Hickville Confessions: A Hickville High Novel by Mary Karlik Page B

She was dressed and her hair was fixed. She seemed to be having a good day—maybe this wouldn’t spin her out of control.
    “Mom, I’m sorry. I was just looking…”
    “It’s okay… it’s just seeing that boy.” Justin hoped to lead her out of the bedroom, but instead, she sat on the bed.
    “I know. Let me take the picture out of the case. I won’t mess it up, I’ll just put it where you don’t have to see it.”
    “No. I mean I saw him at the cemetery.”
    “What?”
    “He was there, at her grave, and there was a girl with him. I’ve seen him there before, but this time he had a girl with him.”
    “When was this, Mom?”
    “A few weeks ago, before school started. Why would he bring a girl there?”
    Justin took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Not exactly a hot spot for a date. But now the important thing was to keep his mom from unraveling. He sat next to her, put an arm across her shoulders, and guided her to stand. “Come on, Mom. Don’t worry about him. Let’s go to the den and I’ll fix you something to eat. You look nice—did you go out today?”
    She nodded. “I went to the store. I could use some help unloading.”
    Relief spread through him.
She went to the store! This is a good day.
“I’ll unload and you can make sure I put things where you want them.”
    She looked at each of the paintings that hung on the walls, the bookshelf, the desk, and the dresser. Justin could see the war that raged inside her. She was on the verge of slipping back into the depression that held her captive. “Mom?”
    Slowly, she smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m okay today.”
    She needed help. Why couldn’t his dad see it? He followed her out of the room. As soon as they were in the hallway, he closed the door. “Have you eaten today?”
    “I had lunch with some of the girls from the hospital. They want me to come back.”
    “It might be good for you to go back to work. I’ll be leaving in a couple of years…”
And who will take care of you then?
    “It’s something to think about.” Her words were vacant—space fillers. Say anything to keep from talking. Avoid emotion, avoid affection, and above all, avoid living.
    He was sick of living in the house of gloom. He’d coaxed his mom through almost every waking hour to keep her from retreating to the darkness. His dad ignored the situation at home by working extra shifts at the hospital. Frustration tensed Justin’s muscles. This was not supposed to be his freaking life.
    “I’ll get the groceries.” He pushed through the screen door onto the porch.
Chelsea may be dead, but I’m still here and I’m tired of being your freaking parent.
He pulled the bags from the back of her SUV and slammed the lid.
    His mom held the screen open for him as he lugged his load through the door. As soon as he dropped the bags on the counter, she began to unpack them. Guilt at being angry with her settled in.
    “I’ve got this, Justin. Go do your homework and I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
    “You’re cooking?” She was good today. He should hold on to that.
    “I know it’s hot, but I thought spaghetti.”
    “It’s never too hot for your spaghetti. Are you sure you don’t want help?”
    “I’m good, really.” She flashed a weak smile and even though there was a little quiver in the corner, he’d take it.
    He retreated to his room and settled in to kill some zombies before starting his Calculus homework. He couldn’t get the vision of Austin McCoy bringing a girl to Chelsea’s grave out of his mind. What kind of game was he playing? Three girls had lost their lives because of him. Leave it to Austin to figure out how to take advantage of that. He pretended each zombie was Austin, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He would never get his family back no matter how many zombies he destroyed.
    He set the controller aside and picked up his Calc book, but he couldn’t focus.
    Later. He tossed his homework aside and made his way to the