Free The Evensong by Lindsay Payton Page A

keys out, barely hearing Linden on the stairs.
    “I’m sorry I fell asleep,” he said, pushing his hood down.
    “It’s fine, I did too,” I replied, going towards the front door. I’d just pushed the screen door open when Linden caught my arm, and I froze, unwilling to look at him. When he didn’t immediately say anything, I hesitantly looked up at him. He opened his mouth like he had something to say, but then shut it again, seeming frustrated.
    “I’ll uh—catch up with you later. We’ll do something next time, no sleeping.”
    It seemed like an improvised suggestion, but I nodded, agreeing before he let me go. I didn’t look back as I ran to my car, though I knew he was still standing in the doorway.
    I drove home as fast as I could on the rugged road, noticing how a pressure was developing in my head as it began to drizzle. By the time I’d pulled up to the house, my head was throbbing steadily with the downpour. There were still a few lights on, including the porch light. I rushed through the rain to the porch and in the front door, closing it behind me quietly. Trying to catch my breath, I slipped off my shoes before Rene emerged from the kitchen. The look on her face told me I was in more trouble than I expected.
    “Where have you been?” she asked lowly, her words clipped.
    “I’m sorry I missed the lesson, I was—”
    “Get in here, now.” She pointed to the living room, and I did as she asked. I sat on the couch and she sat in the wing chair beside it, repeating her first question.
    “Where have you been? I gave you two hours after your normal work time before I called Meryl. She told me you got off early. So where the hell have you been for the past few hours?”
    She was angrier than I’d seen her in a while. I took a breath and moved my damp hair out of my face.
    “I was with Linden.”
    “Who?” She looked at me hard, and I had a feeling she already knew the answer.
    “He’s the one that lives on the edge of the swamps.”
    She sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples, shaking her head. “I thought Meryl might have been mistaken. How do you think I felt worrying where you were, thinking you might be with him, a complete stranger?”
    She was yelling now, but I was completely confused. It wasn’t like her to be so wound up about me hanging out with new people, especially people outside of the house. She usually encouraged it.
    “Rene, I’ve hung out with him before, he’s not a—”
    “Hush, Riley,” she snapped. “I don’t want to hear you’ve been with him again.”
    I stared in shock. Was she really forbidding me to see him? It was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard, and I didn’t say anything as I stood and left the room. Rene didn’t stop me, and I hurried up the stairs, not bothering to be quiet. In my confusion, I almost ran into Omar as he stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist.
    “Sorry,” I mumbled, stepping out of his way.
    “Hey, where’ve you been?” he asked, concerned. “You missed the whole group thing.”
    “I’m aware of that,” I shot back, going to my room. I left him in the hall and closed the door behind me, leaving the light off. I crossed the room to my bed and lay down, facing the window. I watched the rain come down in sheets and noticed I still had a headache. It wasn’t as bad as usual, which was a relief, but my current anger didn’t help it. I couldn’t understand why Rene would pull this sort of thing on me . . . I hoped it was just her worry that made her so angry, and that drove her to blurt out my apparent punishment.
    Maybe there were more rumors going around about Linden. I couldn’t imagine what else could be said to make him seem so bad, but the idea of Rene taking it seriously was not her usual way.
    I sighed to the darkness of my room just as someone knocked on the door. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so I didn’t say anything. When the door opened anyway, I sat up on my elbows, glaring in