Page 4 of Den of Iniquity

“But they’ll want me to come home,” he objected.

“Which you clearly don’t want to do,” I replied. “I understand that, but I believe you had a birthday a few weeks ago. Didn’t you?”

He nodded.

“So you’re eighteen now. In Washington State, that means you’re old enough to call the shots as far as where you choose to live. The fact that you came here and asked to stay with us tells me thatyou’re smart enough to realize you’re not quite ready to be entirely on your own. By now I’m sure your folks are worried sick. You should text them at least and let them know where you are.”

“But what if they tell me I have to come home?”

“Then you explain that you’re not ready—that you have some things you need to sort through first.”

“You won’t make me leave?”

“I’m not prepared to make you do anything. For right now, you’re welcome to stay. As for being here on a permanent basis? As I said, Mel and I will have to talk that over before I can say yay or nay. Fair enough?”

Kyle nodded, then he pulled out his phone and began to type. I can text when it’s absolutely necessary, but I’m no Quick Draw McGraw. I’m sometimes reduced to doing voice-to-text. Kyle, on the other hand, was able to text lightning fast by using both thumbs.

“There,” he said, once he finished. “I told them both. Now they know where I am.”

Within seconds, his phone began to buzz. He glanced at it. “That’s my mom,” he said. “Do I have to answer?”

“That’s up to you,” I told him.

He let the call go unanswered. As soon as his phone quit ringing, mine chimed in. “Mom?” Kyle asked.

I nodded.

“Are you going to answer?”

I nodded again.

“She’ll be really mad,” Kyle warned.

“I’m a big boy,” I told him. “I think I can handle it.”

Once I punched the button to answer, Kelly didn’t wait around long enough for me to say hello.

“What the hell is going on up there?” she demanded.

“I could ask the same of you,” I replied mildly. “What’s going on at your end?”

“Put Kyle on the phone.”

“He doesn’t want to speak to you at the moment. I think he needs some space.”

“Some space?” she echoed. “How much space does he need? For Pete’s sake, he took off and drove four hundred fifty miles without a word to either his father or to me! He has some serious explaining to do, and you need to stay out of it.”

“I’ll let him know,” I said.

“Dad—” she began.

“Look, Kelly,” I interrupted. “I’m glad he told you where he is so you don’t have to worry about him, but from what Kyle’s been saying, it seems to me as though your whole family has been going through a bit of a rough patch. At the moment all the upheaval appears to have gotten the best of him. Maybe what he needs is some time to sort through everything that’s been going on, so for right now, why don’t you just let him be?”

“But, Dad—” Kelly objected.

“I hear you have a new job,” I interjected, abruptly changing the subject. “How’s that going, to say nothing of how’s your new apartment? It sounds to me as though Kyle isn’t the only one who needs some space.”

She hung up on me then, which was a good thing because by then my phone was buzzing with a second incoming call, this one from Jeremy. I switched over to that one.