The dribbling of the basketball got louder as I made my way through the yard. The shoes made it more difficult to walk through the grass and soft earth. The heels wanted to sink in.
As I approached the boys, Jimmy and Nathan were sitting a good distance away from the basketball goal, each with bottles of water. They were sweating, legs stretched out in front of them, watching.
Derrick and Kota were taking turns at what seemed like a game of HORSE.
I once again wondered if Derrick being here was a good idea. He might know what had happened here with my stepmother. Would he volunteer the information to Jimmy?
Kota had the ball and was the first one to notice me as I got closer. I’d intended to skip the back door and walk in through the one inside the garage. I wanted Kota and the others to be aware I was home.
Kota paused in his move to aim the ball and then threw it toward the basket above the garage quickly.
It bounced against the rim, dropping back down to the concrete without going into the hoop.
“Missed!” Derrick shouted. His bowl-cut dark hair was a little longer, hanging in front of his eyes. Like the others, he was shirtless, sweating. His shorts hung a little lower, revealing the line of his boxers. “Oh my God, I never win against you.”
Kota grimaced and shrugged. He combed the back of his hair a little to straighten it. “I’m a little rusty.”
I wasn’t sure that was true. I hoped he wasn’t too interested in winning. I had a feeling I might have distracted him.
“Back from work?” Jimmy called from across the yard.
Before I could answer, he jumped up and sprinted in my direction. His sport shorts were hanging low as well, low enough to see the butt of his boxers. He hiked everything up on his hips. He skidded to a halt, enough that I braced myself for collision, but he stopped just short.
He scanned my outfit and then shook his head. “Don’t tell me you have to wear this to work.”
“Your mom wanted me to,” I said quietly. Heat radiated over my cheeks that I’d paused long enough to feel like a spectacle in front of the others. I’d meant to dash inside without staying too long. “She thought it looked good.” I looked to the others, hoping to make him sympathetic toward me, I leaned in to whisper to Jimmy. “The dress got a little dirty. Do you think I should wash it before she sees it? I don’t want her to be mad.”
“No, don’t worry about it,” he said. “Actually, she’ll probably find it a good excuse to show you how to treat stains. She loves to lecture me on that.” He waved to the other guys. “I’m going to go in with her for a second. Stick around. I’ll be right back.”
The others nodded. Nathan got up, adjusting the sport shorts he wore. He had the broadest chest and arms out of them all. He reached for the basketball from Derrick, but his gaze went to me a little too often, a little noticeable. “Let’s go again. I want to try the trick shot.”
The trick shot, apparently, was bouncing the ball so hard against the driveway that it bounced back up again, hit the backboard and went into the hoop.
Nathan and Derrick took turns with this while Kota stood by watching, checking his phone.
Jimmy and I headed to the door.
“You should change and come play with us,” Jimmy said.
“Me?” I asked, standing at the door, holding the handle. Not that I wouldn’t normally, but his mother was the one saying to clean up all the time. “Do you think she’ll let me?”
He laughed. “She’s not a jail warden. You’ve been working all day. Come play a bit.” He motioned for me to open the door. “I’ll come in and ask her.”
We entered together. My father had left the computer in the living room. The screen was black.
Carol was in the kitchen alone. She had a clipboard in her hand. The pantry was open. She peered into it, lifted a can of beans out of it, examined the label, and then tossed the thing into a trash can. She spotted us and then narrowed her eyes at my face. “Oh dear,” she said. “Did things go okay at work? You look like a mess.”
I relayed what I’d practiced telling her. “I’m so sorry,” I said quietly. “The diner is hectic, and...” I paused and motioned to the dress. “I couldn’t stop to clean it as I went.”
“A diner isn’t exactly the place to get dressed up,” Jimmy said. “She’s tired. Can she come out to play basketball for a little while?”
Carol bobbed her head in a sympathetic way. “Sang, go take that dress off and put on some play clothes. Bring the dress down to me. I’ll show you how to soak it to get rid of those stains.”
Play clothes? I hadn’t heard that since I was young. “Thank you,” I said quickly and then realized it was weird to say. She made me feel so awkward, and I was trying to be overly polite to her.
I rushed away as she spoke to Jimmy. “I’d invite your new friends to dinner, but there won’t be room at the table here.”
“I don’t think they can stay long,” he said.
I wasn’t sure how often Kota and Nathan would come over to hang out. Derrick would perhaps show up more often.
And what if Jimmy went to the school?
What if he made friends?
With someone like Rocky?
I shuddered at the thought. What a mess.
I left them to get changed. I climbed the front stairs, wondering how the others were so focused. Mr. Blackbourne didn’t seem concerned about Jimmy going to school yet.
Perhaps because they needed to think of now, and school wouldn’t start up again until next week.
I wanted to trust them and focus, but the questions kept piling up.
Upstairs, I hesitated just outside of Marie’s room. The door was closed. There was a little music playing inside.
I didn’t want to disturb her, but she was alone, too. We were sort of in this mess together.
I knocked gently at the door.
I was met with silence at first. I waited. I didn’t want to bug her if she wanted to be alone right now.
It was too quiet. Too still.
If I walked in on her, she might yell at me, but I had to check.
I used a hidden pin that remained on top of the door frame, something we both used to enter bedrooms as needed.
Marie’s room was clean, more than I’d seen it in a while. The floor was vacuumed. The closet was orderly. Textbooks were stacked neatly on the floor by her book bag.
The bed was the only thing that showed any disorder, with a lump in the middle.
At first, I assumed it was her just ignoring me. Perhaps she was asleep.
I approached it, but as I got closer, it was clear that it was pillows, not a person.
I frowned. How long did she think Carol wouldn’t notice?
Where was she?
I went to the bathroom quickly, and with the door closed, I thought of who was available at the moment and typed a message to North.
Sang: Where’s Marie?
I waited and then realized I needed to get myself cleaned up. I left quickly to grab some clothes.
I didn’t receive a reply until I got back to the bathroom.
North: Found her at Danielle’s.
Uh-oh. Would she stay out? I couldn’t imagine she had permission to go out if she’d left pillows in the bed. How had she gotten out of the house?
North sent another message a few minutes later.