Henri looks like she wants to bite Brielle’s face off, but then she settles. “Just hurt myself last night. Kinda painful.”
Max’s mouth literally falls open. “You got a tattoo too!”
“Shut up!” Henri and I hiss together.
“I can’t believe this. Are you two that stupid?” Max is furious now that he knows Henri has one too.
Ash shakes his head. “Yeah. What Max said.”
“You got a tattoo?” Brielle says to Henri, her eyes wide and curious.
Sean says nothin’ which is what he usually does.
“We had no choice,” I say. “We went to the 311 Boys’ clubhouse last night–”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me!” Ash exclaims. “You got a death wish?”
“If you’d let him finish!” Henri snarks at Ash.
“Piss off!” Ash says to Henri.
I’m about to intervene, but Henri salutes Ash and says, “Pissing off, your godliness.”
Ash narrows his eyes, then turns his glare on me. “And?”
“We were looking for dad and Henri’s mom.”
“Why would they be there?” Max snaps.
“Because someone told us they were!” I say exasperated.
“Who told you that?” Max again.
“Does it matter?” Henri exclaims.
“Yeah,” Brielle echoes. “Does it matter?”
“Shut up, loser,” Max says to Brielle.
Henri’s on her feet in a flash. “You’re the loser!”
“That’s enough!” Ash commands in a superior voice. He’s 16 and thinks he’s smarter than the rest of us. “None of that matters.”
Henri turns on him with her hands fisted. “You don’t tell me what –”
“Henri,” I say softly. “Let it go.”
And a miracle happens; she lets it go. Sorta. “You’re right. I’m too tired to waste my energy on Agent Zero.”
Ash ignores her. “Let’s see the tattoos.”
“Why?” Henri asks.
Ash glances at her like he wants to squash her. “Because, I wanna see them. Is that too much to ask?”
“Fine,” Henri huffs. Henri and I pull up our sleeves to expose the tattoos. Everyone leans in.
“Holy,” Brielle breathes. “Did it hurt?” she asks Henri.
