I close my eyes. Tears fall hard and fast down my face.
He yanks my shirt out of my grip and puts it on me. Forces my arms through the sleeves and buttons the front. He takes my bra, my panties from where he dropped them, and slides both into his pocket.
“Let’s go.” He puts his hand between my shoulder blades and guides me out.
“You got what you wanted,” I say once we’re in the car. There’s a chill in the air, and my nipples harden under my shirt. I want to dive out of the car and walk home rather than let him see.
“Yeah, well, it’s not all sunshine and fucking roses up here.” He taps his temple.
We ride back to the Jenkins’ house in silence. I get out and jog to the front door without looking back, my backpack thumping against my shoulder blade. Lenora’s car isn’t in the driveway, and I manage to slip up to my room undetected.
I go to my window in time to watch Caleb’s car pull back out into traffic, slipping away like he was never there.
The haunted feeling I got when I walked into his house is still surrounding me, thicker than smog. He wanted to banish a few ghosts.
I guess that includes me.
23
I loop my arm through Riley’s as we walk toward the library. “I need a favor.”
She tilts her head. “Like bury a body type of favor, or want to stop and get coffee before school type thing?”
I snort. She unlocks the door, and we slip inside.
It’s been an exhausting week, but the good news is: it’s Friday.
Once Caleb returned to school, he made a show of being extra nice to me. He glared at anyone he saw making rude comments. That alone seemed to quell most of the bullying. It was a weird turn of events, considering how we left things Monday afternoon. Half of me expected him to pretend I didn’t exist and throw me to the wolves, as cliché as that sounds.
“Like a… drive me to the mall type of favor.”
She drops into her chair. “Easy enough.”
I don’t sit.
“Wait… do you mean now?”
“Just… miss lunch and maybe the next class.”
She squints at me. “Why do you need to go to the mall?”
I give in and sink down into the chair next to her. “My foster sister, Claire, asked to meet me. She knows I’m grounded…”
“Of course,” Riley groans. “And I’m the friend with a car.”
I reach over and grab her arm. “Please, Riley,” I beg. “I miss her. I haven’t seen her or Hanna—her sister—since we were taken out of the home…”
I don’t have to fake the tears that spring into my eyes. “I should’ve asked you yesterday, or—”
“You didn’t even mention her.” Riley looks up at the ceiling, blinking quite a lot. “God, stop crying. You’re going to make me ruin my makeup.”
I sniff.
She finally stands. “Okay, fine. One hour. I meet your foster sister. And then we come back so Mr. Jenkins doesn’t fry my ass.”
I nod. “Yes. Perfect. Thank you.”
I throw my arms around her shoulders, and she stiffens. She pats my back awkwardly until I release her, then she lets out a small laugh.
“Okay, follow my lead.”
We walk over to her cousin’s office. Riley taps on the door, and Amy jumps.
“Amy,” Riley says. “Margo is feeling super sick. Can you write us a pass to the nurse?”
Amy squints at me. “You’re sick?”
I put my hand over my stomach. “Yeah.”
“Are you pregnant?”
I pale.
She snorts. “Just kidding, of course. Humor. I can write you a pass…”
“Both of us? Amy, come on,” Riley pleads. “And…”
“Oh my god, what are you going to do? You look… devious.”
I bite my lip to hold back a frown. This isn’t going to work.
“Can you write us a pass back from the nurse, too? I’ll bring you Mom’s cookies on Monday.”
Amy’s eyes light up. “Her homemade chocolate chip?”
“Yes,” Riley agrees, nodding emphatically. “So…”
Amy sighs. “Okay, fine. One second.”
“Leave the time blank,” I cut in.
Amy glances at me, rolling her eyes. She hands us the slips, and Riley hugs her.
We sneak out a side door and crouch-run to her car. It’s probably more suspicious that way, but this is the first real time we’ve skipped a class. As soon as we’re on the road, we burst into giggles.
“Tell me about Claire,” Riley orders.
I smile. “She’s sixteen. Smarter than me, for sure. Her sister, Hanna, is twelve. They both came to my foster family a few months after I got there. We became thick as thieves.”
She glances at me. “Sounds nice.”
“Claire’s a wild child,” I say. “Always coming up with harebrained ideas. Hanna and I were more similar. Quiet… grounded.”
Riley snorts. “Shy.”
“Yeah, that.”
We get to the mall in record time. At the food court, I look around eagerly for Claire while Riley breaks away to get lunch. I finally spot her on the escalator.
I wave frantically, catching her attention, and rush toward her. We crash into each other, hugging and laughing.
I pull away first. “It’s been, what, a month? You’re grown up.”
Her blonde hair, long when I first saw it, is short and curled. She has cat-eye sunglasses perched on her head, light eye makeup, and dark-red lipstick.
She manages to seem more adult than I feel.
“I missed you, Wolfe.” She hugs me again. She’s small enough that she can tuck her head under my chin. “We have so much to catch up on!”
“How’s Hanna?” I ask.
“Brilliant,” Claire says. “Foster family loves her, of course. There’s a brother in this one. I’m thinking they might be keepers.”
My eyes widen. “That’s amazing.”
She shrugs. “If they keep me is a whole other issue. They’re infatuated with Hanna—not her adventurous older sister.”
“You two are a package deal.”
“I’d rather her secure a home that loves her. I’ll be fine.”
Riley approaches with a tray of food, and Claire’s head shoots up.
“Who’s this?”
“Claire, this is my friend, Riley. Riley, Claire.”
They shake hands, and we lapse into silence. Riley passes me a carton of food.