“Well…” Mr. Barone says, and that’s all the permission I need.
I leap from my seat and rush out the door.
I run down the corridor, shouting Lucy’s name. “Lucy! Where are you?”
I find her in her dorm room, sitting on her bunk bed. She looks up in surprise from her book. “What’s wrong?”
“I think we’re getting adopted,” I say, slightly out of breath but smiling at her. My heart is racing. This is it. This is our chance. “Come and meet them. Wait. Let me just…” I gently pull the band from her hair so that her curls tumble around her face, and then I finger comb them into place.
“What’s going on? Adopted by who?”
I put my hands on her shoulders and gaze deep into her eyes. “Do you trust me?”
She nods without hesitation, and warmth expands in my chest.
“Good. There’s no time to explain. You don’t have to say much, but smile and be polite, okay?”
“To who? Why us?”
“Why not us?” I examine what she’s wearing. The jeans are fine, but her shirt is old and stained. I reach into her drawer for a clean pink baby doll T-shirt. “Quickly. Put this on.”
I help her out of the stained T-shirt and into the clean pink one. Her hair crackles with static as I pull it over her head and smooth it down. Going down on one knee, I examine Lucy’s face. She’s pale and too thin, with shadows under her eyes, but she’s still the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. She just doesn’t have much chance to show it right now while the world is being so cruel to her.
I rub my thumbs across the apples of her cheeks to put some color in them. “Bite your lips,” I tell her.
She does, and they redden a little.
“Perfect.” I stand up and hold out my hand to her. “Let’s go, and don’t forget to smile.”
Lucy puts her hand into mine, and I take her down the corridor, hoping I’m leading her toward a better life. No, IknowI’m leading her toward a better life. Rich people can give Lucy everything she deserves.
They have to take us both. They have to.
The Barones are waiting for us to return. Mrs. Barone looks uncertain, but Mr. Barone smiles at Lucy as we enter. “You are pretty, aren’t you? Just like your brother said.”
I gently squeeze Lucy’s hand, and she remembers to smile back, but I can feel her trembling slightly. She’s scared.
“And you’re determined not to be separated?” Mrs. Barone asks me, a crinkle of worry between her brows.
A jolt of anger shoots through me that she’s asking me that again, and in front of Lucy. I thought I made that clear. “It’s my duty as a big brother to look after my sister, no matter what. I wouldn’t be a very good big brother if I walked away from her or let her be taken from me.”
Mr. Barone nods approvingly. “The boy has a strong sense of family duty. I like it. That’s what I’m looking for.” He steps toward me and clasps his hands behind his back, and I sense that this is it. The moment that will determine our future. “You’ll be an obedient son and look out for this family?”
I straighten up and look him in the eye. I know the answer is yes. I’ll do whatever it takes. “I will, sir.”
“You’ll love and protect both your sisters? Not just Lucy?”
“Of course.”
“You’ll take after me, your new father, and join the family trade?” His eyes bore into mine. “What I’m building, I want to leave to my son. My wife is regretfully not able to have any more children, and we decided that we want a boy who can start learning what it means to be a Barone right away. You’ll be the eldest, and the head of this family one day.”
Head of the family. The weight of that settles on my shoulders, and it feels like purpose.
“What’s the family trade?” While they were asking so many questions about me, I forgot to ask anything about them.
The corners of his lips turn up slightly. “I own a lot of property. I’m a businessman. Negotiations. Alliances. Deals.”
There’s something he’s not saying, but right now, I don’t care. “So I’ll have to be a persuasive talker to follow in your footsteps?” I risk a roguish smile, guessing that he’ll like that.
