“It was nice to meet you, ma’am.” I shove my hands into my pockets.
“And he’s polite!” Mary eyes King as if that’s significant in this alternate universe I’ve fallen into. “Put these in your pocket.” She hands him two pieces of cake in plastic.
When we’re back on the street, King grabs my sleeve. “I never hated you,” he says sincerely, looking me in the eye.
“Whaaat?” I sputter. Of course he did, otherwise he wouldn’t have said… I groan inwardly. John is a liar, yet I believed every bad thing he said about me and how his son thinks I’m a piece of shit.
“You said you hate me as much as I hate you, but I never hated you,” he explains, and I tsk. “I wondered what you had that I didn’t, that you got to live with my dad and the life I was supposed to lead while I lived here.”
I’m eager to say he got the better deal, but a gang walks by and I’m not so sure.
I don’t know anything.
King is so different from who I thought he was.
Chapter 13
Jamal King
I didn’t mean to overwhelm O’Keefe. He’s not pissed off anymore, but I can’t read him. That makes me nervous because the unknown is so much worse than understanding what I’m dealing with.
We walk in silence, and I decide not to show him my public school because it’s too far and we’re being tracked. The same guys have sized us up several times. I steer O’Keefe to a different subway stop that is better lit. If someone jumps us, I’m totally to blame.
Theo screams money, and that attracts people we don’t want.
Theo? Since when is he Theo?I brush aside the significance of changing how I think about his name. Can’t let my mind dissect it, or I’ll spiral.
PS 158 looms to our left. “Is that where you went to school? At first, I thought it was a jail.” O’Keefe quickens his pace.
“No, my school was better.” Not by much, but I keep that to myself.
“Good, good,” Theo says, and I’ve noticed that his voice is higher, but I haven’t figured out if it’s because he’s nervous or confused. He mutters to himself when he’s mad.
“Where are you going to stay tonight?” I ask, and Theo’s mouth drops open. “You said you can’t go home. What’s your plan?”
“No idea.”
“If you’re desperate, I’ve got a couch,” I offeras an olive branch.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be that desperate. Can I assume you’ll take me back to the city? I’ll get a hotel room, and John should be gone in the morning.”
“Suit yourself.” I shrug, relieved.
We don’t talk on the trains back to the city. I take him to an area near lots of hotels. “This is your stop.”
“You’re not getting out here?”
“Nope. Have a good night. Text if you need anything.” As soon as the words come out of my mouth, I regret them. He doesn’t have a phone.
“Thanks for not getting me killed,” he says so low I doubt he meant me to hear.
I watch him walk along the platform, but the train departs before I see him exit onto the street. I should’ve walked him up. No, I’m not his keeper, and he’d probably have been offended.
My skin itches, and I crack my neck. Being with Theo makes me crazy. I should avoid him, not try to befriend him. It’s a desperate idea. We can be teammates without being tight.
There’s no way I can wait until tomorrow, so I text my dad.
Me: You up?
