The Palisades never changed. It had been in the same state of decay for as long as I could remember. And for the most part, it was like the Hotel California—people never checked out.
I guess I should’ve said they rarely checked out. My best friend, Gabe, used to live in the trailer behind mine. He moved up and out after graduating high school, using his soccer skills to land him a full ride to college. I was happy he had no more ties to this place, even if I felt somewhat left behind. Not that I blamed him. I’d turn my back on this place in a heartbeat if Luciana weren’t here.
After dropping off the cash I owed Amir, I skated to my old neighborhood to pick up my sister. She was waiting for me outside the trailer, her own skateboard in her hands. Since she’d moved back in with our mom last summer, she’d become my mini-me. I got her a board and taught her how to skate. She stole my Supreme hat and saved her pennies for a pair of checkered Vans. I bought her a pair of black high-tops, because I liked having a mini-me a little too much.
“Luc!” I called.
Her smile was bright and wide. “Hells!”
“Come on, girlie. I’m starving.”
She ran down the two steps leading to our trailer, rushing toward me. The front door opened, and my mom stuck her head out. Once upon a time, people would smile at us and tell her I could be her twin. That was before the pills and heavy drinking had demolished her beauty. Now, she was rail thin with a bloated face, mottled skin, and sunken eyes. Victoria Ortega was a shell of her former self. Looking at her would’ve made me sad if she didn’t make me so very angry.
“Not gonna say hi to your mom, Helen Maria?” She lit a cigarette and took a long drag.
“Hi, Mom.” Luciana reached me and tucked herself into my side. “I’m taking Luc to breakfast. Want to join us?”
Luc stiffened at my invitation. Our Saturday mornings were her escape from our mom. Luc definitely didn’t want her company. But I knew our mother better than that. If Luciana wasn’t home, Mom could take a pill, shoot up, invite a guy over, and get laid in exchange for some cash or drugs…or whatever the hell she did.
“Not hungry this morning,” she answered. “Do you have the money for Reno, baby?”
I rolled my eyes. “What if I didn’t?”
She shook her cig in my direction. “Make sure you do. You don’t want him coming around here when your sister’s home, do you?”
As if she cared about Luciana’s safety. “I’ve got it, Mom. Don’t even worry about it.”
If she had something else to say, I didn’t stay and listen. I turned Luc around, and we walked down the cracked and crumbling path through the gravel parking lot to the sidewalk that led to Main Street, where the T was.
We put down our boards and skated together. For the first time in a week, I felt the tension releasing from my shoulders. I basked in the wind whipping through my hair and my sister’s random giggles. I loved that she still giggled at twelve. Luciana had maintained a childlike sweetness even though her life had been pretty tumultuous from the start. Now, it was my job to ensure she didn’t have it squeezed out of her, living where she did, seeing what she was bound to see.
The T was crowded when we walked through the door. I stood on my toes, scanning for an empty booth. Luc grabbed my free hand, so we didn’t get separated when a big group slid by us to get to the exit.
I spotted a loner taking up a whole booth when he should have been occupying a single stool at the counter, considering how busy it was. When I realized who the loner was, I tugged Luciana along with me straight to his table. When we arrived, I pushed her into the empty side and slid my ass in next to her.
“Good morning, Theodore.”
Theo had a cup of coffee and a textbook spread out in front of him, and he was grinning at me like he wasn’t surprised at all I was suddenly across from him.
“Good morning, Little Tiger. I didn’t know we had plans, but I can’t say I’m disappointed you’re here.” He was practically cooing at me in his lovely, low voice. I wanted to cover Luc’s ears so she wouldn’t succumb to it. And since the last thing he’d said to me was he regretted ever setting eyes on me, I was surprised at the coo.
“None of that.” I wagged a finger.
His grin widened, no sign of regret anywhere. “None of that? Okay, Helen. Whatever you say. What brings you to my table?”
“We’re sitting here since you’re taking up more than your fair share of the restaurant.”
He looked at me for a long time. Way too long to be socially acceptable. His stare weighed a hundred pounds, and I felt it as it slid along my skin. Then he closed his textbook and pushed it aside.
“I was under the impression you were avoiding me.”
I shrugged. His impression was correct, but I didn’t need to confirm it. “If Freddy Krueger had been sitting here, I would have joined him. It’s not personal, I’m just really hungry and didn’t want to wait for a table.”
After a long beat where he did some more staring, his attention shifted to Luc. “I know you’re not her daughter because the age difference is too close, but you look like a shrunken version of Helen. I’m going to guess you’re her sister.”
Luc bit her bottom lip and nodded. “I am. I’m Luciana. Helen calls me Luc.”
He tipped his head at her. “I’m Theo. Helen calls me Theodore. No idea why, since it’s not my name.”
She giggled. “Do you mind?”
“Not in the least. Do you mind when she calls you Luc?”
“Nope. I like it because it means she cares about me.”
Theo’s blue eyes had the audacity to twinkle at me. “Think that’s why she calls me Theodore?”
“No,” I answered for her. “Don’t get it twisted, dude.”
He guffawed. “Oh, I’ve been downgraded to dude now?”
Luc nodded. “That’s what Hells calls all her guy friends. They’re all dude or bro. She’s got a lot of guy friends. They’re all skaters. They call me Little Hells when I go to the skate park with her.”
Theo raised his eyebrows at me. “I don’t think Helen considers me her friend.”
Luc, being the sweet, innocent girl she was, tilted her head. “You’re not her friend? Then why did she want to sit with you?”
He shook his head. “Your sister is a mystery to me.”
She took her hat off and placed it on the seat next to her. “She’s not so mysterious. Helen likes skating and me. She doesn’t like bullcrap or fake people. Don’t be fake or feed her bullcrap, and she’ll like you eventually.”
Theo tapped his forehead. “I’m committing that to memory.”