The Line That Binds Series Box Set

by J. M. Miller

  “Hey,” Dad interrupted from the hallway. He tucked his hands into his jean pockets and looked at me with heavy eyes. Gavin’s accident last week had really stressed him out. He looked more tired than ever and I was pretty sure his hair had sprouted more grays. “Can I come in?”

  I glanced at Gavin. He tilted his head, knowing our talk had to wait. “Sure,” I said.

  Before Gavin could shuffle past, Dad snatched him up into a relaxed head lock. “This one includes you,” he mumbled, shifting an arm over Gavin’s shoulder and directing him to the bed. Gavin took a seat at the foot while Dad remained standing. “I’ve wanted to talk to both of you about some things. I’m not sure the best way to say this so I’m just going to throw it out there.” He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. “I’m dating Simone.” He stared at both of us, waiting for a response.

  “Okay,” Gavin replied blandly, like it was no big deal.

  I just stared back, mostly in shock. He’s dating Simone?

  Dropping his hands to his side, he continued, “Things are getting a little more serious so I wanted you both to hear it from me, in case you might’ve been having some suspicions.” His eyes shifted to me. “LJ?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you know?”

  “No.”

  “Well…” He placed his hands on his hips and glanced down at his feet as he thought about what to say. “Simone told me that you’d hinted about it indirectly, like making little comments, and that you were acting differently at work all week.”

  Had I? I frowned. “I’m sorry if I’ve been acting differently.”

  “No, no need to be sorry. Maybe she just misunderstood. But have you been feeling okay? She also said that you’d had a couple nosebleeds. Is this something that’s been happening regularly?”

  “No,” I lied.

  “I really want you to know that you can tell me if something’s wrong. No matter what.”

  I could feel Gavin’s eyes on me, too. They were worried. I didn’t want to tell them. I didn’t want any of this to affect them, but it was going to be harder to hide than I thought. My nerves spiked, so I picked at the holes in my jeans to diffuse some of the energy. “It’s nothing. The winter air here has been an adjustment. That’s all.”

  “Okay, but let me know if it happens more often,” Dad said with a sigh. “And, about your mom. I think we need to discuss some things.” When neither Gavin nor I replied, he pressed on. “Despite my own issues, I’m trying my hardest to do the right thing here, guys. I don’t believe you’d be in any danger if you were to spend a little time with her so I’m leaving the interactions up to you. As far as I can tell, she’s been clean for a while. She’s gotten a job, a place to live—”

  “I won’t see her,” I uttered.

  “Me either,” Gavin said immediately after. “I don’t really care about all the apologies she made at the hospital, I don’t trust her.”

  Dad raked a hand down his face. “Trust isn’t something that can be rebuilt overnight. She knows that. I’m sure she realizes that she’ll have to prove herself worthy to regain any from you guys. All I’m asking is that both of you try and let the hate go. It’s not an easy thing to do, I know. But letting that darkness settle inside your heart will only hurt you in the long run. It took me too long to learn that lesson myself, and I’m sorry that I hurt you both in the process.”

  “You were pissed. You had every right to be,” I admitted, defending him even though he had hurt us virtually the same way she had: absence. But I knew his was due to pain. She’d broken his heart. She’d broken all of ours.

  “I know. And so do you,” he replied with a nod. “I told her she still has to go through me before contacting either of you, until you decide otherwise.”

  “Thanks,” I said and Gavin nodded.

  “So,” Dad started in a lighter tone. “Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Are you guys okay with me inviting Simone to eat with us?”

  “Fine with me.” Gavin shrugged then they both looked at me.

  “Sure,” I said. I honestly wanted him to be happy. If Simone did that for him, then I was all for it. Nothing else mattered. I needed Gavin and him to be happy.

  “That means a lot, LJ. She really likes both of you. Plus, she claims she bakes a mean pumpkin pie.”

  Gavin laughed. “I bet it’s mean all right,” he teased.

  I snorted as I pictured a pumpkin pie with Simone’s angry face. “Good one.”

