Swallow Me Whole novel · Chapter 13 of 24
Chapter 13: Under the Table
I shoved him toward the stairs.
"Back door. Go. Now."
"I have no shirt."
"Then walk like a man who goes jogging without one."
"It's five-fifty in the morning."
"Ashton, go."
He grabbed his sweatpants off the floor, found out they were inside out, and did not fix them.
He kissed my forehead, fast and hard, and he was gone down the back stairs in three jumps.
I stood in my sister's kitchen with no shirt either, one hand over my mouth, listening.
Gravel crunched.
A car trunk slammed.
Then Keeva's voice came up from the yard, bright and raspy from a night of driving.
"Ash? Is that you? Why are you up?"
"Couldn't sleep," Ashton said.
His voice came out almost normal.
I was proud of him and I wanted to throw something.
"In sweatpants. Inside out."
A pause.
"Laundry day," he said.
"You're a weirdo."
"You're early."
"A girl on my floor swapped shifts with me. I drove through the night. Is the kid asleep?"
I ran.
I grabbed my T-shirt off the floor and pulled it on backward, then took it off and turned it around.
I dove onto the couch, yanked a blanket over my legs, and shut my eyes.
The front door opened.
Keeva's clogs thumped across the floor.
I felt her stop beside the couch.
"Sadie Haldane," she said, very softly. "You're such a goblin when you sleep."
I let her stand there for a count of five.
Then I opened one eye and did the best fake yawn of my life.
"You're home."
"Surprise."
She dropped onto the couch and hauled me into a hug that smelled like hospital soap and gas station coffee.
My sister is five foot eight and built like a swimmer, and when she hugs you, you stay hugged.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of Swallow Me Whole are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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