wrong here. I guess you don’t feel it like I do, but I’m not kidding about it, either, Evajean. There’s something very wrong in this town.”
She rolled her eyes and he almost slapped her. What the hell was wrong with this woman? Why was she treating him like a goddamn child? Elliot exhaled slowly, forcing his mind to clear. He set the dog down and opened the door. They entered without speaking to each other, and Elliot went into his room and sat on the bed. The dog hopped up to join him.
28
Later, when she hadn’t come to get him, he went to her. Evajean was sitting on the couch in the house’s living room, reading a fat, clothbound blue book. “It’s the Bible,” she said when he glanced at it. “All they have is this stuff.” She pointed at a little shelf against a wall, where half a dozen books were propped up by a coffee can.
“I want to know what happened,” he said, sitting down next to her. The dog padded in from the bedroom, yawned, and lay down on the rug.
“You should take him outside,” she said.
“I will.”
“You should do it now, he might have to go.”
“Tell me what happened,” he said. “Run me through it and then I’ll take the dog out to piss.”
She looked at him sharply. “You’re still being this way?”
“What way?”
“You’re still going to act like this?”
“I’m not acting like anything,” he said, and lifted the book out of her hands. “You’re really reading this?”
“What else is there?” she said.
He shrugged. “So was I out when you woke up? Or did you never pass out?”
“You mean the accident?”
He nodded.
She leaned back into the cushions and gazed up at the ceiling. “I didn’t hit my head. What I remember-and you have to understand, this was all happening so quickly-but what I remember is that boy in the road and you swerved. Then there was a big bump, which I guess was us going over the curb-”
“Or the boy.”
“-and then it was all just chaos. I really thought I was going to die, Elliot.”
“You probably almost did,” he said. He wanted her to appreciate the weight of what they’d been through, to recognize it as serious, because that would make convincing her to maintain that reference easier. They weren’t out of trouble yet.
Evajean swallowed. “And then it was like I was in this tunnel, being spun around and banged into things. You were screaming and the dog was barking, and I just pressed my hands into the dashboard because I guess I thought I might fly out. And then it stopped. The truck stopped falling and I could tell we were upside down. I didn’t know where, you know? But your eyes were closed and your mouth was open and I knew you’d been knocked out. I didn’t know if you were even alive, Elliot.”
“Sure,” he said. “I was lucky to be. You too.”
“And so I got out of the car and I could see how bad it was and I just started yelling for help, panicking, I guess. And then, this is the really weird part, I just got this feeling like I knew which direction help was. I knew where I needed to go to be safe and get you safe. So I took the dog because I didn’t want it to get eaten by a bear or a mountain lion or something and I started walking.”
“And you ended up here.”
“No,” she said, “no, I actually didn’t think I’d picked right after a while, because I’d walked for, I don’t know, a couple of hours and hadn’t found anything. I kept shouting for someone but nobody heard me.”
“Then how-”
“They found me. I’d pretty much given up at that point and was ready to just go to sleep and see what happened in the morning. And then I heard some people talking and laughing and then these guys just came out of the woods. Funny thing was, they were dressed up all strange in these big robes and carrying weird stuff like a table, but I knew they weren’t any danger. I told them what happened and they sent me back here with one of them. I guess he got them to go out and look
She rolled her eyes and he almost slapped her. What the hell was wrong with this woman? Why was she treating him like a goddamn child? Elliot exhaled slowly, forcing his mind to clear. He set the dog down and opened the door. They entered without speaking to each other, and Elliot went into his room and sat on the bed. The dog hopped up to join him.
28
Later, when she hadn’t come to get him, he went to her. Evajean was sitting on the couch in the house’s living room, reading a fat, clothbound blue book. “It’s the Bible,” she said when he glanced at it. “All they have is this stuff.” She pointed at a little shelf against a wall, where half a dozen books were propped up by a coffee can.
“I want to know what happened,” he said, sitting down next to her. The dog padded in from the bedroom, yawned, and lay down on the rug.
“You should take him outside,” she said.
“I will.”
“You should do it now, he might have to go.”
“Tell me what happened,” he said. “Run me through it and then I’ll take the dog out to piss.”
She looked at him sharply. “You’re still being this way?”
“What way?”
“You’re still going to act like this?”
“I’m not acting like anything,” he said, and lifted the book out of her hands. “You’re really reading this?”
“What else is there?” she said.
He shrugged. “So was I out when you woke up? Or did you never pass out?”
“You mean the accident?”
He nodded.
She leaned back into the cushions and gazed up at the ceiling. “I didn’t hit my head. What I remember-and you have to understand, this was all happening so quickly-but what I remember is that boy in the road and you swerved. Then there was a big bump, which I guess was us going over the curb-”
“Or the boy.”
“-and then it was all just chaos. I really thought I was going to die, Elliot.”
“You probably almost did,” he said. He wanted her to appreciate the weight of what they’d been through, to recognize it as serious, because that would make convincing her to maintain that reference easier. They weren’t out of trouble yet.
Evajean swallowed. “And then it was like I was in this tunnel, being spun around and banged into things. You were screaming and the dog was barking, and I just pressed my hands into the dashboard because I guess I thought I might fly out. And then it stopped. The truck stopped falling and I could tell we were upside down. I didn’t know where, you know? But your eyes were closed and your mouth was open and I knew you’d been knocked out. I didn’t know if you were even alive, Elliot.”
“Sure,” he said. “I was lucky to be. You too.”
“And so I got out of the car and I could see how bad it was and I just started yelling for help, panicking, I guess. And then, this is the really weird part, I just got this feeling like I knew which direction help was. I knew where I needed to go to be safe and get you safe. So I took the dog because I didn’t want it to get eaten by a bear or a mountain lion or something and I started walking.”
“And you ended up here.”
“No,” she said, “no, I actually didn’t think I’d picked right after a while, because I’d walked for, I don’t know, a couple of hours and hadn’t found anything. I kept shouting for someone but nobody heard me.”
“Then how-”
“They found me. I’d pretty much given up at that point and was ready to just go to sleep and see what happened in the morning. And then I heard some people talking and laughing and then these guys just came out of the woods. Funny thing was, they were dressed up all strange in these big robes and carrying weird stuff like a table, but I knew they weren’t any danger. I told them what happened and they sent me back here with one of them. I guess he got them to go out and look
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