Chapter 14: Three Lines

Lila's mother and uncle were standing in my hallway when my father and I came off the stairs.

Her mother wore a black wool coat, the one she had worn to the funeral in April.

Her uncle stood a step behind her with his arms crossed.

Devin had run ahead of us, and he stood between them and my door with both hands up.

"Mrs. Vandiver, please," he said. "Not here."

"Move, Devin," she said. "You've done enough."

She looked past him at me.

"Ansley. Lila called me from the train platform in tears. She says you've been telling people she's a monster."

"I haven't said a word about her," I said. "I've been telling people what happened."

"She lost her father six months ago."

"I know. I held her hand at the grave."

"And now you want to ruin her for a game."

My father moved a half step in front of me.

"Ma'am," he said. "Would you like to come in and sit down? My wife has coffee."

"I don't want coffee," her uncle said. "I want that girl to stop hurting my niece."

I took out my phone.

I had thought about this on the walk up, and I knew exactly how much I was willing to show.

"I'm only going to show you three lines," I said. "Then you can decide who's hurting who."

I held out the screenshot.

Her mother took the phone with a hand that wasn't steady.

She read it slowly.

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