Chapter Twenty-Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The shower was always a place where I could think. It was a place where I was truly alone except for once when I caught something peeping out at me from the bathroom mirror. Seth had come running when I had screamed and had assured me it wasn’t a demonic presence but only a particularly bad case of bed head. As if.

I let the water cleanse everything away. The leftover malice, the hurt and despair. I tried to imagine the water had healing properties that could wash away all of the misery. But really, I simply had to push it all to the back of my mind. I couldn’t afford to waste my energy feeling crushed. It was time for action.

I dried off, got dressed, and combed my hair. I stepped out of the room to see Mouth leaning against the wall, waiting for me.

“Hello, Mouth. You’re being particularly stalkerish and creepy this morning.”

“Really? I thought I was always this way. Maybe you’re just ultra-sensitive.”

“Shut up.”

He followed me down the stairs. “You look kin