Page 14 of Pieces of Me

“Good for you.” Scott flinched internally at his baleful tone.

Rylan didn’t react to it, just continued, “My dad put the carton on top of the fridge, like he always does for his own. It wouldn’t have occurred to him that she’d be too short to see or reach them. I told her it wasn’t your fault.”

A bitter sound escaped Scott’s lips. “Everything that goes wrong in her life, even missing goddamn cigarettes, is my fault.”

Rylan paused. “You okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? What you saw ain’t nothin’ new.”

Rylan lapsed into silence. Scott could hear him fussing with something, and he pushed himself to sitting with a grunt when his curiosity overwhelmed him. “What are you doin’?”

Rylan held up his camera. “Going through some of the pictures I took today.”

“You took pics at school?” Scott was intrigued and moved over to the futon to sit down next to him.

“I take pics everywhere.” Rylan put the camera down on his lap and sighed. “Now all I need is a computer to download them to.”

“Won’t your dad buy you one?”

Rylan shook his head. “No, not something like that. That’s what I’m saving up for.”

Scott gaped at him. “Do you have a job, then?”

“No. I’m saving up the allowance my dad gives me.” Rylan stroked the camera in his hands. “He said he doesn’t believe in teenagers getting jobs when they should be concentrating on school, so he gives me a little spending money.”

“Shit. That must be nice.”

“It’s not much, Scott. Ten dollars a week.” Rylan hesitated before saying tentatively, “I could ask him if he―”

“Fuck no.” Scott was horrified at the thought. “He ain’t my dad. It’s not his responsibility.”

Rylan faced him full on, his knee brushing Scott’s thigh. For some reason Scott didn’t move away, enjoying the contact.

“He’s your stepdad,” Rylan said, his voice earnest. “You are his responsibility. He said he wants us to be a family and―”

“I have a dad.” Scott pulled away. “I don’t need yours.” He crossed his arms over his chest, avoiding Rylan’s gaze.

“What happened to your dad? Does he live in town?”

Scott bit his lip. “I don’t know where he is, okay?” he answered defiantly. “He’s a Navy pilot, flying fighter jets all over the world. Maybe he’s even one of the Blue Angels.” He flinched, waiting for Rylan to laugh, but he didn’t, and Scott went on, unable to help himself. “Someday he’ll find out about me, and when he does, he’ll come get me.”

Rylan nodded. “I dream about that kind of stuff with my mom, too. Like, she had gone into witness protection because of something she saw. They didn’t give her a choice, just came and took her away one night and she didn’t even get to say good-bye.”

Scott felt an ache in his chest at Rylan’s words, and he tightened his arms over himself, holding it in.

“And one of these days the mobster will go to trial, or die, and she’ll be free to come home to her family.”

“To the husband who married someone else. I bet that makes you feel awesome.”

Rylan gave a casual shrug, but his eyes were sad. “In my dream, she would have wanted him to go on with his life, and she really came back for me anyway.”

“That’s a nice dream. As nice as my dad coming to get me on his motorcycle, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Wow, that sounds stupid.” Scott could hear the sheepish note to his voice, but he wasn’t really embarrassed. He knew Rylan understood.

In response, Rylan put his hand on Scott’s arm. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with dreams. They’re ours, and no one can take them away from us.” He gave Scott a quick squeeze and let him go.

He didn’t say anything more, and Scott burst out, “When Heather was sixteen, she had a fake ID and looked twenty-one anyway. She met my dad at a beach bar one night and hooked up with him. By the time she knew she was pregnant, he was gone, shipped out with his squadron.”

“Wow. That must have been hard for her.”