  “Hey, now,” Dad said through a chuckle. “Okay, well I’ve got more paperwork to get to. Plus, Lloyd called earlier and said he needed to do some routine checks around the house.”

  “Routine checks?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Nothing major. He wants to check the water heater, heat pump, and a few other things before winter really hits. He’ll be over in a few. After he leaves, I’ll go out and grab some cheesesteaks for dinner, okay?”

  “Okay,” I agreed automatically, still stuck on the news of Lloyd coming over.

  Somehow I knew his visit wasn’t routine. My pulse picked up as a tiny part of me wished Ben was the one coming over instead, but I shrugged the thought off as quickly as I could. He needed to stay away. It was for the best.

  Fingers snapped in front of my eyes, pulling me from my conflicted thoughts.

  “Hey,” Gavin said, dropping his good hand away from my face. “So, you gonna tell me the truth?”

  “About what?”

  “Please. The nosebleeds? I’ve seen them, remember? Something’s up. What is it?”

  “Nothing’s up,” I said, brushing him off and flipping my book open again. My eyes stared hard at the words, but they refused to absorb a single letter.

  He let out a breathy laugh. “Sure you don’t. You know, I saw Ben earlier. He looks more tore up than he did last week. Or maybe he just misses his hair.”

  I clenched my eyes shut and flipped another page in the text. “Just drop it, Gav,” I managed to choke out. I’d dodged Ben as much as possible through the week, but I still saw him and his newly shaved head. Why it was shaved, I had no idea. And unfortunately, it did nothing to help brighten his depressed look. I was hoping our last encounter would’ve pushed him away, forced him move on. But, as Gavin said, he didn’t look any better.

  “He asked how you’ve been. Like seriously asked. Not like a desperate question from an ex. He sounded worried. So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  I inhaled deeply and looked up. “No, Gavin. There’s nothing I want to tell you.” It was harsh enough to burn my tongue, but I had to shut him up. If he continued, I’d surely fall to pieces in front of him.

  “Fine,” he snapped. “So much for having each other’s backs. Forget I asked.”

  Before storming out of my bedroom, he stood beside the bed and stared at me for three agonizing seconds. He wanted me to look at him, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t face the disappointment that I’d been trying to protect him from since he was a kid. I’d seen it after Mom left and when Dad was MIA. Now I’m the cause.

  As soon as the door slammed behind him, I blinked, releasing the tears to the pages below, flooding the empty words.

  It’s better this way. Better to delay reality. The disappointment would keep him from the truth, hiding the real pain for another day.

  Someone bumped into my back, knocking me into my locker. I have to get out of here before I lose it. My body flashed with enough heat to warm an entire house. I clenched my fist and slammed it into the locker instead of someone’s face. These assholes were messing with LJ’s head every day, making stupid, selfish wishes. Screw these people. They were taking everything from her and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  It was Wednesday. Fourth period was done. Half this week was over. I was ready to get home so I could hear if Pop found anything during his second trip into LJ’s house. He’d gone in on Sunday, finding nothing but corrosion on the water heater’s connections, which scored him the next trip inside. It w
as an easy fix that would give him plenty of time to search the house after he finished. He was smart enough to pick a day Carson worked in the morning, so no one would be home.

  “Hey, man,” Spaz’s voice broke through my thoughts.

  I grabbed a notebook from my locker and shoved it into my backpack as the people around us filed down the hall. “Hey,” I replied, not really interested in having a conversation. We hadn’t talked much since last week’s race. He and Iz were giving me some space and I felt like an ass for taking it.

  “Benj,” Spaz said, demanding my full attention.

  I shut my locker and turned to look at him. “What’s up?”

  He followed when I started to walk, matching my stride. “Look, man,” he started, sounding nervous. “I just heard about something that you probably should know. I mean, I’d want to know if I were you, so…”

  “Dude, spit it out,” I prompted as friendly as possible. It was the end of my school day, I was on edge, and I didn’t trust my temper to hold another minute.

