“Right, but if you love something, you should... you should always show it attention,” Caitie said, setting the book down beside her and reaching down and scooping the chicken back up to scratch it behind the head. He was getting a little chubby, but that was okay. He was still cute. “'Cause who knows when it'll, like... disappear. Right?” It was an oddly deep moment from the normally quirky Caitie, but she couldn't help it.
As much as it would've eased her mind about her brother, going back to the city with him, she'd have spent the whole time miserable. And maybe it was a little selfish, but she had just settled down here. She had just gotten comfortable. She didn't want to leave. “I don't know, maybe I wouldn't've gone with him. The city scares the crap out of me,” she said quietly. “That's probably selfish, isn't it?” she asked.
She went quiet again, and nodded her head when Maddie said that neither of them should've left. “I told Everett that, too.” But he didn't listen. No one ever listened to Caitie. She knew that she wasn't the smartest, but she had some good ideas, and she'd stayed alive this long, so... it was annoying.
“She knows. She and Ev sent me here,” she explained. “It was Chrissy who found out about it, and they sent me on a truck so I'd be safe. And then Ev told me they got separated.” She heaved a sigh and shook her head. “It doesn't matter, I guess. He's gone now, and I'll be lucky if he ever comes back.” She pushed some hair from her face.
With a sigh, Caitie shook her head. “Everett's always thought he was like... at fault for everything that goes wrong with our family, and he never listens when we tell him he's not.” It was just the way he was.
Caitie hadn't meant to start crying. She was supposed to be tough and everything, now that she was on her own, but here she was, sniveling like a kid. No wonder people thought she was a kid. She leaned against Maddie's shoulder and sniffled. “What am I gonna do if he doesn't come back? Like... am I supposed to go back there by myself and look for them both?” she asked.
“It's totally not fair that they expect me to just sit here and be scared, worry about them all the stupid time, and they're out there... I don't even know where they are. It's unfair and it's dumb and I want to yell at someone.”