by Jordan Ford
I have to stick it out.
Slamming my door shut, I thump up the stairs and walk in to find Selena on Enzo’s knee. Diego is sitting on the other couch, staring at the TV like a zombie.
As soon as I shut the door behind me, his head snaps in my direction and he’s off the couch like lightning.
“How was your date?”
I glare at him, my stomach clenching tight. “What date?”
“The blonde. I knew you were lying. Did she dump your ass for ditching her?”
I point at him. “Shut up.”
“Boys, boys.” Enzo scowls at me. “What’s the problem?”
“I told you, Pop, Vinnie was out with a girl and he lied about it.”
“What girl?”
“He’s talking shit.” I point at my cousin and know right away that I’m in for it.
“You calling me a liar?” He gets in my face, puffing out his chest like an angry gorilla.
Dammit!
I’m about to get pounded, and I’m never allowed to hit back or Enzo jumps in to support his son. The first and last time I brought my fists to the table, they broke two of my ribs. Nick was in jail by then so I had no backup, and they went to fucking town on me.
I glance at Selena, who closes her eyes, dread washing over her expression.
Diego fists my collar, breathing his beer stench all over me. “You calling me a fuckin’ liar?”
I don’t say anything as he shoves me back. My hip crashes against the table, the empty beer cans rattling and falling to the floor.
“Who was she?”
“No one,” I mutter.
Diego’s fist plows into my side. I grunt and do my best to hide the pain.
“Who was she?”
I suck in a breath. “You can hit me all night, Diego, but I’m telling you, she wasn’t my date. I don’t know her!”
“You seemed hell-bent on defending her.”
“Only because she didn’t deserve your dirty hands trying to grope her.”
Diego’s nostrils flare and he lashes out again. I block the punch, only to score myself a thunder fist to the stomach.
I hiss and bend forward just as Diego’s knee comes rocketing toward my face. The taste of blood explodes in my mouth and I hit the floor.
Curling into a ball is my safest bet. I just need to ride it out until Diego’s had his fill or Enzo gets bored of the show.
He shouts at me the whole time, demanding Chloe’s name, but I keep my mouth shut. Covering my head, Diego gets in a solid kick before stepping back. I make the mistake of unfurling and score myself a fast one to the face.
“Her name!” he screams in my ear.
“That’s enough, Diego!” Enzo shouts. “He would have told us by now. Leave him!”
My cousin stands back, puffing from exertion.
Pain radiates through my body as I stagger to my feet. Enzo looks across the room at me. “If I find out you’re lying, it’ll be much worse than this.”
“She was nothing. A stranger.” I wipe my lip with the back of my hand but it doesn’t stop the blood dripping off my chin.
“Go and clean him up.” Enzo pats Selena’s butt and forces her off his knee.
She does as she’s told and I’m soon sitting in the bathroom being patched up by my uncle’s young girlfriend. Her hands are trembling as she dabs my wounds.
“Nick would never have allowed this,” she whispers.
“Nick’s not here,” I grumble.
Shit, I’m hurting all over.
But at least I kept Chloe out of it.
I can go to bed with a clear conscience. And if I know what’s good for me, I should probably stay there for as long as I can.
15
Can’t Stop
CHLOE
It’s been three days since my date with Vincent.
I haven’t heard from him or seen him since, and I miss him.
It makes me miss school, which I know sounds weird. It’s Spring Break! I should be living it up, but I can’t get him out of my head.
I want to find one of his notes in my locker. I want to feel connected to him.
“You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?” Rahn’s lying on her bed, her feet swinging in the air as she thumbs through a magazine and hums along to “Crush” by David Archuleta.
She invited me over as soon as I got up this morning and I jumped at the chance. Maddie’s helping Holden at Cresthill Home for the Elderly, and Max is sneaking out to hang with Cairo. Uncle Conrad is covering for her. They left with their mitts and a baseball bat, but I know he’ll be dropping her at Cairo’s place before going off to do something else. It’s nice of him to help Max out this way, but part of me wonders if she should just tell the truth.
I swallow at my hypocritical thinking and go back to coloring Rahn’s book that she got for her birthday. It’s one of those really detailed coloring books and Rahn tires quickly, so I’m taking over to finish off the page.
“Purple?” I hold up a dark shade of my favorite color.
“Nice.” She grins. “Now answer my question.”
My lips twitch and I finally give in. “Of course I’m thinking about him.”
“It did sound like a nice date…until his cousin showed up.”
I figured I’d tell Rahn everything. I want her to understand how protective and sweet Vincent is. She seems to be coming around to the idea.
Outlining the flower petal, I start to shade in the middle and finally admit, “I’m worried about him.”
“Why?” Rahn’s braids splay over Zac Efron’s glossy headshot as she looks up at me.
“Sounds like he hates where he lives. He misses his brother. His family doesn’t care about him. I just wish I could rescue him from that horrible situation. I wish his brother wasn’t in jail for murder.”
Rahn gives me a sad smile. “I know we want to save the world, but unfortunately sometimes we can’t.”
I blink, hating her answer.
