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“You got a sponsor?”

“No.”

He nods slowly, and I shift from foot to foot, wanting to leave before he calls me on my shit.

“Well, hey, I have to run, but ...” He takes another puff before digging out his wallet and pulling out a random business card. After patting his pockets, he turns to the girl standing next to him and gives a nudge, asking, “Hey, you got something to write with?”

She rummages through her purse and retrieves a pen.

“Thanks.” He scribbles his phone number on the back of the card and then hands it to me. “Here.”

“What’s this for?”

“Sobriety is full of pitfalls. That’s my cell, just in case you ever need it.”

Marcus was always cool with me while I was Hopewell. He was cool with Harlow too, bending the rules when he felt it was needed. It’s easy to see that he cares and his job means something to him.

“Thanks.” I shove the card into my back pocket.

“I’ll see you around,” he says, dropping the cigarette and smashing it beneath his foot.

We clap hands, and I watch as he walks out to the parking lot and gets into his car before heading over to mine. When I pull out of the space, a heavy yawn hits me hard. Yesterday was a shit day at school, so Harlow and I skipped today, and we’ll be doing the same tomorrow. She promised me she would go back on Monday, but I know she’s freaking out about it.

Today, we drove down to Seattle so she could show me the troll under the Aurora bridge. We took pictures of each other climbing on top of it. It wasn’t nearly as scary as the version she had painted, which I made sure to give her crap about. She laughed, but it felt forced. None of the smiles she gave me today were real, and I know that what happened after school yesterday is really taking a toll on her. It was a conscious decision not to ask her about it and to give her space to talk to me when she was ready.

Kurt’s car is in the drive when I pull in. It was no surprise that my mom posted his bail after he got arrested, but I made sure to stay away as much as I could for a few days after he came back to the house. When I do go home, I hide out in my room, but when nights get really bad, I sleep in my car. Even though Harlow told me I could stay with her, I’ve yet to take her up on it.

Kurt’s riffling through the pantry when I walk in, and I make a dash for the stairs, but don’t get far when he calls, “Seb, let’s chat.”

Tired and cautious, I stop on the steps. “About?”

“Something your mom told me.”

If it were about anything other than my mother, I’d ignore him. Turning around, I go to the kitchen where he’s leaning against the counter and digging into a box of crackers.

“Is she even here?”

“Nah,” he says. “She ran to the store.”

He shoves a cracker into his mouth and stares at me as he chews, irritating the piss out of me.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Your mom was upset earlier, and I couldn’t understand why.” He sets the box down, pushes away from the counter, and takes his time as he strides across the kitchen toward me. “She said she was having doubts, but it didn’t make sense because she’s constantly on this,” he says, grabbing his dick.

“Get to the point,” I bite through my clenched teeth because I’m about to go off on this motherfucker.

“She told me you put those thoughts in her head.”

I right my spine, but I’m folding on the inside. The fact that she would tell him what I said to her is yet another betrayal.

I should have expected it.

Kurt rounds the bar, and when he steps up to me, I flex my chest and meet him eye-to-eye.

“You got shit to say to me?” he taunts.

“I’ve got plenty to say to you, but you aren’t worth the breath it would take.”