A Modern Love Story

by Jolyn Palliata

  Leah swatted his arm. “That’s Mrs. Anita to you, mister.”

  “Child abuser,” he mumbled, holding back his grin.

  Leah laughed as she examined his knee. Torn pants, skin scraped and bloodied. “Nice impression you made on Robbie there, Luc. Despite your limitless charm on me now—note the sarcasm—you just earned yourself KP duty, and a personal tour of the neighborhood for Robbie tomorrow. And I’m talking the works.”

  “Jesus Christ.”

  Leah merely pointed a stern finger in his face.

  “Fine.” He watched Leah tip the bottle of antiseptic with a cotton ball shoved over the mouth. “Take it easy on that stuff, Leah. That shit stings.”

  Her mouth pursed as she began cleaning the wound.

  “Sonofabit—”

  “Lucian Cintrone, that’s enough of that! You just mind your p’s and q’s in front of a lady.”

  Luc held back the smirk, but couldn’t stop the unbelieving raise of his eyebrows.

  Leah laughed. “No, I would never presume to refer to myself as a lady. I meant our newest addition to the house.” She nodded towards Robbie standing in the doorway.

  “Fine. I’ll mind my p’s and q’s. What the hell does that mean, anyhow?”

  “Good lord, the effort it must have taken you to last two whole sentences before swearing again…” She rolled her eyes as she continued dabbing at his knee. “And to answer your question, quite simply, I don’t know.”

  Robbie piping up from behind had Luc twisting around. “It originated in British pubs. It means Mind your pints and quarts. That’s the different sizes of what people drank. We have small, medium and large, they had pints and quarts. The man behind the bar would yell Mind your p’s and q’s! when a fight broke out so people wouldn’t spill.”

  Luc stared at her a beat and then turned back to Leah. “She’s weird.”

  “Lucian! Apologize. Now!”

  He saw real anger there and looked back at Robbie. “I’m sorry I pointed out the obvious.”

  “That’s okay. I guess I am, a little bit.”

  “Aww, sweetie. No, you’re not.”

  Lucian gawked at Leah and mouthed Sweetie? as a deliberate question.

  “You shush, Luc.” She slapped a bandage on his knee.

  “Hey!” He winced and glared with no effect.

  “Go clean your room or something. I don’t want to see or hear from you before we eat.” Then she beamed a smile at Robbie. “Come on, sweetie. You can keep me company while I make dinner. Sound good?”

  Luc slid off the stool and scowled as he passed the red-headed squirt. “I wouldn’t get too close to her. She might—”

  “Lucian.” The warning was clear.

  Satisfied, he let his smile spread from ear-to-ear as he walked to his room.

  *****

  “You better keep up Squirt ‘cause I’m not waiting on you. I don’t give a fuck what Leah has to say about that. Or Lawson either, for that matter.” Luc glanced over his shoulder. “You hear me?”

  “Yeah.” Robbie bit her lip against what she really wanted to say, not sure how the rough-n-tough boy would react. He did nothing but talk, in her opinion. Okay, sure, it wasn’t like she’d ever known that many kids before, but still, he sure did like to hear himself. She’d never met another kid with so much to say, without really saying anything. Except swear words. He loved to cuss.

  She studied him as he grumbled under his breath about stick-figure girls and a tiny pain in the ass, all the while kicking at every stone or pebble in his path. Even at twelve, he towered over Robbie, and yet, despite his lankiness, he wasn’t awkward and lumbering. He was fluid and strong. A tussled mop of dark hair matched his dark-brown eyes, which, in turn, matched his dark moods. And Robbie had to admit, she immediately admired him. Why couldn’t she be like that? Not the tall and dark part, but the hard and mean part. With anger like that, she bet she wouldn’t be so scared all the time.

  Here was a kid who wasn’t afraid to say what was on his mind, and exactly what he thought about it. Here was someone not afraid of his own shadow and able to take care of himself. She imagined there was nothing that would ever scare him. He’d never cower in the dark and jump at every sound in the night. He’d never have nightmares that had him fighting for air and getting all sweaty. No. Not him. He was all sleek and dangerous like a—

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Robbie blinked and stared. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. It’s weird. Knock that shit off.”

