Claimed

by Portia Moore

  “He’s wealthy, yes.”

  She sighs and sits back in her chair. “Is he handsome?” she asks, forcing a smile, and I let out a laugh, pull out my phone, and show her a picture of us.

  “Very handsome,” she says, almost sadly. She turns to me, her brown eyes focused on mine.

  “Rain, men like him—”

  “I know, Mom!” I interrupt her. “My friends have given me the same speech. I’m not an escortor a kept woman…he loves me. He wants me to be happy. He wants me to be successful. The money all goes into my bank account. Look…” I grab my phone and pull up my bank account to show her. “It’s all mine. This isn’t something to be sad about. I can help.” I watch as her eyes widen at the five-figure amount sitting in my bank account.

  “Jesus, Rain!” she gasps. A part of me is proud, but another part of me is extremely guilty. That’s probably more than half of my mom’s annual salary. I take her hands in mine.

  “Mom, I can help,” I plead to her, and see tears in her eyes. I pull out the check I ordered just for this moment and write one to her for five thousand dollars.

  “Get Dad back into rehab,” I say quietly. “I can give you more when I get paid again, to help with bills…a down payment on a new car…whatever you need. Just get Dad dried out. We have to treat the problem, not just the symptom.”

  “Rain, I can’t…” she says, adamantly pushing it back over to me.

  “Damn it, Mom, just please let me help!” I screech, and she looks down guiltily.

  “Take it,” I plead. “You’ll see that Vincent isn’t a bad guy. He really does love me, and it doesn’t matter if I help you guys.”

  My mother’s fingers close around the check, but I can see the doubt on her face. It makes some of the old fears rise up in the back of my mind, but I resolutely push them away. Vincent has done everything he can to prove himself to me. I have to trust him.

  Chapter 22

  Rain

  Three years earlier

  What am I doing here? I shouldn't have come. I thought being around Zach, having him see me with his friends, would make him stop seeing me like a little girl or some fragile flower that needs to be protected. But all I feel like now is an imposter, an imitator of the other girls here, a pale imitation of cool, sexy, and mature. Roni is off somewhere with Bryan, doing God knows what, so I’m sitting here like an idiot, alone and miserable, watching two guys play Call of Duty on a new giant television they’ve most likely stolen. Is this what the girls who hang around here do all day? Just sit around and wait for the guys to notice them?

  I’m on the verge of just figuring out how to get myself back home when I hear Jade’s slightly sarcastic voice ask, “Hey, you busy?”

  I don’t want to talk to her. That’s the absolute last thing I want to do. But I turn towards her, my lips pressed together as I shrug. “No,” I say flatly.

  “I just…” For the first time, Jade looks a little hesitant, like I’m the one who makes her nervous. “You know I’m dating Zach, right?”

  Of course she is. Everyone is but me, it seems. I hadn’t been sure that she and Zach were officially dating. Zach hadn’t given me a clear answer earlier, and a small part of me had hoped—not that it would have made it better—that they were just hooking up. But I don’t let her see how much it hurts to hear her say that. Instead, I shrug again, trying to look as if I couldn’t care less. “It’s none of my business…” I trail off, demanding my voice not to give away a hint of the pain I’m feeling.

  “Well, Zach says you’re like his little sister…”

  It’s almost impossible for me to keep a straight face at that. She’s just twisting the knife deeper and deeper, and I wonder if she’s doing it on purpose, or if she’s really stupid enough to believe that there’s nothing between Zach and I. Even I’m not so naïve as to think Zach doesn’t have any reciprocated feelings for me. He just won’t let himself give in to them.

  “…and so I thought I should try to get to know you better. You know, since you’re an important part of Zach’s life and all of that.” Jade looks uncomfortable. “I was thinking we go on a double date. Maybe next weekend?”

  A double date. He wants me to go on a double date with him and his new Barbie, knowing how I feel about him? Not to mention the fact that I don’t have a boyfriend or any guys interested in me, that I know of.

