Strangely Normal by Tess Oliver Page A

“One day, I came down here to watch a movie and halfway through I heard this weird snoring sound. I looked back over the seat. Cole was fast asleep in the chair behind me with a bowl of popcorn spilled across his chest. He’d slept in here all night, and I hadn’t even noticed him sitting there.” Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it and answered it. “What?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m in Paris standing on the Eifel Tower, where do you think I am, Sir Nosy? We’re in the theater.” She paused. “As I mentioned this morning, the lack of prepared food is your fault. It would figure the one time you decide to be virtuous had to be with the chef. Find your own dinner. We’re busy watching people get slashed.” She put down the phone. “Man, that boy is needy today. He needs to get that thing off his ankle before he drives me crazy.”
    “I guess he’s probably itching to get out of here, huh?” I had to make a concerted effort to dampen the hopefulness in my tone.
    “Yeah, Jude doesn’t like to stick around in one place too long. This house arrest has been killing him. The worst part is, he didn’t really do anything wrong. He took the fall for a friend.” She pointed at the screen. “This prologue, where they show Michael as a little boy, always creeps me out.”
    While it seemed there was a noble cause behind the ankle monitor, it seemed that I was not going to hear the whole story anytime soon. We rested back to enjoy the movie and were both poised to jump in fright as the theater door opened.
    Jude dropped into the seat next to me and instantly every muscle in my body tensed. “Damn, I forgot my hockey mask.”
    “Wrong psycho,” Finley and I said simultaneously.
    “Sorry, my mistake.”
    Finley leaned forward and shushed him loudly.
    “Yeah, you don’t want to miss any of the riveting dialogue in this flick,” Jude said. “Where’s the popcorn?”
    “Could you be any more annoying?” Finley asked.
    “I’m sure I could if I put some effort into it.”
    “Shhh.” I said to both of them. “This is a pivotal scene.”
    Finley’s phone rang. “Hey, Daddy.” She walked out of the theater leaving me completely alone with a serial killer and her brother. At the moment, I was opting for the guy in the mask.
    “You know, this isn’t going to be as easy as you imagined,” Jude said suddenly.
    I turned to face him. He stared at the screen for a moment. His profile couldn’t have been more perfect if it had been chiseled by Michelangelo. He turned to face me.
    “She’s in a good mood right now, but that can change in an instant. My sister doesn’t need a pal, she needs a doctor. But my dad is in denial. You might have thought that you landed a nice, cushy summer job, but it won’t be easy. Just hope you can handle it, Valley.”
    Quiet rage filled me with each of his words of warning. I decided we needed to get things out in the open now or I would be suffering his attacks constantly. “You don’t know anything about me or what I imagined.” I said quietly. “I’ve lived in squalid, flea-infested apartments, the backroom of a dry cleaner, and even the backseat of a van. I wake up every day and wonder if there will be any food in the cupboard. In school, I was the new kid more times than I can count on my fingers, and yet, I still managed to get into a university. But that dream was smashed by my parent’s lack of money.” I hated the waver in my voice, but I was angry enough to continue and he didn’t seem inclined to stop me. “I’ve slept on a mattress that had more fucking holes than the moon, and a day with hot water in my life is a day of wondrous luxury. Easy? I wouldn’t know easy if it slapped me in the face. I can handle it.”
    He stared at me without responding, but his expression was not contrite or empathetic. And I was glad of it. The last thing I’d wanted in spilling my embarrassing life story to him was his pity. My only motive was to let him know I