“I’m going to walk away if you don’t look at me.” I bumped him again. The cigarette fell from his ear and he didn’t even bother to pick it up.
His eyes did a slow roll from Ace to me. “Why am I even having a staring contest with the hillbilly?”
“Beats me,” I snapped. “You interrupted all on your own.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I intervened because if I don’t Brando will.”
“Why?” I shouted.
“Because…hell, I don’t know! He doesn’t want you around the kid.” He flung his hand in Ace’s direction. “He’s bad news. Brando only wants what’s best for you. If you don’t stop this, whatever he’s attempting to do, trust me. Brando will. He’s not used to dealing with kids, or in Ace’s case, a punk kid. But he will. Beneath him or not.”
I paced in a circle for a moment. “I know, I know.” I sounded like a petulant child. “He wants to be a surrogate older brother.”
“Look.” Mick grabbed me by the arm, forcing me to look at him. He searched my eyes. “You saved his life. Did you know that?”
Brando had said that he had told no one of the first time, the night my brother had been hit by the train. Perhaps Mick was referring to the night at the train tracks, though I hadn’t heard anything about the fate of the kids that still decided to leave after Mick had warned them not to. I found that when my feelings warned me that bad things were going to happen, unless it involved Brando, my mind stuck them in a vault and refused to open it again. My brother’s accident haunted me and took up all of the available space for such things.
Still, my mouth felt dry, my hands clammy, and my heart picked up speed. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to hear this or not.
“You did. My brother told me. You saved his life too. They were all set to go off with that group of people. We just found out yesterday that everyone in the car died. The guy behind the wheel was too drunk, acting too stupid. He hit a tree.”
I took a deep, steadying breath. “What doesthathave to do withthis?” I couldn’t hide the tremble in my voice.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m just trying to get you to see reason. There’s something there, between you and Brando, even if he doesn’t talk about it. He’s not much of a talker in general. So you can imagine my surprise when a few years back he pulls me aside and tells me he has something important to ask of me. I was nodding before he even asked me. Because I knew that whatever he needed of me must’ve been important. You are important to him. And that…frigging hillbillydoesn’t deserve you. If Brando says he doesn’t, he doesn’t.”
“I… I…” I couldn’t get the words out. “I can’t keep up with him. I know he wants to protect me. But…” Even though I had a rough time finishing my thought, I found it easier to talk to Mick about Brando than Violet. He knew him better.
“I can’t answer for him, Scarlett. But the next timeyoutalk to him, you might want to ask him why he quit school, why he refused a scholarship to a great college, just to stay here.” He looked around, likeherewas a horrible place to be. “Sometimes when you get nothing, it’s because you’re asking the wrong questions. Just something to think about.” He fixed Ace with a long, hard stare. “Stay away from him. If not for any other reason but the truth. He knows you’re the most unattainable girl in school. Game on. Challenge accepted.”
He left me in the hall with those parting words, my arms crossed over my chest, my books pressing against my breasts in a painful way.
“Hey,” Ace breathed in my ear.
I jumped. I had forgotten about him. Some of the pressure on my breasts loosened with the scare.
“Are you seeing that guy?”
“What…? Who? Him? Mick? Noooo. He’s Violet’s…” I waved a hand.
“Good.” He placed a hand on my lower back in a possessive move that made me uncomfortable. “Are you ready?” He nodded in the direction of the cafeteria.
I moved out of his reach. “No, I think I’m going to find Violet. I forgot to tell her something.”
He considered that for a moment. “Are you going to the party? The one at the train tracks?”
My eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He smiled, wide and friendly, and the playfulness of it reached his eyes. The indigo color seemed wicked paired with his defiant attitude. Still, compared to Brando, he was nothing but a kid. I could see his point. Times like these, which were rare, made me feel older, much older. As if I belonged in college and not high school. Somehow, for my mother, this situation seemed safer.
“Should be a fun time.” He winked. “I was looking forward to lunch. I’m sure I’ll see you at the party though.” He bent down and picked up the discarded cigarette from Mick’s ear. He grinned at it before he slid it behind his own. “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” He took a few steps and then snapped his fingers, coming to a stop. He turned back toward me. “Check your pocket, Scarlett.”
He disappeared not long after.
I reached into my back pocket, because that’s the only pocket I had—a back one—and pulled out a concert ticket for the Gin Blossoms.
* * *
“Let me get this straight.” Violet tugged on my arm to stop me from walking.
