Free Still Waters by Rebecca Addison Page A

ran away to the boatsheds by the
lake. I was planning on using a kayak as a kind of bed to read in, but I fell
asleep. When I woke up, it was dark and the shed was locked. I stayed in there
all night, and there were rats, and well, I’ve never liked the idea of not
being able to get out of somewhere ever since.”
    She
tells the story like she’s said it a thousand times, but I can hear the wobble
in her voice when she gets to the end.
    “There
are camps for smart kids?”
    “Like
you wouldn’t believe.”
    We
lean back against the wall and I pull a blanket up over our knees.
    “What
about you?” she says, “what’s your irrational fear?”
    I
immediately think of all of the cute things I could say to make her laugh –
pink marshmallows, kittens, the way my teeth feel when I bite into a pear. But
then I realize that I just want to tell her the truth.
    “That
I’m going to turn into my father.”
    She’s
silent for a few seconds and then she sighs deeply and takes my hand.
    “You
know what Crew? Lately, I’ve been afraid of the same thing.”

Chapter
Thirteen
    Hartley

 
    My hand is lost inside his. The top of it is
brown from the sun, and his knuckles are covered in long-faded scars. The skin
on his palm feels rough and calloused where it moves against mine. My hands are
pale from too many hours in the lab and soft to the touch from spending the
last few years inside a pair of latex gloves. He draws little circles near my
wrist with his thumb. With my eyes still closed I’m aware of every sound inside
our little house made for two. I can hear the air rush in and out of his lungs
under my cheek, and I listen to see if I can hear his heart. Despite what Eleanor
said, I know who Crew is. I can feel the goodness in him. Like me, he makes
sure any vulnerability in him is carefully stowed away. But he can’t hide it
from me. It shines out of him, like light spilling through a crack in a door.
    “Do
you want to tell me why you’re not answering any of those voice messages on
your phone? They came up when you used the light in the storeroom. It looks to
me like someone is pretty desperate to get hold of you.”
    I
love the way he leans down and lowers his voice when he speaks to me, like he’s
telling me a secret. I open my eyes and pull my phone out of my pocket. There
are 16 voice messages and 24 texts.
    “You
don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he says, pulling the blanket
up so that it’s under my chin. I think about that for a second. Do I want to
talk about it? Part of me wants to open my mouth and share everything with him.
But I’m worried that if I start, I won’t be able to stop. I still haven’t
worked out how I feel about what’s going on at Preston Industries. If I tell
the authorities about the water samples, I could save an important ecosystem
and ensure that it survives for future generations. But I’ll lose my family.
And as much as I hate to admit that my father is right, Jefferson wouldn’t
survive without Preston Industries. It would eventually become an abandoned
town with empty houses, deserted streets and schools with rows of desks and
chairs but no children. Have I already made my decision by running away? If I
know what’s going on, and do nothing, doesn’t that make me just as guilty as
David and my dad? I take a deep breath and let it out slowly through my mouth.
    “I
can tell you some of it if you promise to take it for what it is and accept
that there are some parts I’m not ready to share yet.” I feel him nod above me.
    “How
about this,” he murmurs. “Since I think we violated the five question rule a
long time ago how about we trade information. You tell me something, and I’ll
give you something back.”
    “That
sounds fair,” I smile. But I’m wondering if he’s going to give me useless
information like his favorite color or what he eats for breakfast in exchange
for my deepest, darkest secrets. “Maybe you should start then,” I