Page 68 of The Darkest Note

I take the seat across from Viola and share out some eggs.

“I noticed that you’ve been practicing makeup extra hard lately.” Spreading ketchup in a smiley face over her eggs—the way I’ve been doing all her life, I gently place the plate in front of her.

“Because the freshman homecoming dance is coming up. I plan to do makeup for some of my friends.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Vi,” I say, munching into my slab of fried meat.

“Oh, it’s not sweet. I’m charging them by the hour.”

I almost choke on my food. “What?”

“The month’s almost up and our electricity is due soon. I don’t want what happened last time to happen again.” Her scowl is dark. “We already know Rick isn’t lifting a finger to help us. So much for having an older brother.”

“Rick is the reason we can live together even though we’re both minors.” I set my fork down, alarmed by her bitterness. “Vi, it’s not Rick’s responsibility to take care of us. It’s mine.”

“But I can help too.”

“You don’t have to.” I hate the worry crossing her face. She’s only thirteen years old. Way too young to be anxious about whether our light will be cut out in a week. “I’ve been getting more calls to play at the lounge lately. And tips have been especially generous. I can afford the electricity this month. That’s not something you need to keep in your pretty head.”

She purses her lips. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Do makeup if you like and enjoy it. Not because you feel pressured to put food on the table.” I take her hand and squeeze. “Like always, I’ve got you.”

Her smile is sweet and it makes my heart twist to see the sunshine steal back into her eyes. Vi might have her flighty ways and her rebellious streaks, but she’s a good little sister. Way more mature and business-minded than I was at her age for sure.

“Okay.” She wraps her fingers around the cup of orange juice. “But I’m still going to charge for the makeup. It can go toward my dress.”

My throat tightens when I realize that she’ll probably want a new dress to wear. I scramble to think of where I can get the money, but I come up short. There’s just no room in the budget for things like that.

Viola shakes her head. “Breeze already offered to lend me one of her outfits. You know she has, like, a bajillion dresses.”

Guilt threatens to hold me in a headlock, but I force a smile. “I’m sorry I can’t get you a new one, but you can borrow one of mine.”

“Ew.”

My eyelashes flutter. “Ew?”

“No offense, sis, but you don’t necessarily have the best fashion sense.”

“Hey!”

“It’s a good thing Redwood Prep uses uniforms.” Viola lifts a hand. “That’s all I’m saying.”

I reach over the table and pinch her cheek. “Smart mouth.”

She giggles.

I sit back down.

“Oh, by the way, one of my friends is bringing a date—”

My fingers tighten on the fork. “You donotneed a date to freshman homecoming.”

“I wasn’t going to say that, you overprotective nun.” Viola rolls her eyes, “I meant…” She takes out her phone and swipes to a screenshot. “This is him.”

She shows me a picture of a guy with clear brown eyes and low-cut hair throwing up a street sign. He looks a little too young and scrawny to be a part of a gang, but he’s definitely showing off where he comes from.

“Is there a reason you’re showing me a pubescent teen trying to look hard online?” I ask, arching a brow.