Some Quiet Place

the first time, and lets out a breath. His bangs lift off his forehead, and slowly settle back down, covering his eyes. An odd instinct consumes me to reach out and brush all that hair aside.
    I start to walk toward the doors, and Joshua recovers quickly. He catches up with me. “We’re not done talking about this, you know,” he says. “Not by a long shot.”
    “What else can there be?”
    “Hey.” Joshua touches my elbow, stopping me yet again. His eyes—amber in the sunlight—are solemn. “Just because I know about you now doesn’t mean I’m going to treat you like Sophia Richardson.” He grins. “I mean, you’re still you, right?”
    I study his face. “And who is it, exactly, that you think I am?”
    The boy frowns. “Well, first off, I don’t buy the ‘no Emotion’ shit. You may not be obvious about it, but you’re definitely human in that area.”
    Another person who’s going to deny the truth. Even if I can’t discourage Fear, I can set Joshua straight. “I meant what I said that day on the steps, Joshua,” I say. “Maggie’s death didn’t affect me. You ignoring me didn’t bother me. The fact that my own mother doesn’t love me doesn’t matter. When my father hits me, I feel nothing. My brother acting like everything is perfect and nothing is wrong doesn’t infuriate me. I don’t—”
    “Knock it off,” he cuts in with a downward slash of his hand. “I’m not the one in denial. You are.” It’s as if he’s read my mind.
    I think of all those little things that make him believe this. Memories that aren’t just his. Seemingly human moments. Me offering him a smile in our kindergarten class. Me comforting Maggie on the playground after a boy had called her ugly. Me staring out the classroom window as one of our teachers droned on and on. Me studying the mural on my wall with an expression akin to frustration. Me looking down into Maggie’s casket, those strange tears trailing down my cheeks. Our hands laced together on the table in the library.
    I’m shaking my head. “Joshua, no matter what it seems like—”
    He still won’t let me finish. “It’s a lot to take in, I’ll admit,” he says as if I haven’t spoken. “But I’ve always known something was different. I didn’t care. Do you understand that? I don’t care . You’re Elizabeth, and that is someone, no matter what you think or say.”
    “Joshua—”
    He sighs. “And as far as me ignoring you, well, that wasn’t just because of what you said on the steps or because of what I saw at the party. If you’d bothered paying attention to me at all, you’d know that the crops have me pretty worried, okay?”
    Silence falls between us. A bee whizzes by. The only words that come to mind are I’m sorry , and I won’t say it to him because it would be a lie. I’ve already lied to him, and now … it just doesn’t seem like the correct thing to do.
    “Do you want to come over tonight?”
    It’s out before I’ve thought it through, before I have a chance to stop it. Joshua seems just as taken aback as me. As if my hand has a mind of its own—no, I must be losing my mind—my fingers reach out, and gently, so gently, brush those persistent bangs out of the way for the first time. Joshua looks back at me, his gaze finally unhindered by all of that hair.
    “It’s always in the way,” I offer by way of explanation. He just keeps staring at me, and I know he’s wondering what this means.
    Then he grins. A big, slow, smug grin that shows the extent of his renewed hope.
    I spin on my heel and go into the school, my nothingness trembling inside of me. I can hear him following.
    “So I’ll see you tonight?” Joshua calls just as the door closes. I poke my head back out, trying not to think of all the repercussions this entire conversation could have on everything and anything.
    “After my parents are asleep,” I answer against my better judgment. “Late.”
    He nods, jogging up the steps. Just as he’s getting closer I make to vanish again. He says quickly, “See you then, Elizabeth.”
    The way he says my name makes the trembling increase. As if we have a delicious secret no one else in the world knows.
    It reminds me of Fear.
    “Won’t be back until morning!” Charles shouts on his way out the door.
    Sarah waves at him, soap flicking to the tiles, but my brother is already in the driveway. We can hear his truck starting. Silence fills the house again. I’m in the laundry room adjacent to