  “Zach was on board with this?” I evade the question of me getting a date, not wanting to admit that there’s literally no one I can think of who would be interested. I haven’t exactly spent time building relationships with guys, and if anyone were interested, being with Zach all the time most likely scared them off.

  “Yeah, he thought it was a good idea. He was going to tell you, but I wanted to instead. Break the ice a little, y’know?” I see it now, a calculating look in her eyes. She wants to see my reaction. She doesn’t buy this “little sister” BS Zach is peddling, and it makes me happy that it’s concerning to her, that she feels a teensy bit threatened even though there’s no reason for her to. I’m giving up on Zach admitting we could be more.

  “Yeah, next weekend is fine,” I say casually, but my mind and heart are both racing. Why on earth would he think that I’d want to actually spend an evening on a double date with him and his new plaything?

  But, I already know the answer. Jade set this up to see if he was telling the truth, and he couldn’t say no because then it would be clear that I’m not just a little sister to him. I’m guessing he thought I would say no, that I wouldn’t even be able to get anyone to come with me, but he’s wrong.

  I try to think of who I could ask. I don’t really like any other guys at my school—even if Zach wasn’t pretty much the only guy I can think about, no one else is really attractive to me, or interesting enough to want to spend time with.

  And then the answer comes to me. Marcus. He seemed nice when I signed up for the writers’ group, and I can tell him that it’s not like…a serious date. Just so that I’m not the third wheel.

  I can feel Jade looking at me, and I stiffen my shoulders. Two can play this game, I tell myself. “I actually have someone already,” I say casually. “So yeah. Next weekend.”

  Today I’m hanging out with Roni, and I’m so glad I am since it takes my mind off of Zach, Jade, and the stupid upcoming “double date.” She picks me up at my house at eleven, in an old Toyota Corolla that looks as if it’s seen better days. But it’s a car and where we live, having any car is impressive for a teenager.

  She’s wearing a black sundress and combat boots, her red hair braided over one shoulder, and sharp, black, cat-wing eyeliner. She looks gorgeous as always, and I feel small and boring in my jeans and black t-shirt, with my usual scuffed Vans.

  Roni looks over me with a sharp eye as she pulls out onto the road. “We’ll get lunch in the food court at the mall,” she says decisively. “And then we’ll go shopping. Maybe even a movie later. It’ll be fun.”

  I don’t know what to say. This is all new to me, but it feels good to have a friend—a female friend, no less. It’s almost like having a big sister, something I’ve always wanted. I love Erin, but I’ve always wanted to have someone who would take care of me, instead of it always being the other way around.

  It used to be Zach who took care of me. But now I’m not so sure anymore. My stomach wiggles when she lays out our plans because I have a total of six dollars in my pocket for whatever shopping it is that we’re going to do.

  I gather up my nerve and glance over at her. She’s hooking up her phone to an aux cord, and rock music begins to blare through the car as I clear my throat. “Um…Roni?”

  She turns down the volume. “What’s up?”

  I can feel myself turning bright, flaming red. “Um…so, I don’t really have any money to shop. I might not even have enough for more than a burger and fries…”

  She laughs, but it isn’t a mean laugh. “Neither do I. Everyone’s broke around here, remember? It’s no big deal. Look, you just g
otta be smart about this stuff. I’ll show you.”

  I don’t know what she means, but I’m too relieved to question her, so I just sit back in my seat and watch the cars fly by as we drive into town, the small Corolla practically vibrating from the volume of her music.

  We don’t go straight to the mall like I expected. Instead, she parks in front of a small consignment store a few streets down. “Wait here,” she says, and I see her get out, go around to the trunk, and take out a small basket of clothes.

  I sit in the car, not entirely sure what to do. It’s almost twenty minutes before she comes back out, but when she slides into the car, she’s gleeful. She has a handful of money, and she peels off two twenties and hands it to me. “Here,” she says. “For today.”

  “I can’t take this,” I say, trying to hand it back to her as my face flushes.

  “Of course you can.” She laughs. “I just sold some clothes, that’s all. Come on, I’m starving.”

