“Sure, yeah,” she said.
Britt rode in the passenger seat as Rainbow drove, Becky sitting in the back. She missed this, the three of them. As they approached Ron and Ruby’s neighborhood, Britt felt suddenly ashamed at how she’d ended up here, with foster parents and foster siblings, the court basically affirming that she had nobody else who loved her.
“It’s that house right there,” Britt said, pointing to the two-story with the beige exterior, paint chipped in several places, plywood in place of a front window that had been broken since Britt arrived.
Britt was thankful nobody was outside to see her pull up with these people who were evidence of her other life. Did Carlo and Deanna have other lives? They must have. Nobody talked about it. Ron and Ruby acted like the three of them had just fallen from the sky.
It was only when Rainbow put the car in park that Britt realized she hadn’t even broached the topic of borrowing money. That had been the purpose of her visit, hadn’t it? Maybe she’d just told herself that.
“Take care of you, okay?” Rainbow said.
“I will,” Britt said, though she wasn’t sure if that was true.
“Promise?” Becky said.
Becky stuck out her pinkie finger like they used to do. Britt laughed. Becky kept her pinkie outstretched.
“Come on, now,” Becky said.
Britt rolled her eyes and stuck out her own pinkie, interlinking it with Becky’s.
“We love you,” Rainbow said.
And Britt considered that, just maybe, they did.
Britt could not return the cash to Ron and Ruby’s dresser drawer by the end of the week. When they had another sit-down talk with Carlo, Deanna, and Britt, Deanna didn’t hesitate to identify Britt as the culprit. Britt didn’t try to deny it. She wanted to be punished, in a way—for the stealing and so much more. Ron and Ruby said they would have to discuss her punishment. “We’re very disappointed in you,” Ruby said with a solemn shake of her head. What was there to say to that? Britt was disappointed in everything.
When her case worker, a woman named Nora, came by, Britt assumed Ron and Ruby had asked that she be moved to another home. That was her punishment—complete rejection. It seemed appropriate. But that was not why Nora had come by.
“Your guardianship came through,” Nora said.
The three of them—Ron, Ruby, and Britt—were sitting at the kitchen table with Nora when she delivered this news.
“My guardianship?”
“That’s great news,” Ruby said.
Nora flipped through papers in a manila folder, then looked up and said, “Rainbow Reynolds? The court approved her as your guardian.”
“Rainbow? What kind of name is that?” Ron said. He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Is this real?” Britt asked.
She was sure it couldn’t be. But Nora said, with a sympathetic smile, “Yes, it’s real.”
Somehow, Britt expected her addiction to oxy to just go away the moment she moved into Rainbow’s house. But that wasn’t how it worked. She tried going several hours without taking a pill, but then had body achesand heart palpitations so bad she thought she was having a panic attack. Rainbow told her she couldn’t stop cold turkey. She had to do it right.
Rainbow had a friend called Harmony who had been through a pill addiction herself. She helped Britt slowly taper off the pills. It took weeks. As Britt started to feel more like herself, she enrolled at her local high school. She and Becky resumed their friendship as if nothing had ever come between them. They didn’t talk about the shooting, but clung to each other with a new ferocity that spoke to having experienced something together that nobody else would ever understand.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” Becky said to her one night as they lay together in bed.
The apartment only had the two bedrooms—Rainbow’s and Becky’s. Just as they’d done on so many sleepover nights, Britt and Becky slept together in Becky’s full-size bed. They often fell asleep holding hands.
“Not just back with us, but back to yourself,” Becky clarified.
Becky was rolled on her side, looking away from Britt. Britt rolled over and spooned her.
“I love you like a sister,” Britt said.
