Chapter 2 - The House of Lies
When I re-entered the kitchen, Evelyn was standing by the stove, rapidly packing tupperware containers into a large insulated bag. Bridget was on her phone, pacing near the window, her voice shrill as she spoke into the receiver.
"—she’s completely lost her mind, Patrick! She came in here screaming, threw away the food Mom cooked, and told us to get out! Over a minor disagreement about Luke’s attitude!"
Bridget looked up at me, her eyes flashing with triumphant malice as she held out the phone. "Here. Talk to your husband. See what he thinks about your hysterical episode."
I took the phone from her hand and put it to my ear.
"Megan?" Patrick’s voice sounded tight, exhausted, and stressed through the speaker. "What is going on down there? Bridget said you’re throwing my mom out on the street?"
"Patrick," I said, keeping my tone deadly calm, though my hands were trembling. "Where are you right now?"
"I’m at the job site in King of Prussia. I just got off a crane inspection. What happened?"
"Your mother locked Luke out of the dining room and fed him half a cold baked potato while she, Bridget, and Connor ate fried chicken and pie," I said flatly. "He was sitting on a couch across the room like a punished dog. He’s thin, Patrick. He looks exhausted."
There was a long silence on the line.
"Megan..." Patrick sighed, rubbing his forehead—I could hear the friction of his glove against his skin. "Mom has old-fashioned ideas about discipline. You know how she is. She probably thought he was being spoiled—"
"He was eating a cold potato, Patrick!" I snapped, my calm facade cracking. "Your nephew Connor had a full plate of chicken and macaroni! Your mother told Luke she didn't want to look at him while they ate!"
"Look, let me call Mom and calm her down," Patrick tried to mediate. "Just let them stay until Sunday like we planned. I’ll fly down this weekend and we can talk about this like adults—"
"No," I said. "They are leaving today. I am standing in my house—a house my father helped me buy before I ever knew your name—and I am telling you that your family will not spend another night under this roof."
"Megan, don't do this to my family," Patrick said, his voice hardening.
"Your family is in the car outside, Patrick," I replied coldly. "The rest of these people are guests who have overstayed their welcome."
I hung up the phone and handed it back to Bridget.
Evelyn stepped forward, her hands folded over her apron, her face twisted into a mask of wounded dignity. "You are making a terrible mistake, Megan. Patrick will never forgive you for treating his mother this way."
"You have eighty minutes left," I said, walking past her into the hallway.
I marched down the rear corridor to the pantry. Tucked behind the heavy corn broom and a stack of paper towels was Luke’s blue canvas backpack. It was dusty, shoved into the dark corner as if someone had intentionally hidden it away.
I pulled the bag out, unzipped the front compartment, and felt around.
May you like
Tucked inside a side mesh pocket was a thick, spiral-bound green notebook with SCIENCE written across the front in Luke’s neat, seven-year-old print.
I opened the cover.
