Chapter 6

Staring at Noah’s house all day wouldn’t make the man appear, and might make the occupants call the police to report a weirdo outside their house. So he kept walking to his own house. He wished it was empty, actually.

An eighteen-year-old cousin he barely remembered and hadn’t heard from in years had shown up a week or so ago. Drake. His mother’s sister’s kid. Drake’s mother was dead like Charlie’s was. Though he hadn’t yet broached the subject, Charlie suspected Drake wanted money. Why else would he look up Charlie after so many years?

He opened the door to his house and immediately heard the sound of a video game. Some sort of action game judging by the blast noises he heard.

“Oh hey, Charlie,” Drake said, barely sparing him a glance as he frantically pushed the controllers of the game system.