Her comments sting, but I refuse to show it. I loved those days, playing by the pond in the early July evenings, barefoot and wild, the smell of summer in the air. We’d catch fireflies in jars and race our bikes down the cul-de-sac and play manhunt with the neighbor kids until someone inevitably got hurt and went home crying. The parents would drink cheap beer and cook out on someone’s back deck and our mom’s laughter would float across the lawn like tinkling chimes. Those are some of the last memories I have of her. Mom.
It was the time before everything changed.
I look at my sister, and I mean, I really look at her. Past the shiny hair and the expensive outfit and the fifteen pounds she’s shed since she was eighteen.
“I missed you, Mel.”
I wait for her to say it back.
I wait for her to ask me to stay.
I wait for her to say something.
Anything.
But she doesn’t, and I suppress my disappointment, taking another bite of the apple. It tastes bitter now.
“Why did you leave, Violet?” she asks again, and I hear the irritation lining her voice more clearly now. She’s just surprised I’m here, is all. She’s just trying to adjust, I bet. She’s not really annoyed, I hope. How could she be? “How could you leave without a plan?”
“You know what that town’s like. I couldn’t stay there.”
Before she can respond, movement in my peripheral draws my attention. I glance toward the doorway to find Landon filling it with his long limbs and intimidating presence. He glances between us, his expression unreadable.
“Tow truck’s here,” he says.
I straighten, setting the half-eaten apple down. “Oh. Great.”
It’s now occurring to me that I have no idea how expensive it is to tow a car. I also don’t know how expensive it will be to fix the car once it’s towed. I wipe my damp palms against my shorts. I saved up money to come here, sure, but notthatmuch, and I can’t go back to that town. I just…can’t.
I start to follow Landon out toward the front door when Mel’s voice stops me.
“Violet is going to stay here for a while.”
Landon freezes, shoulders tense, but he doesn’t turn around.
“Because she’s family?” he asks in that brutal voice of his.
Mel’s eyes narrow at the question. “Just until she can find somewhere else.”
Now it’s my turn to flinch.
Landon doesn’t respond, just continues his walk to the front door.
I move to follow, but not before I watch Mel’s face harden.
What in the world have I walked into?
THREE
It’s the battery.
And the alternator.
And it’s going to cost me half my savings to fix.
I think I’m in shock on the car ride home from the mechanic, sitting in the passenger seat of Mel’s convertible—brand new, judging by the fresh leather smell and flawless interior. My heart dropped down to my toes when I saw the total dollar amount, and when I presented my debit card to the mechanic, he had to give an extra tug to get me to let go.
“Can you afford those fixes?” Mel asks, glancing over at me.