  She felt her embarrassment blaze into her cheeks. “Sorry.”

  “You’re not gonna be one of those psycho bitches that cuts a guy up when he’s sleeping, right?”

  Other than her jaw dropping, she couldn’t muster up much more of a reaction. He was nuts!

  “Guess not. Just checking.”

  Stumbling over a rock, Robbie fought to keep up with Luc, and then followed him through a thick strip of woods and into a clearing by a creek. He sat and kicked back against a pile of rocks, arms folded behind his head. Eyes closed, he basked in the sun while Robbie regarded him, and then tentatively approached the bank.

  Seeing no other good option, she spoke first. “I thought you were supposed to show me around.”

  “I am. This is the only place worth going to, and no one comes here.”

  “Why not?”

  He lifted a lazy lid to eye her up before closing it again. “‘Cause I’ll kick their ass if they do.”

  And what do you say to that?, Robbie wondered. She crouched down—ladylike, because of the jumper—and absently picked at the long blades of grass sprouting from the soft ground. It wasn’t until about twenty minutes later that Luc spoke again.

  “You never shut up, do you, Squirt?”

  “I don’t know what to say. And why do you keep calling me that?”

  Luc pushed up on his elbows and studied her long enough to leave her squirming. “Why else? ‘Cause you’re scrawny as hell. I guess you’re okay…for a girl. But shit, you’re fucking tiny.”

  “It’s just because you’re so tall.”

  “Even still. Look, we might as well talk about something. Leah will tear me a new one if we aren’t gone at least an hour, and I’m getting bored just sitting here.”

  “What do you wanna talk about?”

  “Beats the hell outta me.”

  Robbie picked up a stone, weighed it in her palm. Tipping her head to the side, she flicked her wrist, skipping the stone three times across the creek before it sunk. “What about Lawson? How come he didn’t come home last night?”

  “He came home, just not until after we were in bed. He—they—own a construction company, and sometimes he has to work late.” He scooted next to Robbie and began sifting through the stones. “Of course that didn’t stop him from coming in my room last night and giving me what-for.”

  “He hit you?!”

  “Hell, no!” Luc shook his head once, clearly in disbelief. “We had a talk.” He snapped a rock out at the water. “Ha! Beat ya! Mine skipped four times. Take that, Squirt!”

  She tried ignoring the obvious bait, but then began searching for another rock. “What’s a talk?”

  “When he tells me I’m in trouble for fighting, and I promise never to do it again. And then he threatens to ground me, and I say again that I won’t fight anymore. And then he goes ahead and grounds me.”

  “And then you fight again?”

  He lifted a careless shoulder, dropped it. “Usually. But not on purpose. It just…happens, sometimes.”

  “Oh.” Her rock only skipped twice, earning a smirk from Luc.

  “Not that every single one of those assholes didn’t deserve a good beating.”

  “Um…okay. And the swearing?”

  He glanced over, tossing a rock into the air and palming it. “What of it?”

  “I just never heard someone swear so much. Especially a kid.”

  “It’s just how I talk.”

>   “And no one cares?”

  “Never used to. Not until the L’s—ahh, that’s what I call Leah and Lawson.”

  “I know Leah doesn’t like it. I heard her say that last night.”

  “Yeah. Lawson doesn’t like it either. I try to watch it around them, well, sometimes. Other times I could give a fuck.”

  Robbie cringed.

  “Christ. Not you too?”

  Her fingers closed around the perfect skipping stone as she answered. “I guess I’m not used to it, is all.” Her stone skipped five times.

  Luc scoffed and tossed down the handful of rocks he had. “Yeah, well, you better get used to it ‘cause I’m not changing for anyone.”

  “Why even try then? I mean, for Lawson and Leah?”