“I want to see him. Make sure he’s okay.”
“Yeah, well, you can see him when school goes back.”
“That’s still three and a half days away!”
“You must be the only teenager on this planet complaining about not being at school right now. This is our last break before the summer.”
I slump back in her desk chair, tapping the end of her pencil against my bottom lip. “I wonder if I should go see him.”
“What?” Rahn sits up. “You’re just going to show up at his front door?”
I sit forward. “Do you know where he lives?”
“No! And thank God, by that look on your face. Seriously, Chloe, don’t be insane. After what happened to you, I can’t believe you even thought for a second about going back to the northwest. Stay put. Right here where you’re safe.”
I wrinkle my nose at her and go back to coloring.
It’s not like I’m planning on waltzing in there after dark. I was thinking about an afternoon excursion. I glance at my watch and note the time. If I left in the next half hour or so, I could be there and back before dinner.
I just want to see him. Maybe if I wander around town and ask a few questions, I can track him down.
Keeping the thought to myself, I color until the field of flowers is complete.
“There you go.” I plop the book on her bed. “You’ve only got the sky and birds to go.”
“Ooooo, it’s pretty!” She grins at me. “Thank you. I figure I need to finish at least one page.”
I snicker. “I’m surprised your mom thought this would be the ultimate gift for you.”
“Me too.” She sits up with a frown. “Seriously. Sometimes I feel like my parents don’t know me at all.”
“I’m pretty sure every teenager in the world feels that way.”
We laugh together and I stand up, reaching for my hoodie.
“You have to go already?”
“Yep.” I bob my head. “I promised Mom I’d clean my room this afterno
on. Apparently Max and I are making her hair turn gray.” I roll my eyes. “She needs a job, so bad.”
“I’ll cross my fingers for you guys.”
“Well, she has another interview tomorrow. It’s a second one, so things are looking good.”
“What’s the job?”
I shrug. “Something to do with management and marketing. It’s for that store on Main Street. You know, the one that sells everything from cheese sticks to garden hoses.”
“Oh, you mean the one no one ever wants to go into because the store is so overcrowded that you can barely move?”
“That’s the one.” I zip up my sweatshirt and flick the hood back. “If Mom has her way, the place will be revolutionized.”
“I bet she’ll turn it into the most popular store in town.”
“Well, she’s capable.” I grin and lean down to peck the top of Rahn’s head.
“Thanks for hanging with me.”
“Always a pleasure, never a chore.” I wink.
“Hey, you want to come fundraising with me tomorrow? I’m doing chocolate sales on Main Street.”
“Sounds good. Text me. If I’m free, I’ll be there.”
“Coolio. See ya later, Blondie.”
“Take care, Pigtails.” I wave and walk for the front door.
I feel kind of bad that I just lied to Rahn, but there’s no way I’m wasting my afternoon at home cleaning my room.
Turning for my place, I walk down the street and veer left once I’m away from Rahn’s house. I then pick up my pace and run to the bus stop at the end of her street. I only have to wait two minutes and I’m soon sitting on a bus bound for Fort Street. My stomach is a mass of jitters, but I’m comforted by the daylight.
Admittedly, it’s pretty bleak daylight. Dark clouds are hovering overhead, threatening to open up at any moment. I look out the window and ignore the small voice in my head, reminding me this is a really bad idea.
You don’t even have an umbrella.
You have no idea where Vincent lives.
Are you seriously just going to walk up to random people and ask around?
The thought is unnerving, especially in that part of town. What if I bump into those rapists again?
No, they’re behind bars now, and surely there will be some good, helpful soul that will want to point me in the right direction. I could start near St. Michael’s. Maybe I’ll bump into someone I’ve met through the free meal service.
Although, will mentioning the name Mancini do me any favors?
Crap, this is a bad idea!
But I want to see Vincent, so whether it’s stupid or not, I’m going to spend my afternoon looking for the guy I can’t stop thinking about.
16
A Greenhouse in the Rain
VINCENT
I’ve been stuck in my room for nearly three days and I can’t handle it anymore. Enzo usually leaves me alone to recover after a beating. He’ll be on my case by the weekend, asking me to run errands, collect money, and play messenger boy.
Only eighteen more months of this shit.
That’s what I keep telling myself, but I’m a big fat liar. I don’t see how I’ll get out anytime soon. Not unless I steal money from Enzo, and that will never fly.
He’ll either kill me for my betrayal or make sure I get charged with a crime and given the heaviest punishment possible. It won’t be hard; the judge already has it in for me, although he did only saddle me with community service after that shoplifting incident. I should have known better than to steal something from Main Street. If I’d gone for any of the stores in my area, I could have mentioned the name Mancini and gotten away with it.
I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. It was just after Nick got sent away, and I guess I was acting out or some shit.
The community service wasn’t too bad. Picking up garbage and cleaning local areas. There was something kind of satisfying about making this town look better.
Lifting up my hood, I walk out the front door and head right. I have no particular destination. I just want to walk for a while.
It’s going to start raining soon, but I’m not turning back. I need air, space, freedom.
