Chapter 4

Lydia didn't come the next day. She didn't come on the third day, either.

I thought she had given up.

Before dawn on the fourth day, a violent pounding woke me.

Not knocking, pounding.

The gate clanged, and I almost felt the whole house shaking. Before I could open the door, someone kicked it in from outside.

The door crashed to the floor and sent up a cloud of dust.

Lydia stood in the doorway with four men in black behind her. Her flashlight shone straight into my face, stinging my eyes so badly I could not open them.

"Three days."

Her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were red, as if she hadn't slept in days.

"I gave you three days. Where's Caleb?!"

Evan poked his head out from behind her. This time, he wasn't smiling. He looked worse today, and his lips were a little pale. It looked like he was having another episode.

But when he looked at me, his eyes held certainty. He knew Lydia would do anything for him.

"He's dead," I said.

Lydia walked in, but I didn't move. She came up to me and held my jaw, then forced my face up. Her fingers were cold, and her grip was strong. Her finger bones pressed into my jaw until it hurt.

"Noah, Evan's bone marrow transplant can't wait any longer. If you still refuse to tell me, I'll have people search this entire town. I'll even dig into the ground if I have to, but I will find Caleb!"

"Then dig," I said.

She let go and stepped back before telling the four men behind her, "Go! Search every room!"

The four men spread out and opened every drawer and closet. Bowls and plates broke. Cabinets crashed over. Caleb's photo frame hit the floor.

I did not move.

I stood in the center of the front room and looked at Lydia.

She walked to the doorway of Caleb's room and stopped at the threshold. There was nothing in the room. There was a lonely bed, an old wardrobe, and curtains fluttering in the wind. The moonlight was falling on the empty bed.

Lydia stood there, motionless.

"He really isn't here," I said.

She suddenly turned and walked right to me. This time, she didn't grab my jaw. She seized my collar and shoved me backward.

I fell back and hit the wall. The back of my head struck the brick with a thud, and I thought I could hear buzzing in my ears.

She pressed her forearm against my throat and leaned her whole weight into me. I was half a head taller than her, but she had thrown herself at me with terrifying force. My back was pinned hard against the wall, and she pressed my neck so hard I could barely breathe.

"Where is he?!" she roared, loud enough to be able to tear the roof off if she went any louder.

"Let go..." My vision was going black.

"I asked you where he is!"

Evan suddenly called from behind her, "Lydia, don't do this!"

But his voice was very soft, and he barely took a step forward.

Lydia's hand trembled. Not from guilt, but from panic.

Evan's body couldn't hold out anymore. She needed Caleb's marrow now. If Caleb kept hiding, Evan might die, and she couldn't accept that. She didn't care whether Caleb was dead or alive.

A chill went down my spine.

As my hatred for this woman reached its peak, I suddenly calmed down. I forced myself to make a sound and said, "Let go, and I'll take you there."

Her arm loosened a little, but she didn't fully release me. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes." I coughed, and blood seeped from the corner of my mouth. "Let me go, and I'll take you to Caleb."

She stared into my eyes for five seconds, then let go.

I slid to the ground instantly, my knee landed on a broken piece of bowl, cutting it open. Blood ran down my calf. I put my hands against the floor and stood up, then wiped the corner of my mouth.

"Let's go," I said.

Lydia's face eased a little as Evan smiled faintly.

"Where is he?" Lydia asked.

"On the hill behind the town, under the old oak tree," I said.

"What's he doing there?" Lydia asked.

"Waiting for the person he was waiting for," I answered.

Lydia frowned, but she didn't ask anything else. She turned and walked outside, with Evan following behind her. I walked at the back, across my yard and onto the muddy road behind the town.

The wind was howling.

Many of the leaves on the old oak tree had fallen. The bare branches reached toward the sky, like a person stretching out their arms.

Caleb was buried under that tree.

The new soil had already dried, and a few weeds had grown over it. I had piled several stones into a small grave mound. There was no tombstone, only a wooden board with a few words written in paint using a paint brush.

Caleb Shaw.

Lydia stood before the grave. She looked at the mound, then at the wooden board, then back at me. "What is this?"

Her voice was still calm when she asked, but her hand was already trembling.

Evan stood two steps behind her, and the smile on his face finally vanished.

I walked to the grave and crouched down, pulling the weeds from the mound by hand.

"Weren't you looking for Caleb?" I said as I stood up and turned to look at Lydia.

The wind blew my bangs into my eyes, but I didn't brush it aside.

"He's right here."