Page 78 of Invisible String (The Underground #1)
“She was sick. She died during surgery. My dad died two months ago. He was supposed to return from the military, but didn’t make it.” Hot tears run down her cheek. She sobs. I hand her a tissue from my nightstand.
Sol wipes her boogers.
To make her laugh, so she can stop crying, I make a mustache with the long Twizzlers. She giggles and tries it on herself, and we both giggle. My chest puffs with pride that I made her laugh and stop crying.
From then on, Sol and I talked every day.
We play board games together and outside.
I taught her how to play chess. She attends my school.
We are in the same class. I learned she likes to dance.
She took dance classes. Her mom and dad would dance in the kitchen.
We talk about our moms and dads. I like talking to her.
She’s my best friend. I’ve never had a best friend.
Drake teases me, saying I have a crush on her.
I don’t. Just because I asked what it meant that my heart beats like crazy when she’s around, and she’s always around.
We are hardly apart. Then, when a boy in our class sat next to her on the red carpet, my stomach felt weird.
I want to beat the boy so bad. I don’t like boys talking to her.
The neighbor has a treehouse in her yard. She just bought the house, and she’s old, so she doesn’t have small kids. She said Sol and I can play in it.
It’s been two months since Sol moved in.
I’m always afraid one of us will be sent away to another home.
I need to protect her. I don’t like how Jason looks at her.
It makes her feel uncomfortable. Last night, Jason told her to sit on his lap.
I shook my head at her and told Sol to go upstairs.
Jason punched me in the stomach. I kneel on the floor holding my stomach, my dinner, lurching to come out.
Drake jumped in front of me. Jason then punched Drake.
Mrs. Sara was at work. The next day, she never asked about the bruise on Drake’s face or why my stomach hurt.
“Should I make you an ice pack?” Sol offers. We’re both lying on the floor in the treehouse. The light shining from the window reflects on her face. God, she’s like an angel. My cheeks grow hot, and I look away.
“No, I’ll be fine. I think it’s sore.”
“Maybe now that the pool guy left, we can go for a swim.”
The weather has changed, and it’s getting hot. School is almost out. Swimming is not something I like to do because boys take off their shirts, and I don’t like taking mine off. I don’t want Sol to see my scars.
“Maybe later,” I tell her.
“Okay.” She smiles, so pretty. Then lifts my shirt up.
“What are you doing?” My voice comes out in a panic.
She rolls her eyes. “When my tummy would hurt, my mom would massage it. Let me try.”
“No.”
“Yes, you stubborn ass.”
“You cursed,” I say in disbelief.
“I did. You make me angry, Maxi.” She frowns. “Now let me see your stomach. It’s me. Remember, I will not hurt you.”
I let her. Sol’s hands are warm and soothing as she massages in circles. Her touch is comforting. I feel myself relax, and my eyes gently close.
“I want to be a doctor when I grow up.”
“You do?” I open one eye.
“Yeah, a doctor you tell your problems to. I think it’s a psychologist. The ones Mrs. Sara has us go to. I want to help people.” Sol would be good at that. She always listens to me when I talk about my mom. She makes me feel better. Sol is the only one I trust.
“You’re good at talking. I’m not.”
“That’s because you’re grumpy.”
I sit up, my brows drawn. “I’m not.”
“You are at school.” She grins, her smile like a glowworm.
I am at school. For one, not many kids are nice, and everyone already has a best friend when you go to a new school. You become the outcast. Second, kids say, ‘You always hang out with your foster sister.’ She’s not my sister.
“Not with you.” No, never with her.
I lie back down, and so does Sol. Our heads bump, but our bodies are on opposite sides. We spent the morning cleaning the treehouse, which was so dusty.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
No one has ever asked me. I take a silent moment to think.
“I want to learn to do a lot of things. My dad used to know how to do different things. One thing I want to do is boxing. My dad used to box. He stopped when he started a family. I asked if I could join boxing. He said no because too many hits to the head are dangerous.”
