fade. It intensified. My grip tightened on the phone as I called out, “Ramos?”

No answer.

I stepped toward the hallway. “Mom?”

Silence.

The quiet pressed against my ears like cotton.

“Seriously, what’s wrong?” Niles’ voice had lost its teasing edge. “You’re breathing like you just ran a marathon.”