In Stone by Louise D. Gornall Read Free Book Online

not necessary.” He pushes my hands down. I think, what the fuck. I think it so many times the words all meld into one and become some crazy alien dialect. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but a commendation for my assault and tips on how to self-defend definitely weren’t it.
    “What -- wait -- what?” My fingers push against my temple, trying to quiet the buzz that’s rattling around at the back of my eyeballs. A whole host of different reactions circulate: anger, irritation, uncertainty, a slight sprinkling of amusement.
    “I’m attempting to establish some rapport. Is it not working?” he asks.
    “What?” My face crumples. I’m beyond ready for him to leave, for this to be someone else’s problem. “Screw this. I’m calling the cops,” I announce boldly as I head toward the side table. Damn it. The phone is no longer on the stand. I crouch and begin searching through a nearby pile of debris. Jack joins me, not in the search. He just moves further into the room and stands over me, watching. I refuse to look up and acknowledge him, until I realize that I’ve made myself vulnerable. As quickly as I started searching, I stop. The bruise from Gray’s thumb throbs under my chin.
    “Look, if you’re here to kill me...”
    “Kill you?” He scoffs as if my suggestion is the most absurd thing he’s ever heard. “Why would I want to do that?”
    “Well you know, it wouldn’t be the first time today that someone’s tried to turn me into worm food.”
    “And yet you’re surprisingly calm. That’s good. It will help.”
    “Stop!” I say, holding out my palm and trying to shake his words from my head.
    “Stop? Stop what?”
    “Stop doing that.”
    “Doing what?”
    “That encouraging thing that you keep doing. It’s confusing, and it’s making me uncomfortable.” I pull my hands back through my hair. My palms brush against my ears, and for a few seconds I’m lost in the muffled sounds of the sea. I look up at the boy, Jack. His eyes are squeezed almost shut. He’s looking at me like I just sprouted extra arms and legs.
    “Are you okay?” he asks.
    “Well gee, Holmes, I don’t know. What do you think?”
    “Maybe I should explain.”
    “How about I let you explain it to the police?” I reply.
    He crouches at my side and starts collecting the broken pieces of a blue and white vase. It’s a hideous vase, trying to be some fanciful, 1950s piece of Asian art. In truth, it’s a two-dollar pot from a junk store. I’m not sorry it’s broken, but I’m resentful of the fact that he’s trying to help.
    “I want you out of my house,” I say, scrambling for blue and white pieces before he can get to them.
    “You remember that I just saved your life, right?” he says, playing the game and trying to snatch the pieces quicker. “Look, I’m sorry that Gray did this…”
    “Gray?”
    He nods. “He was here, searching for the knife.”
    “No. Gray was in class all day. I know this because I was in the same classes.” As I finish, a cruel memory of Gray’s absence at lunchtime comes back to bite me in the butt. It was Leah that pointed it out. She was scanning the cafeteria for a spare seat. Then with a casual sigh, she’d said, “huh! I wonder where the new guy’s eating lunch.” The memory creases up my face and makes me groan. I wish I hadn’t. Jack raises an eyebrow and makes his lips smack. It’s an I-told-you-so type of sound that makes my blood boil. 
    “Okay, let’s cut the crap. You didn’t follow me back here to help me clean house.”
    “No, I didn’t.” His head bows. “I was tracking Gray when I found you both in the alley.”
    “Tracking him?” I question. “Did you see him do this to my house?” He nods. My eyes dust over all the mess. “Why didn’t you call the cops?”
    A silence falls. It’s the sort of silence that’s begging me to look up and over at Jack, but I don’t. My stare fixes on the cracked, morose face of a porcelain cat. My lips start