I peer over the edge of the tub and see my underwear on the deck covered in pine needles. From the angle we’re at, Dave might not see me on the edge if I lean over. So I slowly move to the edge and lean out as I grab for them. My hand slips on the wet surface and I fall forward, slamming my stomach into the side of the tub as I slide forward, spilling out of the tub and onto the deck.
When I look up, both Dave and Shepherd are staring down at me.
“Do you usually sit in the hot tub naked with your brother?” Dave asks, then starts laughing to himself as I decide I wasn’t meant for this life.
“Excuse me while I see how long I can breathe underwater,” I say. Death should be quick.
“Oh, I knew you two weren’t brothers quite a while ago. With those heart eyes or sideways glances you’re always giving Nick here,” Dave says as he waves at Shepherd, and I realize that he is hellbent on ruining me.
“You’re not helping anything,” I say as I pull my underwear on. “Let’s get back to how you’re supposed to be in the hospital.”
He waves me off. “It was just a little fall. They said I had a minor concussion, just a little bump, stitched me up, kept me to watch me for god knows too long, but then Esther came and doted over me, so I didn’t mind it too much. Then she even drove me home. After seeing that I had nothing for supper, she was horrified and ran off to get something, so I escaped to get my dog.”
“You think you should be driving with a head injury?” Shepherd asks.
He’s now waving at Shepherd like that’ll make us forget what he’s doing. “I know, I know. That’s why I kept it under sixty the whole way here,” he says, then laughs to himself. Clearly, he’s on drugs or had his brain scrambled a bit too much. “I also wanted to tell you that I got a bit… talkative in the car. I assure you that I won’t tell anyone that you guys are here. I used to be a journalist, so I like to keep up with what’s happening in the world, but I also know enough that I’m aware that not everything is black and white.”
That still makes me uneasy, but Shepherd looks confident.
“About that,” Shepherd says. “We’re worried that someone might have seen Killian and we’re thinking that we need to make a plan to move to a new spot for a while.”
I can see the clear disappointment on Dave’s face. “You guys are leaving?”
And I want to blurt out that I don’t want to leave, that I want to stay here forever because here is so much different from out there. But I don’t want to guilt Shepherd into doing something he doesn’t think is safe.
Shepherd shifts as he folds his arms over his bare chest. “I don’t know what the right thing to do is, but I do know that my top priority is keeping Killian safe and I think to do that we need to move around some.”
Dave watches us for a moment, clearly unsatisfied with everything Shepherd has just said. “Why can’t you guys just go to the police, let them help you if someone’s after you?”
“My father is the chief of police and honestly… right now I’m more worried about staying away from him than anyone,” I say. “He wasn’t a very good father. He’s abusive and manipulative, and I know that if I go to anyone for help, I’ll end up back in his web of lies.”
Dave nods slowly, like he’s not sure he comprehends that. “I can’t imagine why any father would be like that, but I understand why you’d need to stay away then. Let me call around. I have a buddy about two hours from here that has some cabins that he probably has an opening for. But only if you promise to come back and visit.”
“We will,” Shepherd says, and I wonder if that’s a lie.
Either way, Dave seems pleased by it and with the promise of calling in the morning, he takes his dog and heads back toward home where Esther will be waiting for him.
I turn to Shepherd to find him watching me.
“I know you like this place.”
“I like having you alive better,” I say. “I really hope this all works out