“I promise.”
“So, I was told to look after you. What are you? Five? Why Yoss insists on keeping you around like some sort of cute pet is beyond me,” Karla complained, sitting down on the floor beside me. Shane wasn’t with her. Supposedly he had a “thing” to do. The last thing I wanted to do when I was worrying about Yoss was hang out with a chick that obviously didn’t like me.
“You don’t have to do anything. You can leave at any time. Don’t let me put you out,” I snapped.
Yoss had been gone for a few hours already. I had spent most of the time looking through his books and trying to stay as quiet as possible. I didn’t want anyone to notice me. That seemed extremely important.
Karla blew out a breath. “Yoss asked me to, so I’m staying for a little while at least. I don’t want him to get pissed at me for bailing on you.”
“And you really care if Yoss gets pissed at you?” I asked. I wanted to figure out their relationship. It was obvious Karla had a thing for Yoss, but did Yoss have a thing for Karla?
“Of course I do. He’s my friend,” Karla shot back, clearly annoyed.
“Just your friend, huh?” I was digging. I had no shame. But I wanted to lay claim to Yoss. He was mine. I wanted this bitchy girl to realize that. I wasn’t above clawing some eyes out if I had to.
Karla snorted. “Yes, just friends, Captain Obvious. We’re not together. Have never been together. Yoss doesn’t do girls. He doesn’t do relationships, period.”
My stomach dropped out of my body. He doesn’tdo girls?What in the hell?
Was Yoss gay? Had I missed some very serious signals? I thought I had decent gaydar. Where had I gone wrong?
Karla laughed. “You look like your head’s gonna explode.”
“I didn’t—I didn’t know—that Yoss was, well you know—gay.”
“Fuck, stop sputtering. He’s not gay. Chill out,” Karla said angrily. She was mercurial. Her moods fluctuated to every extreme. She made me incredibly nervous.
“But you said—”
“I said he didn’tdogirls. That doesn’t mean he doesn’tlikethem.”
She was making my head hurt. Why couldn’t she just say what she meant? She clearly liked having information that I didn’t.
“He’s a hustler, babe, and that’s not the same thing as being gay.” Karla looked at me like I was a moron.
“A what?”
“A hustler. A commercial. A pro. A dick peddler. Come on, you’re not that dumb are you? You have to know what a hustler is.” Karla pulled out a pack of gum and popped a piece in her mouth.
My mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.
“Shit, you look like you’re about to have a stroke. What’s so hard to understand? Yoss gets paid to be a naughty little boy for some very dirty old men. That doesn’t mean he likes it. None of Manny’s kids do, but when you’ve got a pretty face, it pays well. And Yoss definitely has a pretty face. That’s why Manny takes him out so much. The pervs line up for a piece of our boy.”
Oh my god.
Karla curled her lip as though she smelled something bad. Her look had nothing to do with Yoss and the repulsive, horrible things he did. That look was for me.
“Look at you, you’re freaking out! What is your problem? Do you think everyone just hangs out all day by the river swimming and having a good time? This isn’t a fucking music video, cupcake. I think it’s time you take a crash course in homeless kid 101. You’ve had it easy with Yoss looking out for you. The rest of us, we’re not so lucky. We need money. We need to find our own food. Our own clothes. We have to find a way to get by. A lot of us do stuff that prissy little bitches, like you, can’t stomach.” She sneered at me and I felt so incredibly low.
Living on the streets was no picnic, but I knew it could have been so much worse. If Yoss hadn’t found me and taken me under his wing.
“But why does he have to do that?” I asked, my voice high-pitched. I sounded whiny. I hated it. I hated myself for thinking about Yoss with disgust. Because Iwasdisgusted. Sickened. Appalled.
“You really need a wakeup call, Imogen. Kids out here have only a few options. A, we can sell drugs. B, we can sell our bodies. C, we can starve to death and become just another statistic.”
I was shaking so hard my teeth were chattering.
“And Yoss always makes sure to share what he earns. He’s a good guy. Because he gets on his knees, you’ll have something to eat tomorrow, cupcake.”
