House Of The Bat: (Book 1 of the House Of The Bat series) by Callan Frost

Author:Callan Frost [Frost, Callan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-05-01T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Ella

I stared out the window of Father’s car, my forehead glued to the glass. Raindrops skittered past, tugged by the car’s motion. You know you’re doing poorly when the idea of trading places with the liquid that falls from the sky seems like a good one.

We entered an underground carpark and everything inside the car darkened. I took the chance to steal a glance at Father’s uninspiring outline, studying the way the skin hung from his jowls.

Would I finally hate him when I was done with my episode of nothingness? What would Mother say? Or would she not want to talk to me at all? Had Father been lying about her, or had she really taken her life to avoid my presence? It was an extreme conclusion, but then again so was the action of taking your own life.

The question had been chewing my brain to pieces over the days since he’d revealed her distaste of me.

I hadn’t been attending school. My marks were still too visible. I’d go back when the blacks weren’t so black and I could hold my elbows in without pain. Not that I wanted to go back. The look on Beth’s and Simon’s faces were enough to keep me from school forever. All they’d have for me is pity, and there was no way around the immutable embarrassment.

‘Take these and set up,’ Father said, holding up the grimy yellow keys to the shop. ‘Don’t slam your door, huh? Got enough of a headache without your clumsy shit in the mix.’

That’s because you drank yourself into the early hours of the morning.

I took the keys without a sound and exited the car, swinging Archie over my back and closing the door as lightly as I could. I didn’t need to bring him to work at the store, but his presence was a comfort I couldn’t go without.

Beth had tried calling me literally dozens of times. I hadn’t answered or declined any of them, just let them ring out. In fact, I enjoyed watching the screen light up with her face, knowing I was only one swipe away from hearing her willful voice.

I strode out into the grey morning light, unbothered by the rain that marked my face. I even welcomed the cold, wet day. If only it was thundering, it’d be the perfect weather.

It was still quite early, so there weren’t many people around at all. I slotted the key into the storefront door, entering the darkened building. The very first thing I did was pocket some bubblegum for later while the cameras were still dark. Not that Father would likely ever notice one item missing, especially one so small. Even if Aldersyde was attacked by mortar fire, he’d still be the last to know.

I flicked the light on and then flipped the sign on the front door to open. Next, I turned the point of sales system on, letting it boot up while I checked the voicemail. The automated woman announced we had one message, and I let it play.

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