The sound of a door opening came from the hallway, and Jem snapped the lid shut.He shoved the box behind the cushions again and straightened the sheets as Daniel stepped into the living room.His cheeks were pink, his skin so clear it was almost see-through.His eyebrows drew together.He put one arm across his chest, hand resting on his shoulder.
“Trying to convince this guy to give up on you and sleep with me,” Jem said.He brushed a hand over Scipio’s ears again.“But he’s a traitor.”
Jem tried to ignore the judgment in Scipio’s eyes—like father, like son.
Daniel still hadn’t said anything.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Jem said.“I don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell us something.”
“I know,” Daniel said.
Scipio nudged Jem’s hand with his head.
“So,” Jem said.“We’re good?”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“All right,” Jem said.And it was on the tip of his tongue to ask about the chain.To say something.To say anything.Because what if?He could ask.He should ask.He should say,Did he give it to you?And thehein that sentence was like a hole in his head.
And Daniel would laugh, and he’d tell Jem no, it was costume jewelry, and Justin bought it for twenty bucks at Hot Topic.
Jem could ask.Just to be sure.
But what if Daniel said yes?
His mouth was dry, and it took Jem a second to work up enough spit.And then all he said was “Night.”
18
The next morning, they left Daniel at home, with money for food and instructions to walk Scipio.Daniel, for his part, had walked a fine line between annoyance at having been woken up early (which, in this case, meant eight in the morning), and his obvious pleasure at being trusted to stay home by himself, with money, and with Scipio.And, of course, the added bonus of being allowed to skip school.
Tean had prepared a list of phone numbers.
“And if he chokes on a ball when you’re playing fetch, and you can’t reach me, and you can’t reach Hannah, I want you to call his vet—that’s this one right here.”
“The one that says, ‘Vet,’” Daniel said.
“Watch the tone,” Jem said.
Daniel’s glower actually morphed into a smile at that, but only for a second before he snatched the paper from Tean and collapsed onto the couch.“It’s fine.I can read, and we’re not going to do anything anyway.”
“You could clean the house,” Jem said.“You could make dinner.You could pick up Scipio’s poop.”
The horror on Daniel’s face was priceless.
“If anything happens—” Tean began.
“Call you, I know, God.”
“Hey.”Jem clapped his hands.“The tone.”
This time, the grin was even bigger.He grabbed the remote and started flipping channels.For some reason, he settled on what looked like a game show replay from the 1970s.All the men had wide ties.All the women looked like they’d had Jane Fonda do their hair.
“Where’s a good place to get my nails done?”Daniel asked without actually looking away from the TV.
Tean didn’t know, so he glanced at Jem as he took out his phone.
Jem, though, just nudged him toward the door.“Ignore him.He’s being a little shit.”
