“You didn’t need to get all dressed up for breakfast, Mom,” I laughed and she quickly struck a pose.
“A woman’s gotta look good. You never know who might see you.”
I gave a Yoss an exasperated look and he winked, clearly enjoying the exchange.
My mother, being more observant than usual, looked from Yoss to me shrewdly.
“So how do you know my daughter?”
“We’re old friends,” he told her, smiling softly.
“Friends, huh?” She cocked her head to the side. “I swear I’ve seen you before. Did you ever come over to the house when Imogen was younger?”
Why was she hammering this point? There was no way she could have met Yoss.
“Mom, seriously, we’ve got to get going. I’ll call you.” I kissed her on the cheek and maneuvered her to the car.
“Okay, sweet cheeks, but don’t forget. Even though you have this hot piece of man candy here, you still need to call your mama,” she lectured, giving me a lascivious grin.
I groaned. “Goodbye, Mom.”
She got into her car and with a wave puttered down the street, her old Ford spewing exhaust the whole way.
“Sorry about that,” I grimaced, walking to my own car.
Yoss got in the passenger side and quickly closed the door.
“Don’t be. She’s not at all as I expected,” Yoss said, putting on his seatbelt.
“She takes some getting used to,” I muttered, reversing out of my driveway and finally heading towards the river.
Fifteen Years Ago
Too many nights had passed since I had first arrived at The Pit.
It was November.
Cold and dark, I couldn’t remember the last time I felt truly warm. We huddled together for safety, sticking together while the world around us screamed and cried.
The Pit was a dangerous place. Another girl had been attacked last month.
Awful things clung to the shadows.
The constant threat ofpossibilitymade me clingy and desperate. Yoss tried to keep the bad stuff away, but it was becoming harder and harder to shield me from the world Manny dragged him into night after night.
I knew too much. I tended to his cuts. I kissed the bruises. I held him while he raged in his sleep. He couldn’t lie to me. So he stopped trying. And every time Manny came for him a part of me died.
And I became more and more angry.
Because I wanted to leave.
Yet I wasn’t sure Yoss would ever come with me.
One afternoon Yoss and I found Di and the others sitting with a larger group towards the back of The Pit. A fire was burning in a trashcan casting flickering shadows on the wall.
Shane was drinking from a flask that Bug handed to him. Karla was laughing at something the guys were saying. They all looked a pretty loaded. Bug’s bulging eyes were glassy and red. Shane’s smile was a little too wide; Karla’s laugh a little too loud.
I noticed Di lying on her stomach, her shirt pulled up to her shoulders, a large man with tattoos all over his arms was leaning over her, pushing a needle into her skin.
