Trouble in Hell (Hell Night 1)

Just as Jamie comes back into the living room, my phone starts playing So What. Grabbing it from the end table, I look at the screen. A smile forms on my face when I see it’s Lynn.

“Hey, you,” I answer, suddenly feeling very happy all of a sudden. I don’t know if it’s because of possibly moving to Malus or if it’s for talking to my friend again. After her phone call two weeks ago to tell me about Phillip, I called her that night and we had a very tearful and lengthy conversation, some of which she bitched me out for worrying her, then bitching me out some more when I told her why I had been ignoring her. I could tell my fear of her blaming me for what happened with her dad really hurt her. It was stupid to ever think that was even remotely true. We’ve talked almost every night since then.

“Hey,” she says, sounding out of breath. “Son-of-a-bitch,” she growls. “Move, asshole!”

“What are you doing?” I ask with a laugh.

A huff of air blows across the line. “Trying to get into my building before my apartment catches fire. I left my stove on, and I’m late for work. There’s a jerk in front of me who’s taking his sweet ass time walking up the stairs.”

This is not surprising. God love Lynn, and she’s super smart, but she’s the type who likes to stay in her head all the time, ignoring the outside world around her. She actually went to school one morning in her pajamas. I have no clue how she pulled that one off without realizing it.

“God, I’ve missed you,” I say into the phone with a giggle.

She huffs. “You mean you’ve missed my scatterbrain.”

My smile is so big my cheeks hurt. “Nope,” I chirp. “I’ve just missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Her voice is quiet, and guilt tries to worm its way inside. My shoulders slump.

“Anyway, I called because I finally found a picture of Da- I mean Phillip.”

I heave out a sigh, both relieved and anxious. When I called Lynn the evening we had our heart to heart, I asked her to send me a picture of Phillip. Trouble needed one so he and his brothers would know what he looked like if he were to come to town. Unfortunately, Phillip hated having his picture taken, and the few that Beverly, Lynn’s Mom, managed to snap, she deleted or threw away, wanting to wipe away anything that reminded her of him. Lynn said she’d try her best to locate one.

“Good. That’s good.”

“I’ll send it as soon as we get off here.”

I toy with the frayed edges of the hole in my shorts. “Thanks, Lynn.”

“No problem. It was a pain to find, but Mom missed a couple in a box in her closet.” She goes quiet before her voice turns timid. “So, uh, when am I going to meet the little guy?”

Lynn knows I went into labor early. That was another thing that bothered her. Not being here when Elijah was born. It makes me both sick and elated to think about, but for all intents and purposes, she is his half-sister.

I twist my finger around one of the frayed edges and watch as blood gets trapped in my finger tip, turning it red.

“You know why I don’t want to come back there,” I state quietly.

“Yeah,” she responds just as softly.

“Why don’t you plan a trip out here? Or Colorado if it’s going to be a while. I should be there within a few weeks.”

If I don’t decide to move to Malus.

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. It’ll be nice to get away.”

A noise comes from behind me, and I look over my shoulder just as Trouble walks in, JW, Judge, and Emo flanking him.

“Listen, I’ve got to go. See if you can get the time off work and let me know.”

There’s a dinging noise on her side of the line, like the sound a car makes when you leave your lights on and open the door. She blows out a tired breath.

“Yeah, okay. And watch for the picture.”

I nod. “Yep. Talk to you later.”

Hanging up, I stand from the couch. Elijah starts to whimper, so I go over and scoop him up from the floor. It’s about time for him to be hungry. Jenny gets to her feet as well. With Elijah in my arms, I walk into the kitchen where Trouble’s leaning against the counter by the fridge. JW’s beside him, while Judge stands at the bar and Emo is over by the far corner, his arms crossed over his chest.

When Trouble spots me, he sets the beer down on the counter beside his hip and lifts his arms. Knowing what he wants, I walk over and deposit Elijah in his arms. He likes to hold him. Like, a lot. It melts my heart every time I see him with Elijah.