Page 2 of Kings Don't Break

But the little girl’s barely heard a word.

She’s spotted me spying in the tree.

I stare and she stares back. We’re locked in a staring contest for a while. Neither one of us wants to blink and lose.

She’s bony, like she’s the type to pick at her food. Big, brown eyes and corduroy overalls. Hair done up in barrettes and little twisted pigtails. Her brows squish together as if she doesn’t like what she sees.

So I do the same to her. I give her my hardest stink eye, thinking I’m looking real mean and intimidating like Pa.

But the girl breaks out in a laugh. She crosses her arms over her chest and starts walking toward the tree.

Toward me.

My belly flips and flops. I hold my position where I am—’cuz that’s what Pa would say a man would do—but on the inside I’m wondering what this girl’s up to. Why she’s challenging me with stares and laughing like I’m a joke?

“You climbed that tree all wrong,” she says once she’s directly under me and the branches. “I can climb it better than you.”

“Girls don’t climb trees.”

She glances around as if checking we’re alone. Probably making sure her mom’s not around. Then she tips her head up at me and says, “Wanna bet? Watch this.”

In a few quick seconds, she’s scrambling up the tree like some kind of cat. She’s hooking her leg over the same branch I’m on and then pulling herself up so that she’s sitting by my side.

That had to be under ten seconds.

Way faster than me. I’d almost fallen and busted my ass. Twice.

My face warms. I must be turning red. “So what?” I snap at her. “This ain’t no tree-climbing contest.”

“So, I was right. Girls do climb trees. Even better than boys.”

“Nuh-uh!” My hands curl into frustrated fists.

But she only laughs. “Geez, it was a joke. Ever heard of those? What’s there to do around here? Wanna race down the block?”

I’m not sure what to think of her. The other girls from school aren’t like this. They’re busy playing with Barbies and jumping rope. They’re not challenging me to climb trees or run around the block.

I stare down at the street below, wishing I hadn’t caught her attention. “Where’d you come from anyway?”

“West Haven. It’s an hour outside of Hous?—”

“I know where it is. You guys left West Haven for Pulsboro?”

“My daddy got a promotion. He’s a cop.”

I grunt.

I’ve never been a fan of the cops—well, Ma and Pa have never been. Which means I’m not either. Being a Steel King, Pa’s no stranger to spending some time behind bars.

“Wanna come over for supper?” she asks randomly. Suddenly, there’s a friendliness to her. She swings her legs as they dangle off the branch. “My mama loves having company over, and she always says God wants us to love thy neighbor.”

“Nah, I probably shouldn’t. My folks say treat strangers like strangers. You don’t know ’em enough to be getting chummy.”

Her nose scrunches. “That’s not too nice.”

I shrug. “They’re not very nice people.”

“What’s that?” She points at the ugly mark purpled all up and down my arm.