I should avoid her.
No, you dumb fuck, youwillavoid her.
The Danforth girl is a silky storm.
The kind that destroys everything in its path.
But as I head back toward my room, something catches my eye. A flutter of white near the corner of the corridor.
A small square of paper.
I bend down. Pick it up.
A note.
In delicate handwriting:
You still owe me your name.
— V.
My pulse does something stupid.
Dangerous.
I crumple the note immediately.
But I don’t throw it away.
4
Lorenzo
My hands feel raw.The skin split at the knuckles, soap getting into every scrape. I’ve been here for hours.
Rinsing. Scrubbing. Stacking.
Repeating the same motion for so long that I’m not sure if I’m alive or if I’m dead, and this is hell. Maybe this is what my penance looks like. An endless cycle of dishes.
At least I’m alive.
And Mom and I have a roof over our heads.
Not that we’ve ever been homeless, but there have been times when shit got rough. Most recently because of me.
“Stop daydreaming.” Elise cuts through my thoughts, bringing me back to the here and now. “Concentrate on your job.”
I turn over my shoulder and find her leaning against the counter beside me. Elise is small and sharp. She’s the kind of woman who could charm the devil and then sell his secrets whenall is said and done. She’s not one to fuck with, but also, she’s a good one to have on your side.
I flick a handful of suds at her. “Maybe I’m waiting for the dishes to talk back.”
She laughs, a quick, bright sound that doesn’t belong in this place. “I have a feeling you’re waiting on something else entirely.”
My brow rises. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’ve got that look again. The one that says you’re thinking about something you shouldn’t be.”
“Maybe I am.” A certain blonde that I shouldn’t be thinking about.
