Tina shivered. Why would anyone want to shoot horses?I don’t care if Mr. Franklin is a friend of the twins’ mommy. These men are mean. I hate them.
That’s when the white-haired man’s face darkened. He looked like he was trying to breathe but couldn’t. Even Mr. Franklin, who looked like he hated the white-haired man as much as Tina did right now, grabbed the man’s arm and pounded on his back to help him. “You okay, Rock?”
The man nodded and wheezed, “Nothing bourbon and one more damn cigar won’t cure. Fuck my doctor. Worthless.”
“Then let’s get you back, get some bourbon into you at least. Clear the pipes before you speak.”
They were leaving. Relief swept through Tina—until Rock held up his hand, signaling Mr. Franklin to stop and wait. He made a fist, then brought it to his mouth and started coughing harder than Tina had ever seen anyone cough. She felt her stomach clench and her mouth got very dry while her forehead felt cold and sweaty. When the man bent and spat out a huge ball of brown and red goop, Tina couldn’t help it. Mimicking him, she bent forward and lost everything in her tummy.
“The hell was that?” Mr. Franklin and the man named Rock looked her way. As long as she lived, Tina would never forget the cold dead look in Rock’s bloodshot eyes when they locked on hers.
Mr. Franklin’s eyes narrowed. “Tina?”
The older man looked at Mr. Franklin. “You know her?”
Mr. Franklin nodded. “Her mom is the help.” Then he crouched down like she was a toddler and tried to smile sweetly at Tina. “Well, look at you, sweetheart. You lost, honey? Let Uncle Larry help you get back to your mama, huh?”
Tina wasn’t some stupid baby and she sure wasn’t gonna fall for that. She stood up and got ready to run, to scream, to do anything to get herself away from these two big…jerks.
But those cold, bloodshot eyes held her in place. “Don’t you dare run or make a sound, little girl. Tina, is it?” Suddenly, the old man didn’t seem as sick as he had before. He seemed big and powerful as he approached her, his cane stabbing into the ground as he walked. Mr. Franklin (Tina would never,everthink of him as Uncle Larry) walked a few steps behind him, that fake smile never leaving his face.
They loomed over her. Tina’s fearful gaze darted from one man to the other. The old man’s lips were pale and speckled with brown and red. “What areyoudoing here, Tina, daughter of the help?”
“She’s just a little girl, Rock. She doesn’t care what a couple of boring old men talk about, do you, honey?”
At that moment, Tina thought of Bette. She wasn’t allowed to see any of the actress’s movies, but that didn’t stop her from typing in her name on the internet and finding clips when Mama wasn’t looking. Bette was so nice in person, but she could be scary when she had to play a part. Tina realized if she was going to get away from these two, she needed to pretend, just like Bette did. Only, she didn’t think she could pretend to be mean enough to scare these two off. She decided to try something else. Mr. Franklin thought she was a dumb little kid, so when he asked her if she cared, Tina shook her head no and tried to look as young and innocent as she could.
“You see, Rock? She has no clue.”
The old man ignored him. “What did you hear us say, Tina?”
Tina looked down, shrugged, and pushed some crushed rocks around with the toe of her shoe.
His cold, bony hand clutched her chin and tilted it up. He looked hard into her eyes, and he gave her an even faker smile than Mr. Franklin’s. “You’re a very naughty little girl, out here all on your own. You could get into big trouble. Your mommy could get into even bigger trouble if someone finds out she let you run around loose. Do you know what I’m telling you?”
Tina nodded once. Her heart felt like it was about to beat right out of her chest. She felt light-headed, as if her insulin levels weren’t right. And now she needed to pee really bad.
“Rock.” Mr. Franklin laid a hand on the man’s shoulder but he shrugged it off.
“Your mommy could get into so much trouble, you might never see her again. Sometimes, they take troublemaking little girls like you away from irresponsible mothers like her. And sometimes, irresponsible mothers simply go missing. So if I were you, Tina—” he looked at Mr. Franklin— “what’s her last name?”
“Martinez.” Tina watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down when he said it.
Rock looked back at her. “Tina Martinez, I would never tell anyone a single word, or that you even saw us out here tonight. I would suggest that you find your way back to the party all by yourself and keep quiet as a mouse.”
Tina glanced at Mr. Franklin just long enough to see him nod the way some teachers did when they wanted you to go along with something. So she nodded back to both of them.
The old man finally let go of her chin. She pushed past them and ran back down the path she’d taken. As she ran, she felt warm pee running down her legs. The second she was out of sight, she squatted and finished, horribly embarrassed that she’d wet herself—no better than one of the crybabies.
By the time Tina sneaked back through the window, it was full-dark. It was dark in the room, too—a movie was playing and had everyone’s attention, so no one noticed her. Tina didn’t dare sit down. Scared, angry, embarrassed, and ashamed, she spent the rest of that horrible night standing at the back of the room as far from the window and the other kids as she could get. As the hours dragged by, she thought of the poor horses who might run the wrong way and what would happen to them.
Tina thought again about Bette, and how she’d once been scared of a man who tried to hurt her. Whodidhurt her—who put her in a wheeling chair.Would Rock come back and do that to me if I told? Would he do that to Mama? But what about the poor horses?
No.Camden would stop them. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to Tina or Mama. If someone came near them, he would ask what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks was going on and even punch Rock right in his stupid face. He’d tell the Twins’ mommy that Mr. Franklin might not be a stranger, but that he was dangerous anyway. Anybody who was friends with people who’d shoot horses if they didn’t like the way they ran was a big jerk, no matter how friendly he pretended to be.
That made up Tina’s mind. She would tell Mama and Camden about the horses. They would fix everything, and the horses would be safe, and Bette would tell Tina how brave she was.
Tina watched the silhouette of a woman come to the door. She hoped it was her mama, and was disappointed when the woman flipped on the light switch next to the door, then clapped her hands and announced it was time for the photos. The grownups corralled the kids into a line. Tina shook her head—no way was she going anywhere—and the mean crybaby lady again took her by the arm and pulled her into the line. Then, they marched through the mansion to the stage outside. All the grownups made “awww-ing” noises and clapped as the kids went up the steps and got into rows with the tallest kids in the back and the smallest in front. Tina hated that she was in the front. Now that the lights were shining on her, she could see her white socks were stained yellow. Just to make it worse, the boy next to her whispered, “You smell like pee,” and scooted closer to the girl next to him, who shoved him back into Tina.
