Page 23 of The Burning
Austin’s comeback annoyed me. “He’s in the wrong here. I didn’t hide anything from him.”
“Everyone hides shit. He did it for your own good, like I did.”
I looked at him, a little stunned by the certainty of his words and the relaxed look on his face.
“It’s not up to either of you whether it’s for my own good or not. And not everyone lies, Austin,” I said, rubbing the goose bumps prickling my arms.
He nodded. “Yeah. They do.”
I didn’t know what to say. There was definitely something different about the way my brother had been carrying himself in the short time since he’d been hanging out with Kael. He was more grown up than before. He still had his goofy, boyish demeanor, but I had to admit Kael’s influence seemed good for him. Today, when Austin arrived at my house, his shoulders were slouched, his brows turned down, suggesting he was actually feeling bad for the way his recent choices had made me feel. He knew things between us weren’t going to be normal for a while, but he also knew I would always have his back.
“I really, really have to go. I’m so late. Don’t forget to lock my door.” I ran my hands over my uniform pocket to make sure I had my phone and my keys.
“Why are you so worried about locking your door? You live in a quiet neighborhood.” My brother stepped in front of me as I made my way to the door. “Something happen that I don’t know about?”
“No. I’m just being cautious. And Elodie is pregnant, so we have to be extra-safe.” I stepped around him and onto the porch. I didn’t have the time or energy to explain to him that I was generally paranoid and didn’t exactly know why.
Austin looked me dead in the eyes. “Feels like you’re lying.”
I sighed, moving to the bottom landing of the steps. “Nothing happened. But some creep did come into my work a few weeks ago asking about Dad, and then that nurse today seemed to know you were his son. Shouldn’t I be the one askingyouwhat the hell is going on? I just feel like everyone around me knows something that I don’t and it’s making me feel . . .” I paused. I didn’t think Austin would really understand the way my brain worked.
“Wait, what guy? Does Martin know?” Austin’s voice was loud against the stillness of the quiet street. The sun was bright orange in the sky, breaking the rain.
“It was this guy named Niel, or Nate . . . Nielson? I think? Honestly, I don’t know for sure. He looked sort of familiar, but I couldn’t place him for the life of me. What’s more I’m a woman living alone with another woman—who is pregnant. Haven’t you seen the news lately? We need to keep our door locked.”
“Nielson? Are you sure? What the fuck! What the hell was he doing at your work? Does Martin know about this?” Austin raised his voice and began pacing on the patch of grass next to the steps.
It was starting to feel like Kael was consuming my entire existence while simultaneously being absent. I refused to make this about Kael.
“He’s the guy I was fighting that night with Kael and the MPs,” Austin continued.
“It was that guy?” I tried to remember his face, but everything was a blur. “Do you know him?”
“Yeah . . . no. Not well, but . . . he definitely knows me.”
Growing concerned, I asked, “Is he actually dangerous or is he just some dick who likes to start fights? What does he want with you? What did he want with me?”
“He’s Katie’s ex. She broke up with Nielson and he blames me.”
It took me a minute to register who Austin was talking about. The girl from the party three weeks ago who’d heard me say that she was basically Austin’s girl of the week. I had felt so bad for her. Now my guilt disappeared immediately.
Austin shook his head. “He also knows stuff . . . about Dad. I don’t know if it’s all true, and I’ve been trying to stay the fuck out of it, and you should too, but he’s been spreading all kinds of shit around about Dad to anyone who will listen. I want you to stay the hell away from him.”
“Like what, what is he spreading?” I knew I should be at work, not asking him about conspiracies about our dad, but this all felt too weird, too much like I was missing a piece of a puzzle. The way my brain works and Austin’s half explanation didn’t sit well with me. A hazy memory floated in my mind; the edges were blurry and I couldn’t put it together, but I felt like I was missing something or forgetting something. I couldn’t recall much of the night with the MPs, but there was an overly prickly feeling that coated my body when he showed up at my work. Had I seen him before? I couldn’t exactly place him.
He hesitated. “Well, he was saying some crazy shit about Dad concealing a scandal involving civilian deaths or something, that his retirement is just a cover-up for what happened. It’s spreading pretty fast around post.”
Did my brother know more than what he was telling me about our dad’s secrets? I wasn’t going to be the one to open that can of worms when I was already late as hell for work, and I was confused about the amount of truth there was to all of it. Investigating whether or not my dad was the villain responsible for innocent lives lost would have to wait until after work, or whenever I could force my brain to process just how heavy all of this was.
“What the hell does one of your little girlfriends have to do with Dad? This seems much bigger than that.”
“I don’t know what his hatred for Dad stems from, or why the fuck he showed up at your work or how he even found out where you work. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’re not exactly reliable, Austin,” I snapped. “And I didn’t know you knew him.”
As his twin, I could feel that the truth in my words hurt him. Suddenly he looked so tired and so distraught, giving away that there had to be more to the story than what he was telling me.
“How does Nielson know Dad in the first place?” I asked.
