Page 6 of Read With Your Heart

“What?” Jenna asks, reaching out a hand for my forearm. I watch as the truck pulls away from the lot, and I decide I’m seeing things. It couldn’t be, could it? Did Trent come to the high school?

“Nothing,” I say. “I’ve sworn off men,” I deflect, watching the taillights of a truck I want to dismiss as unfamiliar. However, I can’t shake the possibility of knowing its driver too intimately.

My eyes leap back to the basketball court and land on the hot guy taking another shot. That’s right. No men for me, I remind myself, even if his back ripples with strength, and his backside suggests all kinds of things I shouldn’t be thinking.

+ + +

When I get home after work, I make dinner in my own kitchen outfitted in outdated appliances and worn countertops. Nothing has ever looked so beautiful to me as the mustard gold refrigerator and the fake butcherblock counters. I prep my lunch for the next day and sigh in relief. Day one down. This day was the start of my new routine.

Suddenly, I hear car doors slamming outside the window as the kitchen sink faces the drive, like the dining room. I tip my head as I step right, hoping to disguise myself in the shadow of the upper cabinet while I peer out to watch what’s happening in the driveway. Two young girls exit an older SUV. Suitcases and bags are pulled from the back and out the side doors.

Slam. Slam. Slam.

By their stature, I’d guess them each to be in high school or just past it. They have matching long, dark hair with lightly tan skin. The one closest to me seems to be struggling with something, and the other rounds the vehicle, yelling at her.

The motion of her hands and the anger in her voice remind me of when my sister and I would fight. Pam was always fierce despite her innocent appearance. I watch as the one girl continues to wave her arms, and then I realize I don’t understand what she’s saying. She’s speaking Spanish to the other, and the fast-paced sounds float into the slight opening of my window. I took Spanish in college, but I can’t translate the words as quickly as they are being spoken. However, her body language insinuates she’s berating the other.

Suddenly, a man circles the back of the vehicle wearing dark jeans and a white tee that contrasts sharply against his own tan skin. He tugs at the shoulder of the girl yelling and leans forward to help the other. Once he frees another extra-large duffel bag from the back seat, he places an arm around the smaller girl. Then his head turns as if he’s looking over his shoulder. He stills and twists in the direction of my window, and my breath hitches.

Stepping back into the recesses of my kitchen, I can only hope he didn’t see me. My glimpse of him was so quick that nothing of significance registered, but my skin still prickles with the thought he might have seen me.

Do I want him to notice me?

I don’t, so I take another step away from the window and continue with my own dinner.

Lesson 4

Sisters are a curse and a blessing.

[Leon]

As Lena and Lys are fighting in my driveway, I feel eyes on me. My hackles rise, and I pause, looking over my shoulder before twisting completely. The sun reflects off the back window of the house next door, so I decide it’s nothing.

No one’s watching me. No one’s searching for me. Not anymore.

Still, it’s a reason I don’t want to take in the girls. Who knows who followed them? Who knows who Lena told with her big mouth even though she was warned not to tell anyone where she was going? Although I’ve been out for more than a year, I wonder if the feeling will ever disappear—the need to search my surroundings and glance over my shoulder at every turn.

“Magdalena.” I use my sister’s full name as I lug the duffel bag over my arm and lead both girls into my place. “Stop yelling at Lys.”

‘The elder sister is so cursed and shrewd.’ Shakespeare would recognize that in Lena. My seventeen-year-old sister is a handful and having her here will take great patience. She’s almost half my age and filled a void for my mother back when I was eighteen. Lena hates that she had to come here, but she also knows she can’t risk the state finding her alone in an apartment she can’t afford to pay the bills on. She’s finishing high school. Not up for debate.

My other sister Amaryllis goes by Lys. She’s fourteen, quiet and shy, and more reserved than loudmouthed Magdalena. She might be upset about moving here and starting a new school, but as a freshman, it will be easier for Lys than for Lena, who is a senior. I’m hoping the small town and slower pace will be good for Lys as she keeps her head down and stays out of trouble. If trouble doesn’t find Lena, she just creates it.

I’m not close to them, as they are almost like a second family to my parents. When Lena came along, I was out of the house and in with the gang. I didn’t come around often, so I’ve missed most of their growing up. I tried to stay away from them on purpose, hoping to keep my family safe by distancing the association. But my parents need me now.

Immigration issues. Possible deportation.

Lena and Lys could not be left alone.

As we enter the house, the living room is piled with bags, and I point at the stairs.

“There are three bedrooms. The place came furnished, so pick which room you want. You’ll see which one is mine.” My room faces the driveway. It’s also parallel to a window in the house next door. We’re neighbors who share the drive, which could be difficult when I get a truck. We can’t both park in the same spot. For now, her Honda parks near the back, and I pull my Harley off to the side. With Lena’s SUV, it’s going to get complicated.

I haven’t met the neighbor yet. Mrs. Drummond told me she’s a teacher, a local favorite, and newly divorced. All statistics I don’t need to know. I just want to get along with her and not have issues with this driveway.

“I’ll start something for dinner.” Having my sisters here is going to seriously cut into my budget. I’m making enough money—enough for rent plus utilities and a future truck payment but with a grocery limit. I can’t afford to have Lena hogging water like my father complains about or Lys leaving lights on because she can’t sleep in total darkness.

I step into the kitchen, pulling out meat I prepared and froze the other night and a box of dried rice to boil.