Chapter 10

"Oh, jeez," I mumble, at the same time that Eli asks what she means.

She looks like she wants to walk away and pretend she hasn't heard him. She considers it; I can tell by the way her body leans back slightly like she's fighting the urge to turn around and hightail it out of the cottage. But she doesn't. Instead, she sighs and then ushers us into the living room.

Eli and I sit beside each other on the sofa, and Iris - Grandma -takes the armchair nearest the window. It's silent for a moment, with only the ticking of the clock displayed on the mantlepiece audible throughout the room.

I think she's not going to say anything at all, and that maybe she's forgotten what she brought us in here for. It wouldn't surprise me, all things considered. Iris had already convinced me she has a screw loose, and this just makes me even more sure. I fidget with my hands on my lap, my eyes darting around. I try to catch Eli's attention, to see if he feels as uncomfortable as I do, but he