  He grabbed my arm to stop me as the amount of people thinned out around us. “LJ’s in Ms. Mitchell’s office.”

  “What?” My heart stopped for a panicked moment. “What happened?”

  “Iz is there now. She said something about LJ having a bloody nose and Emily accusing her of snorting something in the bathroom. They had security search her locker—”

  I didn’t know if he was finished talking and I didn’t really care. I’d heard enough. My feet took over, guiding me around the bodies, leading me to the nurse. To LJ.

  It’s all happening too fast. I’d wasted so much time feeling sorry for myself when I should’ve kept my promise to her. I should’ve been protecting her.

  Thinking outside of the boxes was proving difficult. LJ still wouldn’t talk to me. I barely saw Gavin, so talking to him about his mom’s reappearance was a long shot. The only hope we had was Pop finding something new inside LJ’s house. LJ’s refusal to stop granting people’s wishes wasn’t helping either. It only fueled the curse’s fire. Wasn’t she scared?

  I jogged past the main hallway and turned the next corner toward the nurse’s office. Iz was leaning against the lockers across the hall, hands shoved into her jean pockets, eyes focused on the door.

  “Is she in there?” I asked, prepared to walk in.

  “Her dad’s in there too,” she said, nodding as I grabbed the door handle.

  “What happened?” I asked, changing course to stand beside her.

  “I wasn’t there to see the start,” she said as Spaz walked up to us and stood on her other side. “I guess, after Emily saw LJ in the bathroom with a bloody nose, she told the next teacher she ran into that LJ was using. I caught the end of LJ’s locker search on my way to study hall so I skipped and hung out here. LJ’s been in there the whole time. Her dad got here about ten minutes ago.”

  “Dammit,” I mumbled against my clenched fist as the warning bell rang.

  People quickened their steps to make their next classes and Spaz touched Iz’s arm. “Do you want to go to lunch or do you want to stay?”

  She glanced at me. “Text us if you need anything.”

  “Sure,” I replied. They headed toward the cafeteria, Spaz grabbing Iz’s hand to pull her closer. “Thanks,” I called after them.

  They both turned their heads and nodded.

  The hallway emptied and I waited.

  I paced. My nerves forced my body to move as my mind raced through every possible scenario, none good enough to settle my stomach or stop my muscles from shaking. I rubbed my hands together, wondering if she was in any trouble. They wouldn’t have found anything. But LJ having another nosebleed was what really worried me. It’d been over a week since we talked. How bad was she now? I’d heard about her other nosebleeds, whether at school from Iz or even from Simone at work. They were adding up and she wasn’t caring who saw them.

  The door cracked open and Carson’s voice traveled out. “Thank you, Ms. Mitchell. We’ll let you know.” He finally exited, wearing blue work scrubs covered with a winter trench coat.

  I stopped pacing and backed myself up against the adjacent lockers. Carson noticed me and gave me a small nod. “Ben.”

  “Carson,” I replied, then held my breath when he shifted to hold the door open for LJ.

  Her face was so pale compared her black hoodie. She drew the hood over her head and looked at me hesitantly. The sadness behind her eyes made my knees weak. I wanted to wrap my arms around her so badly I could hardly breathe. “LJ?” I said, keeping my voice as even as I could. There were so many other things I needed to say, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her.

  She let her eyes linger on mine for a long second then turned to leave.

  I stepped closer, stretching out my hand. “LJ, wait I—”

  “Now’s not the time, Ben,” Carson warned with a soft voice before following behind her.

  When they turned the corner to the main entrance, I clenched my jaw and slammed my fists into the lockers behind me, no longer able to control the emotion surging through my body. I hit them again, trying to displace all the pain crushing my chest.

  “Benjamin,” a voice spoke loud enough to hear over the locker hits.

  I stopped and slowly turned, noticing Ms. Mitchell for the first time. Her brows were pinched, but her light eyes looked calm.

  “C’mon,” she said, swinging her hand toward her office.

  I followed, preparing for the worst. Another suspension? I didn’t care anymore.