  He paused as if considering his response. “They’re good people. You could do worse.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been in the system for as long as I can remember. From one foster family to the next. Some are real assholes. They hit, lock you up, feed you shit food. They just want to get their money. And then there are ones like the L’s.”

  “How long have you been with them?”

  “Couple of years. Didn’t figure I’d still be here.”

  “Why not?”

  “Shit. When you get going, you really don’t shut up, do you?”

  She shrugged. “Don’t answer then.”

  He glanced over. “I used to punch walls. One after another. Just punch holes in them until they kicked me out into the next shithole they had lined up.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not? They didn’t give a shit—the people that had me. They didn’t want me any more than I wanted them, so I made it easy all around. Didn’t work that way with the L’s. I’d punch a hole, and Leah would patch up my knuckles while Lawson fixed the wall. Over and over we did this, and they never said anything until the fourth or fifth time. Then Lawson said to me—like it was obvious or something—that I was just destroying what was rightfully mine. That their home was my home.” He cleared his throat and turned away. “I quit punching holes after that.”

  Robbie smiled, put a hand on his shoulder. “You love them.”

  He jerked out from under her touch and stuck his finger in her face. “I do not! And don’t you go ‘round telling people that neither. Not if you know what’s good for you.” He stalked back over to the big rock pile and leaned a hip against it.

  Robbie sighed and looked back out at the water.

  “What are you here for anyways? You’re parents ditch you too?”

  “Not really. They died, and I can’t find my family.”

  “You lost your family?”

  “I didn’t know there was anyone else. But my dad gave the doctors a name before he died. He said that family takes care of family, and they’d love me like their own.” She wiped at her eyes with the heel of her hand, just in case. “The orphanage couldn’t find them. But I will. When I get older, I’ll find them and have a family again.”

  “In the meantime, looks like you’re stuck with the L’s. Like I said, you could do worse. They even do family vacations.”

  “They do?”

  “Sure. Usually it’s camping though, so no taking along girlie things and shit.”

  Robbie lifted her shoulders and scowled. “I like camping.”

  “Yeah? You might be all right to have around then.” He sneered, chuckling. “You know you can’t wear dresses camping, right?”

  “Ugh. No skin off my nose.” She scowled at the frumpy jumper spread around her legs.

  “If you don’t like dresses, why are you wearing one?”

  “It’s all that Mrs. Anita brought me.”

  “Good ‘ole, Maureen, huh?” He pushed off and straightened, slipping his hands in his pockets. “Talk to Leah. She’ll get all fucking goofy like a girl, squeal and shit, and then take you shopping for jeans or whatever.”

  Robbie flinched again and had to fight to keep from plugging her ears. This, apparently, did not go unnoticed.

  His laugh was so full and rich, it sounded like it came straight up from his toes. “There you go again! You better toughen up, Squirt, or you’re gonna be shark bait at school. They’ll never let up.”

  Her cheeks warmed with her anger-tipped embarrassment. “I can take care of myself. Anyone gives me any trouble, I’ll just kick them in the tutu.”

  “The what?”

  “The tutu.”

  He hesitated. “Do you mean, like, between the legs?”

  “Didn’t I just say that?”

  “I don’t know what you just said, but I don’t think that’s what you call it on guys. Crotch, groin…balls.” Robbie flushed to Luc’s apparent delight. “But not toto or whatever you just called it.”

  “Tutu is a nasty word. Just most people don’t know it. It comes from…” Her whole head heated up this time; neck and everything. “Never mind.”

  “Aww, you can’t do that. You have to tell me now.”

  “No way. Can’t do it.”

  “So how do you know shit like that? Like last night, with the p’s and q’s thing. And now with this tutu thing—which you will tell me about.”

  Robbie smiled as she yanked a thick reed of grass. “My parents had a thing for little known facts. My mom and I would look stuff up at the library all the time and quiz my dad.”

  “You went to the library? For fun?”

  “I like to learn. My mom taught me on the road. She made it fun.”

  “On the road?”

  “We moved around a lot. As much as possible, actually. This is the longest I’ve ever been in one place for as long as I can remember.”

