together starting the following day. Even so, the police chief said the DA’s office would be deciding over the next
few days whether to officially charge Henry with criminal assault and battery.
And though there was now less than a week left before summer vacation, the superintendent had little choice but to expel Henry.
The boy would need a clean psychological evaluation before the district board could consider reinstating him in the town public
school system.
The adults did not discuss the wider and possibly more damaging repercussions of the day. Nobody spoke aloud of lawsuits,
but Reggie suspected her father would contact his attorney first thing in the morning. He had already announced they’d be
leaving at 9:30 to go to Thornwood for their first family therapy session.
On the silent and tense drive home, she fought off thoughts of all the distress that Henry’s violent attack on Billy Persons
would bring to her family, especially in light of the events from December and her own breakdown in the middle of class the
same day. The high school would probably be phoning Dad tomorrow to report that incident. Wonderful.
Dad carried a sleepy Henry into the house, and Reggie followed, locking up behind them. Dad turned to her.
“I want you to stay here while I take Henry up to bed.”
“I’ll take him, Dad.”
“No, I want you to—”
“Dad?” Henry lifted his head off his father’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about today. I know you’re mad.”
“I’m not mad at you, little man.”
“If I’m the one who caused all the trouble, why are you upset with Reggie?”
“I’m not…” Dad scratched his scruffy chin. “It’s complicated, Henry. Reggie and I just need to talk.”
Henry twisted his body and held his arms out to Reggie. Dad reluctantly let her take him.
“Holy cow, you’re heavy.”
Dad kissed Henry on the forehead, then put his hand on Reggie’s shoulder.
“Come down right after.”
“Yes, sir.”
Reggie carried Henry up to his room and lowered him onto his bed. He slid under the sheets and pulled them up over his chest.
Reggie sat down next to him.
“Henry, what happened today?”
Henry lowered his head onto the pillow and closed his eyes. He took a slow, deep breath and opened them again.
“I’m starting to remember things. Terrible things.”
Henry’s eyes seemed to sink back a little in his head, and they took on a faraway gaze. Reggie noticed how old and dark they
appeared now. No longer young and innocent.
“A carnival. And a shooting game with heads. And a clown. The one from that movie I watched, the one with the hatchet for
a hand.”
“Yes.”
“And a hospital with demon babies and ghosts of dead children.”
“Yes.”
“And Mom.”
“No, Henry. That wasn’t really Mom.”
“But it looked like her. And it talked like her.”
“But it wasn’t her.”
“It was the monster. The monster inside me.”
“Yes.” Reggie brushed Henry’s mussed hair from his face. “But the monster is gone now.”
“You killed it.”
“No, you did.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“But you were there with me.”
“Yes.”
“And you helped me.”
“All I did was help you find the strength you had all along. You had all the power you ever needed to destroy the monster
inside you. I just reminded you of that.”
Henry glanced across the room at the empty hamster cage.
“During our spelling quiz today, Otto, our class hamster, was running on his wheel. And I was concentrating so hard, and the
wheel was squeaking and squeaking, and then I just remembered.” He blinked. “General Squeak. He didn’t run away like you said,
did he?”
“No. He didn’t run away.”
“I killed him.” Henry held his hands in front of his face and stared at them. “It feels like a dream because I was in that
other place. But I remember. I can see it happening. I killed him with my own hands. I heard his bones snap.”
Reggie took her brother’s