Page 32

“Baked ziti. It was done a little while go. Help yourself.”

“Thanks,” I say, but she's already heading down the short hallway into her bedroom. The door closes behind her, and my mood dampens further. Sighing, I walk into our tiny kitchen, still warm from the recently used oven.

Grabbing a plate from the off-white cabinets, I find my eye wandering. It's hard not to stare at the tiles in the walls. Most of them are a shade of beige. Here and there, in irregular spots, are blue ones studded with pieces of sea glass. I made those myself. To the untrained eye they're beautiful. But I know what they really are; scabs on skin that tell their own story.

Loading my plate with food, I sit at the kitchen table. There are only two chairs. The third is long gone.

I eat every bite even though my stomach hurts. I need food the way the roses outside need water. Every living thing needs to eat. If you don't, you die, and then you become sustenance for something else.

Washing my plate, I put the rest of the baked ziti in the fridge. Walking by Mom's room, I stop and strain to listen. Nothing. Is she asleep already? I don't see how, it's not dark yet and we just spoke fifteen minutes ago at most.She wants to be alone.I put my hand on the wood surface, frowning at how helpless I feel. I wish I could tell her everything that's going on. But I can't. I don't know what she would do.

There has to be a way out of this.

Curling my nails, I walk away from the door. As I pass the front windows, I spot two beams of light.Whose car is that?I wonder uneasily. The tires crunch until they stop short in the driveway just behind my vehicle.

My heart stops when I realize who's in the driver's seat—Dezmond.Wrenching my head side to side, I make a quick decision. I'm running out the front door before he's halfway out of his car. He looks surprised to see me. I guess he expected me to hide inside. The last thing I want is for my mother to have to deal with him.

“Why the hell are you here?” I seethe as I march toward him.

He backs into his car—his nervous face gives me a rush. “Whoa, easy, girl. I was just worried why I couldn't get in touch with my new fiancée. You aren't answering your phone.”

I don't ask how he got my number. It doesn't really matter in a small town like Crestwind. “My phone broke,” I explain.

“Convenient.”

I shake my head in frustration. “Tell me what you want, Dez.”

“A lot of things.” He pushes forward, away from his car. I retreat a step to keep distance between us. “You're talking to me like you forgot our deal, Lori.”

“We don't have a deal. You're blackmailing me.”

“Semantics,” he snorts. He looks up, at my house, then around like he's idly searching for something. My stomach spirals as I watch, and I regret eating my fill of gooey mozzarella and marinara. “You've got a lot of balls leaving me on stage like you did. Luckily everyone thought you got shy and needed to get some air. Where did you go?”

“The water.”

“Hm.” He squints but seems satisfied. “I did come here for a reason.” Tracing his jaw, he taps his huge bruise. “Alemo wants that money still. I'm not getting fucked up a second time.”

My heart sinks—I'm running a mental tally. “Five hundred and fifty, right?”

“Six hundred now.” He gives me a mean grin. “Interest is a bitch.”

I make a face then run to my front door. “Alright. Just wait here, my mom is resting.”

“I dunno, I kinda wanna say hi to my future in-law.”

My hand tenses on the doorknob. There's a tweak in my neck as I speak at the wood instead of him. “No. Stay out here, please.”

“Shouldn't we get to know each other? I mean, she's all I've got. Nofather-in-lawfor me.”

Breathe. Breathe.“Dez, I'll get you the money. I'm going to do it right now. I can't do it if you come inside and make a scene.”

He's quiet. I'm too nervous to look at him. There's a crunch of shoes as he walks towards me; I tense up. “Fine,” he sighs. “Hurry up. I gotta go meet Alemo in twenty minutes anyway.”

Slumping in relief, I enter my house as silently as possible. I wasn't kidding. I can't let my mother catch me. Things are complicated enough. Working as quickly as I can, my ears buzzing as I listen for any whisper of a sound from her room, I collect the money for Dez. It's heavy as a brick in my hand even though it's just a few bills.

I think I hear something through the walls. My mother wondering what I'm doing? Or just a wild mouse scurrying in the gaps? Just to be safe I hide the money in my pocket. When she doesn't come into the hallway, I dart outside.

“Here,” I say, ripping the bills from my pants to hand to him. In my hurry I grab something else. Both of us stare at the sea glass that drops to the ground. Dezmond bends down, picking it up, eyeing it with interest.