“Yeah, my… I used to be. Technically still am. It’s complicated.”
“It’s a yes or no,” I say, annoyed at her for some reason.
She starts bouncing her leg harder. “I guess it’s a no. DJ’s father is, though.”
“Is he gonna look for you?”
“Who knows. If he’s not too busy fucking his One True Love,” she says bitterly.
This is getting confusing.
“You really don’t know why they took you?”
“No idea. I was at the New Year’s party and suddenly… At first, I honestly thought Dylan was trying to get rid of me.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He’s been cheating on me with his ex, so I thought maybe they decided to get rid of me and raise our son together.”
So she’s single.
What the fuck is wrong with me? I need to get my head checked; maybe one of those two knocked something loose in there.
“How long have you been here?” Marissa’s voice is a welcome interruption.
“Four days, I think.”
“Do they give you any food or water?”
“They come in once a day, around noon, give me some water, some junk to eat, and let me use the bucket.”
She makes a face, then quickly says, “Sorry,” and promptly bursts into tears again.
“Hey, hey,” I tell her kindly. “Don’t do that. That’ll kill you. There’s nothing we can do now; we’re trapped here. All we can do is pass the time. Talk to me, distract us both. You grow up around here?”
“Phoenix, South Side.”
I whistle. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“What about you?”
“Paradise Valley.”
“It’s my turn to whistle, but I don’t know how, rich boy.”
“All that glitters is not gold, et cetera, et cetera. My parents worked a lot, so they were always too busy for me.”
“Boo hoo, you still had two parents, unlike me,” she taunts, but a flash of pain crosses her face.
Just for a millisecond, and then it’s gone. It’s like she absorbed it back into her body. She seems well-versed in powering through discomfort. I wonder whether that is by necessity or by choice.
“Who did you have, mom or dad?”
“Mom. Never met dad,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Is she still in Phoenix?”
“She passed away two years ago.”
