Her Silent Revenge novel Chapter 128

"Maybe we can put them in my aquarium, huh?" I say. "I think the fish would like a fossil or two."

"And the seahorses!" he whispers.

"Yeah, those guys too. But right now, I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to focus on getting better and being good for your mom. You keep her company, Arlo."

He frowns. "Where are you going?"

"Florida. Just for a few days," I tell him, but he doesn't look like he registers what I've said. His eyelids droop shut again, and he lets out another cat-like yawn. "I'll be back real soon, okay?"

He doesn't answer since he's already out.

I give Salem one last glance and get up, beginning to walk away. Only, I turn and retrace a few steps.

Gingerly, I rest my hands on her shoulders, kissing her on top of the head. She only stirs slightly without waking.

"Hold on, Lady Bug. I'm going to make sure no one ever tries to hurt Arlo again, and then I'll come home and we'll sort this out."

SALEM

Incredibly, it only takes a couple days for Arlo to recover.

Two days of sitting by his side at the hospital in that endless bustle of muffled noises and claustrophobic disinfectant before he turns back

into his normal chatty little self with puppy energy.

Two days of running through every single thing I could've done differently.

Two days of agonizing over Patton.

Every time I close my eyes, I see his face. The way he looked at me when I told him about my plans to strike out on my own—a plan that isn't even a plan. A plan that I've slowly been researching as a parachute escape from all things Rory related.

A just-in-case backup I have little confidence I can actually make a reality.

God.

I didn't think it was possible to screw up this bad, but I've done it.

Maybe it's not rotten luck that's following me after all.

More like karma grabbing me by the throat and throwing me through the wall.

Delly Rory takes us back to her house from the hospital the day Arlo gets discharged.

Not when she glitters like Kansas City itself on a long summer night.

"I've got a spare room you can use," she says, changing subjects so fast I almost get whiplash. "I made them up for you. You don't have to stay, of course. But Arlo can, if you'd like, while your parents are visiting."

My jaw pops from being clenched.

I don't know what possessed them to call, really. But that's a lie. I do.

In my panic after Arlo was rushed to the hospital, I stress-dialed my mother. She didn't answer, of course, but I'm sure she heard me crying on the voicemail, desperate for comfort from a source I can't trust.

The damage was done, even after I texted and told them it was a false alarm.

She called me yesterday and insisted they were flying in on a charter jet from some pharma guy Dad met at the golf course. They're due very soon and I don't know what I'm going to say to them.

I don't know what I want to say—if there's anything to say at all. After so long apart, effectively estranged, we barely know each other.

Motherhood has changed me a lot, obviously. I'm guessing they haven't changed one bit.

I chew on a hangnail anxiously.

It's a real relief to have Delly helping with Arlo so I'm free to meet them without him—they don't deserve to see him right away after what they've pulled over the years—but the uncertainty makes me break out in hives.