Sol passes me some M&M’s. “Your dad’s a meanie. My daddy knew how to fix so many things. He’s my hero.” Sol brought her family photo albums with her and showed me pictures of them. Some days she still cries for them. She didn’t have other family. She said her grandma was too old to raise her.
We eat the rest of our candy in silence. “Max,” she says after a while. “Let’s make a promise.”
I tilt my head to the side to face her. Our noses touch, and we giggle. “What kind of promise?”
“Let’s pinky promise to be friends forever. Even when we’re married.”
“Married to who?” My voice rises.
She shrugs. “A nice guy, who takes care of me and takes me on dates.”
I hate the sound of that.
“I think I better go see if I can find a snack.”
“We have to pinky promise first,” she pouts, and her pretty eyes go sad.
“What if my wife gets jealous?”
Her eyes widen. “Then don’t get married.”
“Why do you get a husband, and I can’t get a wife? Your husband might not want me talking to you. My dad was jealous with my mom,” I huff. Unbelievable. What am I? Chopped liver?
She sits up. “Then let’s pinky promise to be best friends forever and get married.”
My face gets so hot, I’m sweating.
Her cheeks are bright pink. Sol extends her hand, and her pinky finger is pointing out. My pinky loops in Sol’s, and the promise is made. We both stare at each other with wide grins.
We go inside when Mrs. Sara calls us to go in for supper.
Sol and I sit at the table with Mrs. Sara and Jason.
Seconds later, Drake comes down the stairs.
The bruise on his cheek is still very purple.
Drake has told Mrs. Sara many times about Jason, but she always makes an excuse for him.
We eat spaghetti and meat sauce. I asked Mrs. Sara if she could make it for Sol.
It’s her favorite. Her mom would always make it, she said.
She called it Mexican spaghetti. My mom made it for me too.
Jason keeps giving Sol strange stares. She keeps her head down while eating. Drake starts a conversation, and Jason turns his attention to him.
“He scares me,” Sol says in Spanish.
Our code is that when we don’t want them to understand us, we talk in our native tongue. I tell her Drake and I are here.
After dinner, we all go to our rooms. I get my pajamas from my drawer and go to the bathroom to change. When I get out, Sol’s sitting on my bed holding her pajamas. “You can go change now,” I tell her. My brows dip when I notice her chin trembling. “What’s wrong?”
“I want my parents back. He scares me.”
Jason scares her. I’ve never told her of the abuse I had in other homes, but she now knows about Jason.
As much as I want her everywhere I move, I know deep down, it won’t happen.
Who will watch out for her? My dad once told me, before he lost himself, and my mom was still alive, that men never hit women.
He also said no one touches our private parts.
No one has tried touching me, but Jason looks at her in an odd way.
I asked Drake. He said for us not to leave Jason alone with her because he might.
“Can I sleep in your bed?” Sol pleads.
I nod with my mouth open. I can’t say no. She’s scared.
She exhales a long breath. “Thank you.” She gets off the bed, wipes her tears, and then goes to the bathroom to change.
We play a board game before she crawls into my bed. I hand her a stuffed animal, a dog I had brought from home. My mom had given it to me for a long time, and when I felt scared, I’d hug it to help me feel close to her.
“She’s cute. I had a dog like this one, a German shepherd. Her name was Daisy. I’m not sure what happened to her.” She smiles, but it’s not her usual bright smile, but one that holds pain for the life she lost.
“You can have her. She’ll make you feel better.” I squeeze into the bed with her. It feels strange to have her in bed, but we’re best friends. She once said we’re like peanut butter and jelly. I think she’s right.
“Thank you,” Sol says, pulling the blue cotton comforter up to our necks.
She leans to kiss my cheek, and my body freezes.
“You’re my best friend in the whole wide world.
I don’t know what I would have done without you.
I would be sad and scared.” She hugs the dog she named Daisy and closes her eyes.
My lips curve into a shy smile. I’ve never been happier than having her as my best friend.