  I never go to the mall—it seems pointless when I never have the money to buy anything. I follow Roni as we walk to the food court, and try not to stare at the options. I feel terribly guilty—the money in my pocket could buy food for home. I could stretch it out for a week's worth of food. But Roni didn’t give it to me for that.

  You’re allowed to have some fun, the small voice in my head says. But I still feel guilty.

  I get Chinese food, something I haven’t had in a long time. Every now and then, my mom will pick up takeout as a treat, usually if she’s worked extra hours tutoring. But it’s extremely rare. The smell makes my mouth water as I sit down next to Roni, who has a slice of pizza the size of her head on a greasy paper plate.

  “So what do you like to do for fun?” she asks me as I pick at my orange chicken.

  I shrug. “Write. Read books.” I feel boring next to her. She’s like a brightly colored bird, and I’m a finch. Something small, bland, and forgettable.

  “Writing sounds cool,” she says encouragingly. “You wanna do that for like…a job?”

  “Maybe. I joined a writing group.” I take a bite of an egg roll. “There’s a cute guy in it, and I’m kind of nervous about seeing him.” I realize it’s true, especially in light of my plan to ask him to go on the upcoming double date. “But he’s no Zach,” I add quickly, feeling disloyal, gossiping about another guy to a friend he introduced me to, even though I know they aren't friends.

  Is Roni my friend? It seems like she wants to be. But I’m afraid to trust it. I don’t know what I have to offer someone like her.

  She looks at me shrewdly. “You really like Zach, don’t you. Like…more than just a crush?”

  I bite my lip. So here it is—the point where I decide if I want to confide in her or not. No—not even whether or not I want to, because I do. I desperately want someone to talk to about all of this. But it’s a matter of whether or not I should.

  “How long have you known each other?”

  “Since I was like thirteen.”

  “And do you know how he feels about you?”

  I nod wordlessly.

  “Look.” Roni leans across the table. “I won’t tell any of the guys what you say to me if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ll keep what we talk about to myself. But maybe I can help you get Zach to see you as more than a little sister.”

  “I love him,” I confess softly. “I always have. And I know he loves me too. I just don’t know if it’s in that way.” My face flushes red.

  “You’ve just got to show him you’re not a little girl,” Roni says firmly. “Be irresistible. Show him what he’s missing out on.”

  “Him and Jade want to go out on a double date with me and someone,” I tell her. “I guess I’ll ask the guy from the writing group to go. But I don’t want to. I don’t want to go on a date with anyone but Zach.”

  “Men want what they can’t have,” Roni explains with a smirk. “Trust me, it’s not him that wants to go on this double date. It’s Jade, because she wants to scope you out. She doesn’t believe that he’s not into you.” Roni snorts lightly. “Trust me, I know her. And she’s not stupid. A slut, but not stupid.”

  I look at her, confused.“I thought you were friends.”

  Roni laughs. “I’m not friends with all the girls who hang around the clubhouse. And I don’t like Jade. She’s been trying to steal Bryan from me forever, for one thing. But she switched her attention to Zach instead. He’s an easier mark, I guess.” She sees my hurt expression and winces. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Zach’s young and inexperienced. And you should keep that in mind. It’s hard for guys his age to say no to a girl who wants them. It’s not personal. He’s trying to distract himself from you.”

  “And it’s working. So what do we do?” I ask hopelessly.

  “We make it impossible for him to distract himself,” Roni purrs. “Look, let’s finish eating, then I’ll show you what I mean.”

  She pulls me away from the table as soon as we’ve finished our food and guides me towards a makeup store. “You’ve got a gorgeous face,” she says. “Great skin, gorgeous eyes, to-die-for lips. You just need to learn how to accentuate them.” She pulls me from makeup display to makeup display, holding up lipstick and blush against my face and nodding here and there. I have no idea what she’s doing, but she seems pleased.

  “I’ll show you how to do it all,” she says confidently, and I stare at her.

  “Roni,” I say in a low hiss, “I can’t afford any of this.” The lipstick that she just held up was twenty-two dollars.

