"Why?" My brows furrow. Surely, he doesn’t need a house cleaner.
"Because I like spending time with you. Will you let me take you out to dinner?"
My jaw goes slack, brows shooting up in surprise.That, I hadn’t expected.
He laughs at the look on my face. "It’s just dinner. It’s not like I’m asking for your kidney."
"Uh, um, I don’t know…" I stutter.
"Tell the boy yes, so we can all go home," Helena barks from off to the side, though it’s good-natured.
"Uh, yes." It’s easier to go with her order than think for myself right now.
Miguel beams at me again. "Perfect, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 7 p.m. I’ll make sure we go to a place where they serve food in buckets."
Helena smacks him on the back of the head before laying a kiss against his forehead and a parting, "Feliz aniversário."
That night, I don’t wait up for Shadow. My sheets feel too warm, too tangled, like they’re judging me for even thinking the worddate.
Instead, all I can think about as I roll from side to side is, what will I say on a date? What does one do on a date?
Smile? Talk about yourself without sounding pathetic? Not inhale food like you haven’t eaten in days?
If I had one of those expensive smartphones, I’d look up online what to do. I promise myself I’ll get to the library so I can use a computer and find out.
My Fault
4 Years Old
If this is character, I don’t want it anymore. After I spilled the mop bucket again, Mother Mary got so mad her whole face turned red. She grabbed a wooden spoon and whacked my butt. It made a loud crack, like a bone snapping in the cartoons, except no one laughed.
I tried to run but she grabbed my arm, her blows landing on my back. The sharp hits were like fire explosions on my body. It hurt so bad, I screamed and ran outside. She was so angry she followed me out, and pushed me to the ground to keep hitting me.
It wasn’t long before blue and red lights lit up the yard. One of the neighbors called the police, and Mother Mary went away in cuffs. Now I’m back in a group home, and the other three kids glare at me with hatred.
They’d gotten used to the house rules and didn’t want to be moved again. They told me I ruined everything, making sure to give me a little shove every chance they get.
The man in the big white van with flashing lights checked me to see if I was okay. He said I would be bruised but there wasn’t any serious damage. He gave me a sucker I pocketed, unable to bring myself to open it. Bad little girls shouldn’t get treats.
In bed, my silent tears soak the top of Snarp’s head.I know I shouldn’t cry into Snarp. He’s already soggy and smells like old milk, but I can’t stop. He’s all I have.
If I hadn’t knocked over the mop water again, if I hadn’t run outside, I wouldn’t have ruined the lives of the other kids.
Shadow arises by the bed, elongating and stretching before me.
"What happened?" His voice is angry, full of vengeance. He sounds like an actual monster.
The other kids wake up at once, finding a monster stretching out from under my bed. They run screaming from the room.
I could never be scared of Shadow, but I curl into myself tighter, making myself a small ball around Snarp. "Don’t yell at me." My voice muffles into the parrot’s head.
Instantly, Shadow shrinks down to a normal size and crouches until he is eye level with me. After several minutes, I meet the white misty eyes as they study me.
"I was bad, so they took me away. They took all of us away," I explain, fighting back more tears that threaten to clog up my voice again.
"I felt pain. Your pain," he says in a low, tortured voice.
I hesitate at first. "My back. She hurt my back."