  “Fuck me. You didn’t have to go to school?”

  “Nope. But I still learned stuff on the road, took tests and all that. Had to, by law. The orphanage got me a tutor while I was there to make sure I was where I should be for when school starts.”

  “Wait. This is the first time you’ll be going to school?”

  “Yup.”

  “Whoa. How did you get so damn lucky?”

  Robbie pinched the blade of grass between her thumbs and blew. The toneless whistle wavered in the air for as long as she could sustain it, and then she let out a sigh. “I’m not feeling so lucky.”

  “Come on. Let’s head back. Don’t want Leah thinking we’re getting along or something.” He waited while Robbie brushed herself off. “Hey, I was meaning to ask you. What was with the light under your door?”

  “What light?” she asked, cautiously.

  “I got up to hit the head and I saw a light shining. It was too bright to be night light. Was it a flashlight?”

  Robbie hung her head and muttered, “I don’t like the dark.”

  They shoved their way through the rough foliage as they made their way back. “Yeah, well, good thing you don’t like the dark, there, Squirt.”

  “Why?”

  “‘Cause there’s this big-ass street light always shining through my window and keeping me awake. I figure you’re the new kid, you should have to deal with it. So you’re switching rooms with me, whether you like it or not.” Luc spun and got in her face. “You got a problem with that?”

  She fought the smile and tried to feign fear, or at least, a measure of discomfort. “No.”

  He nodded once and turned back around. “You might be okay, Squirt.”

  “Thanks, Stretch.”

  “Yeah, you and me, we might just get along. For now.”

  Chapter 2

  Fourteen years old

  “Hey, Stretch. Can I ask you something?” Robbie stood in the doorway of Luc’s bedroom and surveyed the damage. “Jeez. Did a bomb go off in here? It’s safe to enter, right?”

  “If that’s your question then you can go back the way you came.”

  “Touchy.” She slipped in and eased on to the edge of his bed. “I have a date tonight.”

  Luc turned away from his computer, swiveling in his chair until he faced her
knee-to-knee. “We’re leaving to go camping in the morning.”

  “I know. What’s that got to do with tonight?”

  “Just saying.”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  He nodded once, then shrugged. “Was there a question, or you just gonna sit there and stare at me all night?”

  “I wanted to ask for a favor.”

  “To hell with that. You’ve got the wrong room, Squirt. The L’s should be back soon. Ask one of them for your fucking favor. I got shit to do.”

  She let out a light gasp. “I can’t ask them.”

  “Then too fucking bad for you. I’m not in the habit of doing favors for people.”

  “Luc. Please. This is hard enough. Don’t make me beg.”

  He angled his chair and kicked back as his brow creased. “What is it?”

  “I have a date with Scott Morgan.”

  “Why? The guy’s a total asshole.”

  “He is not.”

  “I’m not loaning you money.”

  “I’m not asking for any.”

  “I don’t have a car to truck you around in.”

  “You don’t have a license either,” she pointed out.

  “Never stopped me before.”

  “I don’t need you to drive me anywhere.”

  He waited a beat, then began ticking things off on his fingers. “Shit. I don’t have an outfit you can borrow. I don’t have any pull over your curfew. I don’t have any concert tickets to give you. And no, your ass doesn’t look big in those jeans.”

  She laughed nervously, pushing at the big curls in her hair. “Ah, none of the above.”

  “Jesus Christ, Rob. Ask or get the hell out. I don’t have all fucking night to guess.” He sighed and rolled his eyes when she winced at the swearing.

  “It’s my first date.”

  “And…?” He spread his hands out as if searching for the relevance. “Wait. You mean first ever?”

  “Yeah.”

  Folding his arms, he considered her for a moment. “I guess that’s about right. I don’t remember any others. But what’s this got to do with me?” He held up a hand. “Hold up. Maybe I don’t want to know. See Leah if you want to know about the damn birds and bees.”

  “Jeez, Luc. No. Just, shut up a minute.” She pushed against her temples in frustration.