  “Just go talk to that saleslady.” She points at a prettily made-up brunette wearing a black apron. “And give me a few minutes.”

  I don’t understand, but I do what she says. “Hey,” I say shyly to the saleslady, who is wearing a name tag that says Megan. “Can you help me find some perfume?” It’s the first thing that comes to mind because something tells me that Roni doesn’t want her over by the makeup. She smiles pleasantly, walking me over to a wall of scents. She starts talking about notes and layers, and floral versus woodsy versus citrus, and a bunch of other things that I don’t understand, until ten minutes later I see Roni waving urgently at me.

  “You know what, I’m going to think about it all. You were great,” I say quickly. “Thanks for your help!”

  Once we’re outside, Roni grins and pulls me aside. She digs in her purse, and when she holds out her hands, there’s lipstick, blush, a tester bottle of foundation, an eyebrow pencil, and a small eyeshadow palette. “Here you go,” she says, grinning.

  I stare at her, horrified. “Did you…did you steal that?” I exclaim.

  “Shhh!” Roni glares at me. “Don’t be so loud. Yeah, I did. Who cares?”

  “You can’t just steal things!”

  Roni laughs and gives me a dismissive wave. “I do it all the time. Where do you think those clothes I just sold came from?”

  I’m speechless. All I can do is look at her in shock.

  “Zach steals stuff all the time with the boys. You know that, right?”

  I do know that, and I feel like a hypocrite now.

  Roni laughs. “Anyway, some of the money I get from those clothes goes towards things I need. Rent for my family’s house, food. Medicine for my little sister.” Her face is serious now. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun with it too. Look Rain, all of this shit is marked up so high. You can steal one or two designer things, pay your rent for a month by reselling it. And you’re not hurting anyone but some corporation with a CEO who makes a billion dollars a year and doesn’t give a shit if you die in a ditch. So who gives a fuck? This makeup is a tester that they barely even take a loss on. And we’re going to go pick out some clothes later, and I’ll show you how to do it. And it won’t hurt anyone. I promise.” She looks at me, defiantly. “No one is going to give us things, Rain. It’s up to us to take them.”

  How she explains it makes sense, but I was raised that stealing was bad no matter what the reason…but I ca
n’t think of anything to refute what she’s saying. The people who work in that store are going to work there no matter if a few things disappear or not. And the money that’s lost…she’s right. Some billionaire won’t notice. And no one with money has ever given a shit about me or my family.

  I’m tired of being poor, of never having anything I want. What if I could help feed my family or pay the electric bill? What if I could take some of the burden off my mom? What if I could afford an apartment of my own one day? If it’s not hurting anyone, is it really wrong? I quell the little voice that says it is, but I decide to ignore it, at least for today. And I have to admit, I’m tired of never having anything I want.

  Maybe Roni is right. Maybe it doesn’t make sense to be so uptight about it.

  “Alright,” I tell her, relenting a little. “Let’s go look at clothes.”

  When we walk into the clothing store, Roni doesn’t let me look around the racks—instead, she pushes me straight towards a dressing room. “I’ll bring you stuff to try on,” she tells me, and I frown, but I go in anyway. I have no idea what she’s going to bring me, and I’m a little afraid to find out.

  Fifteen minutes later, she has an armload of clothes for me. I try them on piece by piece—a frayed black denim miniskirt with a cropped t-shirt emblazoned with a rock band logo, a pair of tight stonewashed skinny jeans with a blue cutout top, and plenty of short, flirty minidresses. All of it is tight, short, cropped, or sometimes a combination of all of those.

  I feel awkward. But every time I walk out, Roni grins. “You look hot,” she tells me over and over, as I turn this way and that in front of the mirror. She practically squeals when I walk out in a short aqua blue minidress made of some soft material. “That looks amazing with your hair,” she tells me, and the more she hypes me up, the more I start to feel like maybe she’s right. Maybe part of the problem is how mousy and shy I’ve been this whole time.

  It’s time that Zach starts to see what he’s been missing.