“How about you come to bed, and I’ll make you forget all about her threats?”
She nods, giving in immediately, something I should find suspicious but having had so little sleep over the past few nights, my brain can’t fathom it out.
When I lay her down, she bites her thumbnail. The flesh is so scarred by her repeated mauling that I don’t know how she can stand to attack it again. I move it away from her mouth so I can kiss her, but she turns her head, then startles at the clock.
“It’s nearly time for class.”
“The key word is nearly.”
“I have to—”
I stop her with a kiss, but she flinches, the split lip now bleeding. When I fetch a tissue, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the keys on the desk. Kari’s keys. I tuckthem into a drawer so she can stop obsessing, but instead of lying down again, she stands.
“The class bell will sound in a few minutes.”
“So, we’ve got a time limit. Who cares?”
“Where were you this morning?”
I shake my head. “There’s stuff I can’t—” I break off as her expression collapses and she stares at the floor, cupping her elbows, and really, what does it matter if I reveal my secrets? Who’s she going to tell? “I intercepted a shipment from a rival company and rerouted it to a contact who’s going to drive it down south.”
The words don’t appear to mean anything to her.
“Why don’t we skip class today?” I suggest. “I wouldn’t mind having a nap and we can start the—”
“I have classes.”
“Yes. The ones I’m suggesting you skip. If you’re worried about your grades—”
“I can’t afford to skip classes. My scholarship depends on getting good marks.”
I catch her hand trying to tug her near, but she resists.
“They don’t give me the same latitude as other students. If I screw up just one class one time, I’ll lose the whole thing.”
“So? If you lose your scholarship, I can pick up your tab for the rest of the year.”
I don’t understand why but it’s the exactly wrong thing to say to her. She struggles to breathe, crossing her arms so tightly they look like hoops holding the staves of a barrel together.
“George? What’s going on?”
A tear slides down her cheek and my internal alarm screeches at full volume. She steps out of range, sidling near the door, like she’s about to cut and run.
“I’m a t-terrible person.”
And honestly, I’m gobsmacked. There’s so much blood staining my hands, I could pass as Lady Macbeth. What the fuck has George ever done except hold her tiny family together long after it should have busted apart?
She doesn’t have time to be awful. Between studying and working and keeping her home on an even keel, there’s no space for mischief let alone evil.
“Please just tell me what’s happened? Is this because of Kari? You know you’re not the one cheating, right? If there’s any blame, it’s down to me.”
“I h-have to go.”
“Go where?”
She fumbles behind her for the door, and I’m suddenly terrified she’s going to go home. That she’s going to leave me. That she’s seen through every piece of shit stunt I’ve pulled and doesn’t want a bar of it.
I’m terrified that she’ll leave and never let me touch her again.