My body is still kind of sore and stiff. I roll my shoulders and shove my hands into my pockets. I haven’t looked in the mirror this morning. When I checked last night, my bruises had a red-purple hue to them. They’ll be yellow by the weekend and gone by the time school goes back. At least I don’t have to miss any classes. Last time Diego lost it with me I was off school for a week.
My mouth’s healed up quick, with only a little swelling left on my lower lip. It doesn’t hurt anymore, which is good. And I didn’t lose any teeth, which is even better. Thankfully Diego’s never left permanent damage. Well, damage that people can see, anyway.
I hunch my shoulders and keep trudging forward.
The wind’s picked up a little. The cold swirl against my skin tells me that winter’s not quite ready to let go. It’ll battle it out with spring until we get consistently warmer weather. Bring it on.
Checking both ways, I cross the street and wander onward. I pass an old guy with a broken shopping cart. He’s muttering to himself while scratching his unkempt beard. I don’t bother acknowledging him. He probably doesn’t even know I’m here anyway. Another block later, I reach St. Michael’s and gaze up at the tower, the cross on top of it. It’s so grand and out of place here. I bet when it was built, it fit perfectly. I bet people came in droves every Sunday. That was before the town turned to shit and the most popular time became the free meal every night.
I glance down the street, shuddering at the reminder of what nearly happened to Chloe the last time she was here.
The rain starts to fall in light droplets.
I hunch over a little more and figure I should probably turn for home, but the thought only stirs a moaning complaint within me. I don’t want to go back.
With a heavy sigh, I walk forward, aware the rain is only getting heavier. I guess I could take shelter in Pedro’s for a while, but…
I jerk to a stop, squinting through the rain as I spot a pink hoodie dashing around the corner.
My heart lurches into my throat the second I recognize her.
Chloe?
What the hell is she doing here?
Fear flashes inside me, a hot, intense wave that makes me surge forward into a run.
She looks up to see me coming and an instant smile transforms her wet face. She’s so damn pretty it’s hard not to be affected by it.
“What are you doing here?” I bark.
Her smile falters, her sweet expression disappearing behind a look of horror. “What happened to you?”
She reaches out for me but I veer back, worried someone might see us together.
The rain is starting to pelt down now. I can’t drag her into Pedro’s—he might talk.
“You have to get home.” I look down the street, trying to remember where the nearest bus stop is.
“No way! I’m not leaving until you tell me what happened.”
“Chloe, you shouldn’t be here.” I gaze down at her, desperate for her to get it.
It’s not safe.
My family’s not safe.
I can’t handle it if she gets hurt.
Her eyes start to glisten and she looks across the street, licking the water off her lip before saying, “I know this part of town and I don’t go very well together, but you and I do. So I’m risking it anyway, because I want to see you.” She blinks and looks back up at me, her voice quaking with emotion. “What happened to you? Who hurt you?”
Damn. She looks ready to cry. Like somehow my bruises are hurting her too.
She sniffs, her face a mask of anguish.
“Come on.” I capture her hand before I can think better of it and head toward the nearest alley.
She stiffens as we enter it, but I tug her through as fast as I can and keep running until I spot the empty, overrun yard. Ducking through the hole in the fen
ce, I help Chloe through and then we run to the old, abandoned greenhouse.
I haven’t been in here for a couple of years. I’d sometimes hide out after a belting from Enzo. Nick would always find me in here.
Shouldering the stiff door open, I usher Chloe inside.
Rain pings off the glass above us and I glance up to watch the tears trickle down the sloping roof. Chloe lets go of my hand and moves past me, surveying the center table of smashed pots and rotting wood.
This place has always been abandoned. Grass and weeds are growing up through the floorboards, and there’s a smashed window down the end. A little graffiti decorates the back corner. I run my gaze across it before staring at Chloe.
She’s reached the far side where a bunch of musty sheets are piled in the middle. Old, but still dry.
Turning to face me, she wipes the droplets off her cheek and stares me down. “What happened to you?”
I flick my hoodie back and reveal it all. I’ve got the feeling she’s not going to leave without the story, but I keep it brief. “Diego was in a bad mood.”
Her expression crumples with a mixture of disgust and sympathy.
I’m not used to people feeling sorry for me, and I’m not sure I like it.
Leaning against the edge of the table, I shove my hands in my pockets. “It’s no big deal. I’m okay.”
“It’s not okay,” she retorts, approaching me with swift steps.
She’s right beside me now, her big blues gazing up at me like I’m important.
“You got beat,” she whispers. “And I’m not cool with that.”
Her fingers tremble as she gently runs them over my face. My instinct is to shy away, but I hold myself steady, transfixed by the feel of her smooth fingers.
It’s too hard to talk, so I just look at her, wishing I could read her mind. Her gaze caresses me, her lips curving into a fleeting smile before she rises to her tiptoes and brushes her lips across the bruise on my cheek.
My heart starts hammering so hard I’m sure she can feel it through my chest. She’s pressed against me, leaning across to kiss my other cheek and then my chin.
