Flush

Noah tells the reader that as a baby, Abbey had a bad habit of biting everyone. In the present moment, as he watches the arm encircling his sister’s neck, he knows what’s about to happen: “I could see her eyeing the meaty part of his forearm, and I thought: Whoever this goon is, some major pain is headed his way” (59). Abbey bites down hard, and the man screams in pain. Both kids beat a hasty retreat.

The next morning, an article about Paine appears in the newspaper. Donna is mortified because Paine is talking about going on a hunger strike in jail. When Noah arrives to visit his father, the atmosphere is tense. After the TV interview, the sheriff is trying to force Paine to keep a low profile. Noah tells Paine that Lice has accepted his offer and warns his father that Donna is losing patience with the whole situation. Noah says, “I could see that my father was concerned, which was healthy. When it came to Mom, he needed to be. It’s pathetic for grown-ups to pretend everything’s okay when it’s not” (64).

After his jail visit, Noah goes to see if Lice has written up his statement.