Page 93 of Dark Verse

“No. I didn’t really know what to say to her until now.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Zeke says.

“We need to talk about the upcoming shows we are supposed to be doing when Via gets back,” I continue, my brain bouncing round eighteen different thoughts. The state of my hand means playing guitar is out of the question.

“No man, don’t worry about that right now. Call your mom and let her know what’s going on,” Zeke says.

He squeezes my shoulder once before dropping his arm.

“Thanks,” I say, standing up and leaving the living room. As I pass by the downstairs bedroom door, I pause, listening in on Raven. I don’t hear any noise or movement, so I continue into the kitchen, pulling out my phone.

The line only rings two times before Ma picks up.

“Hi, honey,” she says brightly.

“Hey, Ma.”

“How are you? Still enjoying the band? Are things starting to slow down for y’all?”

I look at my still bandaged hand, taking a seat at the table. Was it only three days ago I sat here with my best friends laughing and joking? Eating heartily and planning for a future that almost got snatched away from me?

“A lot has happened in the last few days, Ma.”

I tell her everything, only leaving out the detail of that woman leaving her panties in the closet. I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my mind around all the implications there. Fucking sicko. The longer I talk, the more a bad taste starts forming on the ridges of my tongue. That biting flavor only increases each time I say her name. It’s not exactly bile, but it’s acrid and has an spicy aftertaste that has me wanting to drink an entire glass of water to get the taste out of my mouth. Instead, I push through the final details. It’s silent for several seconds on Ma’s end as I bring my story up to the present.

“Raven is scared, Ma. Hell, I’m scared. The police are looking for this Gill, but as far as any of us can tell, she’s completely in the wind.”

“Tell me what you need, baby.” Ma’s tone is serious.

“I need to get her out of town for a few weeks. Give the police space to work and her time to heal.”

I watched the nurse redress some of Ven’s more shallow wounds on her first full day in the hospital. I am not a squeamish person. In fact, I sometimes find myself seeking out things that make other people uncomfortable, the forever rubbernecker. But I had to leave her room the moment I saw the bright red blood across the white gauze, breaking out in a cold sweat and feeling dizzy enough to need to sit down for a few minutes. I thought I would be better the second day, but if anything, my disquiet only deepened as I saw the vicious nature of the wounds Gillian had inflicted.

“Give us both time to heal,” I add.

“Come on home, Knox.”

For the first time since she answered, I actually pause and think about that. We have no idea where Gillian is. The last piece of information the police could tell me was that she was headed southwest. She was spotted withdrawing cash from an ATM at the Arizona/Utah border and has since gone off the grid. It seems like she’s headed in the opposite direction that I want to take Raven, but still. Maybe it’s just a ruse on her part. Do I want to risk her learning where my mother lives? After another moment of hesitation, I push forward with this idea. This house is not safe, and my gut tells me Ven won’t feel any safer in a nearby hotel. We need a few hundred miles between us and this space, the memories too fresh.

“Are you sure, Ma? I have no idea where this crazy is. She could literally follow me back.”

“I still have most of your father’s guns here. She’ll regret stepping onto my property. This is a shoot-first, ask-questions-never kind of house.”

I chuckle even through my nerves. I can imagine my five-foot-nothing mother grabbing one of those giant shotguns and firing off a few rounds.

“If you’re sure…”

The little kid in me hopes she is sure. Do you ever really grow out of wanting your parents to make everything better?

“Yes. It will give me a chance to meet this girl of yours, too. I want to meet the woman who’s got you so focused on your music again. You never bring anyone home.”

“She’s incredible, Ma. Smart. Driven. Talented. But I can’t think of a worse reason for you to meet her.”

“We don’t always get to choose things like that, Knox. But if you two coming here gives me a chance to meet her and you both time and space to recover, that’s what we should focus on.”

My shoulders relax slightly.

“She doesn’t want to sleep here, and frankly, after learning what I did from the police, neither do I. I’ll pack us up this…” I look for a clock.