Chapter 25: Elodie

Outside the truck door slammed shut and I turned to face the mess in the kitchen. Panicked, I dumped a towel on the floor to sop up the mess in a hurry and gathered up the other bloody cloths, racing to toss them into the washer. I came back for the towel, hurriedly swiping the floor and turning off the big overhead light, leaving only the light over the kitchen table where the First Aid kit was spread out. Maybe he wouldn't notice the floor in the shadows.

No time, no time. I got the towel and chucked it after the others in the washer and managed to collapse in a chair as the front door opened. In a spurt of inspiration, I doused a cotton ball with peroxide and was dabbing my own injuries with a shaking hand by the time Dad came into the kitchen.