Excluded and Uninvited novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: What Happened to My Dad

Jo's apartment had one bedroom and a couch that was too short for me.

She gave Katja the bed and a pair of her own pajamas and went to sleep with the door open.

I lay on the couch with my ribs aching and stared at the ceiling until one in the morning.

Then I heard the floorboard in the hall.

Katja came into the kitchen in Jo's pajamas, with her braid undone and her hair over her shoulders.

I had not seen it down before.

"You're not asleep," she said.

"Neither are you."

"I'm not used to the traffic."

She filled a glass of water and stood across the counter from me.

"You went white at the station," she said. "When he handed you the paper."

"He did."

"Are you going to tell me, or am I going to ask?"

"That's the rule, isn't it?" I said. "I don't lie to you."

"You don't have to tell me everything."

"I want to."

She pulled out the stool and sat.

"My father was a deputy," I said. "A man broke out of the county jail when I was twelve. He was meant to be in for a stolen car."

I kept my eyes on the counter.

"He stopped at our house because it was the closest one with a light. My father came home from his shift and walked into the kitchen."

Katja didn't make a sound.

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