I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore Page 0,31
three years, ever since he moved in with us.
“Besides, you need to be focused on school.” She smirks a little. “I’m going to find some SAT vocabulary lessons for you to listen to on those fancy new headphones to make sure you’re putting them to good use.”
I roll my eyes. She kisses me on the forehead, squeezing my shoulder gently.
“I’ll see you tonight, Dani,” she says. “I love you.”
“Yeah.” I stare down at the concrete. “Later.”
She lingers.
“I love you too,” I say finally.
She smiles, and then disappears down into the subway.
Thinking about going back to the apartment makes my blood start to boil again, and with Mom gone there’s no one left to keep me calm. I know from past experience that it’ll be best if I give Benny a little while to cool down. Besides, I don’t want to be stuck in my room avoiding my stepdad when it’s so nice outside. So I walk for a while until I finally come to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I cut through the groups of people snapping pictures outside and go into the little park beside the church where this weirdo statue of an angel and a bunch of giraffes stands. I think it’s really called Peace Fountain, but I’ve always called it Big Crab because that’s what all the animals and the winged man are standing on—a Big Crab. That’s also what Mom called it when I was just a kid and she used to take me on walks through the university campus nearby and talk about how if I worked really hard I’d be one of the students there when I grew up.
Now I come here when I want to get away from everything else.
I grab a bench, stretch out my legs and cross my arms, enjoying the feeling of the sun shining down on me. Music blasts from one ear of my headphones. I try to completely zone out.
I don’t know how much time passes before my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, the music in my ear suddenly replaced by a ringtone. I sigh, fearing that it’s Benny asking me where the hell I am, or if I’ll run by the store and pick something up for him.
But it’s Mom.
“Hey,” I say when I answer. “I thought your shift star—”
“Where are you?” she cuts me off. Her voice is short and on the verge of a yell. It startles me so that I don’t answer at first. She continues. “Did you hear me? Where are you?”
“At the Big Crab.”
“Go home.”
“Mom, what’s—”
“Dani, baby,” she says. She sounds like she’s about to start crying or something. “You need to go home. Right now. I’ll be—”
I don’t hear what she says after that, if she says anything at all. There’s some yelling and then a loud bang, and suddenly our connection is gone.
I try to call back, but I’ve got zero bars.
“What the . . . ,” I mutter, jumping to my feet. I pause for a few seconds, staring at my phone, my heart pounding against my ribs. I’m not exactly excited about going back to the apartment and spending the rest of the afternoon hearing Benny shout at sports teams. But Mom sounded so worried . . .
The sky becomes overcast, and all of a sudden I feel like something bad’s going to happen. I keep hearing the concern in Mom’s voice repeating through my head.
I start to run towards home.
As I dart through the park and past the short blocks to our apartment, I can tell something’s not right. I hear shouting from inside apartment buildings as I run past open windows. A couple of other people are sprinting through the streets, in a hurry somewhere. I speed up, continuously checking my phone to see if I’ve gotten a message from Mom or something.
Finally, I’m home. The metal security gate bangs behind me, loud, and I’m guessing every other apartment in our crappy building hears it. Someone yells from inside 1B as I run past the row of mailboxes in the entryway and then up the hard, worn stairs to our place on the fourth floor. I’m shaking as I try to get my key in the door, but I can’t tell if it’s because I’m completely out of breath and drained from running all the way here, or because I’m so spooked by Mom’s call.
I start yelling as soon as I get inside.
“Mom?” I ask. “Benny? What’s going on?”
Benny’s in his big