  She shrugged off her white nurse vest and hung it on the back of her rolling desk chair. “Take a seat.” Her voice was even, friendly, as she nodded to the first bed. The cloud of blonde hair stacked on her head didn’t budge.

  With no intention to stay, I perched myself of the edge of the bed. Taking a deep breath, the slight smell of rubbing alcohol entered my nose and somehow cleared my chaotic head. “Sorry about the lockers.” I looked down at my knuckles, red and starting to swell.

  After tracking my gaze, she walked to the slim refrigerator in the corner of the room and removed a disposable ice pack. “Here.” She placed it in my hand. “You seem concerned for LJ.”

  “You’re not mad about the lockers?”

  “I’m glad you didn’t break a hand, but I’m not mad,” she said as she took a seat, swiveling her chair toward me and folding her hands in her lap. “Do you know what’s happening with LJ?”

  She’s digging. “I miss her,” I replied, being too honest while still dodging the question.

  Her lips curved into a small grin. “I know it’s more than that. I don’t see you as the type of guy who goes crazy hitting lockers just because you miss a girl. You’re worried.”

  Damn, she got me. “Yeah, I’m worried about her.” I coughed and looked around anxiously. “I should get going. I’ve got to get to work.” I slid off the edge of the bed.

  “I’m worried too, Ben,” she said, stopping me. “I’m sure you’ve heard why she was in here.”

  I nodded, wondering why she’d be worried. Did she find something out while LJ was here? I knew she’d talked to LJ about Janine before. The info about her mom and Janine was what clued LJ in on the truth of the well.

  “We all know that LJ wasn’t doing drugs and she didn’t have any on her. But she’s been having nosebleeds regularly. Did you know that?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted with a sigh. I leaned against the bed, settling into the conversation. Where is she going with this?

  She shook her head and tapped her neon blue nails together. “Did you know she’s also been having memory lapses?”

  I didn’t respond.

  “When she was brought into my office today, she introduced herself as though we’d never spoken before,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “It didn’t take her long to realize the mistake, but it was a little late for her to play it off. When her father arrived, I discussed the nosebleeds and memory concerns, and advised them to see a doctor.”

 
; I nodded and moved the ice pack to my other hand.

  “You aren’t shocked by any of this. Have you seen it happen?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted, still looking at my hands.

  “Symptoms usually don’t crop up until later in life, but given her aunt’s history those lapses could be signs of hereditary dementia.”

  “Hereditary,” I repeated, acknowledging the superficial link.

  “I believe a few of Genie’s ancestors had Alzheimer’s symptoms also. Genie took an active role in searching her family’s history. That’s how she met my mother, actually.”

  “Really?” I looked up at her. Janine may have found out about the well during her search, or she’d already known and was searching for more information. Either way, that info could be useful to LJ.

  “My mom worked for the county clerk for over thirty years. When Genie started digging deeper into her genealogy, they became friends.”

  “Did Janine find what she was looking for?”

  She stared at me curiously and leaned back into her chair. “I believe she did. At least my mom thought so.”

  “So there were more of her ancestors who suffered with Alzheimer’s? I wonder how far back it goes.” I knew exactly how far, but I wondered how many people the curse had affected, and how much of the Stockton history Ms. Mitchell knew.

  “I’m not sure if it will help, but I’m planning to go through some of my mom’s old records to see if she held on to anything of Genie’s. I discussed this briefly with Mr. Wayde and told him I’d give him anything I found. Since you and your grandfather were close to Genie and know more about the Stocktons than most, I think it would be good idea for you to look over whatever I find. Who knows, there might be something that could help LJ medically. Do you want me to bring copies to you?”

  “Yes,” I said without a second thought. “I’ll do anything to help her.”

  She smiled. “I thought you would. Hopefully, she’ll see a doctor soon. It’s a very young age to have those symptoms.”

  “I just wish there was more I could do for her,” I said honestly. The possible information from Ms. Mitchell might lead us somewhere, but I wanted more.