Lay Me Down

Meeting the Enemy: Part 20

Her parents were eating without her and hadn't even set a place for her. Her mom poked at a piece of chicken with her fork, her eyes tired and droopy. Kylee paused, surprised to note she'd gotten a haircut. Her dark blond hair hung around her face. But it wasn't styled, and the cut didn't flatter her. Bill shoveled his food into his mouth, his perpetual sneer in place. In the kitchen, flies buzzed over the sink full of dirty dishes.

"Theresa, you know how to use salt, woman?" He kicked at her chair leg.

She lifted her eyes to glower at him. "Next time salt your own food."

Kylee cleared her throat. "Sorry I wasn't here. I needed to get out for a bit." She waited for a reprimand, for Bill to jump to his feet and lay into her.

Neither of them reacted. "I'm done eating," Bill grumbled, standing and leaving his half-eaten plate of food on the table.

Kylee sat down in his vacated chair and faced her mother. "Did you get your hair cut?" Obviously she had. "I mean, why?"

Her mom poked at the food a bit more, her teeth gnawing at her lower lip. A scab healed on her mouth, and another on her arm looked like she'd recently scratched it. She often scratched when she was nervous. Theresa got up and disappeared down the hall, leaving her plate beside Bill's.

Kylee sat stock still for another minute, but her mom didn't return, and Bill didn't call out from the living room. She took a deep breath, her heart beginning to slow down. Had she gotten off so easy? She'd take the silent treatment any day.

The chicken and potatoes on her mom's plate didn't look appealing. Kylee eyed it for a moment, then turned around and went back to her room.

Kylee woke up in the morning to the sound of voices in the other room. The sun shone through her window, speckling her bedspread with silhouettes from the grime on the glass.

She jumped out of bed. It had to be past eight in the morning. Bill never let her sleep in so long.

"Mom?" she called, moving toward their bedroom. The door was ajar, and Kylee tapped on it. "Mom?" She poked her head in.

Theresa stood in front of a mirror, doing up the buttons on a faded flower-print dress that had to be from the eighties. Bill stood next to her, scowling as he folded the collar on a green plaid shirt.

Kylee did a double take. She couldn't remember ever seeing her mom in something besides sweats or pajamas. "Where are you guys going?"

"This is a pointless endeavor," Bill growled.

Her mother turned around and helped him with his collar. "Try and look respectable." She yanked hard on his shirt.

"Ow." He narrowed his eyes at her. "It's that damn pastor I can't stand. Always staring right at me when he talks. Like he's preaching to me."

"He probably is." Her mom picked up a small yellow purse from the bed. "Let's go."

"You're lucid and awake today," Bill said, leering at her.

"This is important. Act normal."

Church! They were going to church! Why hadn't someone told her? Kylee turned and raced back to her room. No time to shower. She flipped through the clothes in her closet, looking for something appropriate. Did she own a dress?

Not finding one, she settled on a nice button-up blouse and a long, beige skirt. She ran a hand over her ponytail, feeling the bumps and strays that had emerged during the night. She yanked out the holder. Price would be at the old stone church.