I felt relieved that she hadn’t said anyone was younger than her.
“Which one of the girls is in charge when Buddy’s gone?”
She looked surprise, then seemed to shake it off and gave her attention back to the TV. “Margo.” She made a face. “She’s mean. I hope she goes next.”
I decided to just go for it. “How did you become one of Buddy’s girls?”
She gave me a wary look. “I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
“Okay.” I kept my voice gentle. “Can you tell me how long you’ve been working with him?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I started before Christmas.”
Four months then. Four months too many.
She studied me, more curious than scared now. “Are you takin’ over for Buddy.”
“Sort of,” I said.
“I hope so,” she said with a sigh. “You’re nice.”
A lump filled my throat when I thought about what she’d probably been through.
“Where are you from, Lexi?” I asked.
She gave me an anxious look. “I’m not supposed to talk about that either.”
“To outsiders,” I coaxed. “Right? I’m part of the operation now.”
She scooted back and leaned into the pillows, but she didn’t answer right away. “Fayetteville.”
“I’ve been to Fayetteville,” I said, then lied, “I went to the college there.”
Her eyes widened. “You went to college?” she asked in awe.
“Sure did.”
“I used to want to go to college,” she said in a small voice. “But Buddy says I’m too stupid.”
I wanted to text James to cut off Buddy’s balls.
“Buddy’s full of shit,” I said. “You can go to college if you want to.”
“You can’t if you don’t go to school,” she said.
She had a point. And it was an opening. “Did you like going to school?”
“I didn’t think I did,” she said softly. “But now I miss it.”
“What do you miss the most?”
“My friends,” she whispered.
“Do you ever talk to them?” I already knew the answer, but I hoped she’d keep confiding in me.
She gave a short, humorless laugh. “You must really be new. We can’t talk to anyone from our past.”
It was probably too soon to ask about her family, but the door was open now. “Do you miss your parents?”
