"Don't play dumb," she warned, her eyes narrowing before they disappeared behind her pair of knees when she dipped. "What's your older sister's name?"
"Lisa," I replied automatically, realising I would need to remember everything I said now to avoid true discovery.
"Wrong, you don't have a sister. What city's your dad currently touring in?"
The second question came too quickly. It gave me no time to come down from the statement that preceded it. Jonie wasn't guessing, she wasn't fishing for information. The girl knew something and the realisation of that created a pit
"Kai, talk to m—" "Hey, Kai do you have a partner?" a guy from my math class asked from across the table. He was oblivious to the tension that had begun to rise between us, unaware he'd walked into a minefield and was in danger of having one of us explode. In the end, it was Jayden. "Back off, man. Can't you see we're talking?" He was harsher than he needed to be for someone trying to force a conversation with someone who wasn't interested. "Relax, I was just asking a
"How long do I have?" "Huh?" "Look, we don't have to beat around the bush. You already know I don't have any money or anything else I could offer to keep you quiet so how long do I have before you blow my cover?" "Is that what you've been agonising over for the last week?" "Answer the question." "I haven't decided yet," she said after a moment of silence. "You're the most interesting
I didn't know what to say. Somewhere along the lines I'd gotten lost in my own thoughts and the results were plainly written on my face. In the moment, I was struggling to distinguish between Jayden and the boy I once thought I'd loved. They may as well had been the same person. Reality and delusional, which one did I believe? The more terrifying one, of course. "Kai? Kai. Listen, I dunno how anything I just said could've set you off, but it obviously did, so I'm sorry." My lips parted, ready to deny his assumptions and assure him I was fine, but he pressed on. "I dunno what kind of guys you ran into at your other schools—I'll have Jonie hand over those files later—but I prom
The rattling of my doorknob stopped me just shy of placing the earbuds in my ears and cranking up the volume. Quick as I could, I stashed the iPod back into its hiding place then reached for the French workbook that lay on my nightstand. If it was Mother, she was usually content to leave me to my schoolwork. Sometimes it was even enough to stay her hand when she was in an otherwise foul mood.It was Matt. He stuck his head in, giving only the shortest of cursory glances before his eyes landed on me. “Mom said you need to get the door.”It was all I could do to keep the look of incredulity from my face. Last I’d seen her, she was downstairs and in a better position to see who’d stopped by. The realisation left me considering that it may have been someone she was actively avoiding. In such a circumstance, she would never expose Matt to such unscrupulous individuals, but I was expendable. There was no harm in putting me on the front lines to clear
The three of us made our way to the table, Matt leading the charge as he often did. It must have been nice, having the confidence that whenever a meal was served it would be nourishing and have no lasting effects. There was never any fear when he sat, only anticipation for the warm meal so lovingly cooked he could almost taste our mother’s heart mixed in with the spices.Mom signalled my place at the table, the seat facing hers where she could look me in the eyes and watch me succumb to whatever trap she’d set. There was no point in protesting, no reason to raise an alarm. It was poisoned, I was nearly certain, but I’d still eat it. The alternative was offending her by refusing her food and that only ever made things worse. I would have to suffer through it with grace for the sake of our guest.I took the first bite.It didn’t taste bad; it never did. "Kai, are you alright?” Jayden asked, momentarily breaking from the
With all my energy focused on maintaining my composure, I chose to ignore his comments altogether. To think my family was anything shy of malevolent was a delusion I’d grown accustomed to. Mom was a good actress; it was how she avoided what would otherwise have been an insurmountable amount of child endangerment charges. Matt, while not so adept at playing different roles, was still baby-faced and excitable. It made it easier for people to forgive him, no matter the offense.I watched him pull his phone from his pocket, the latest model. Why wasn’t I surprised? It made sense he’d have only the best of everything with the way he carried himself."Shoot, can’t believe it’s that late already. Sorry, I
My head shot upward immediately and I saw him climbing over the wall that separated this stall from the one he’d entered. In the midst of my absolute horror, I found myself wondering who’d designed the bathrooms in the first place. Evidently someone who was beyond the idea that a boy would one day sneak in to see a girl he had no business wanting around; a vast oversight in my opinion.Jayden jumped down into the stall then turned to face me.I buried my face in my lap instantly. With the barrier of the door and walls no longer viable, it was my last line of defence.“I told you to go away,” I mumbled, half the words
The panic rose quickly, threatening to close off my airways unless I took large breaths. If Jayden got in trouble, it would be my fault. He’d asked me to leave the bathroom with him; we could’ve found somewhere else to hide while I decided how much I was really willing to share. My problems, what happened the night before, it wasn't worth getting caught; not like this.“Look, I know you’re in here. I gotta clean so make it quick.” Silence. “Hello? I can hear you breathing in there.”The door stopped rattling and the footsteps went off in the opposite direction.“Rotten kids.” Seconds later, I heard the door to the bathroom open then close."We have to move," Jayden whispered.He helped me over the wall separating us from the other stall before himself climbing over. We made it three stalls down before the door opened again. Jayden and I pulled ourselves up onto the toilet, removing our feet from