Page 23 of Lucky 14

The blue ICEE crinkles as I squeeze it. The heat is so bad today, but Mrs. Bates keeps giving us treats. Jeremy says I don’t have to call his mom that, but it feels weird to call her anything else.

“Thanks, Mom,” Jeremy says as she brings out orange slices. My heart does a weird flutter. Jeremy calls her mom like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and it pulls at something in my chest.

I don’t call Mrs. Amy Mom. She’s my foster mom. Has been since I was seven. My real mom does drugs. Or, so Mrs. Amy says. I overheard her say once, when I got up to go to the bathroom, that Mom cared more about being with my dad than she ever did about me. Mrs. Amy said it like it was a bad thing, but that means that Mom loves my dad. She loves him with everything she has. And that’s a good thing. Right?

I squint in the summer sun, water condensing against my fingers. Mrs. Bates loves Jeremy. She must also bring orange slices and popsicles to Mr. Bates. Because that’s what love is. It’s being there for your family.

Jeremy throws his orange peel over the fence into the cow pasture. “Come on, I have something to show you.”

Abandoning my finished ICEE, I follow him. Jeremy is one of the coolest people I know. He and I only started talking right before summer, but we’ve become best friends. Mrs. Amy lets me call him every day, and he’s even invited me on a hunting trip with him and Mr. Bates right after school starts.

My heart skips thinking about it, and I run after Jeremy, the long summer grass whipping against my legs. I’ve never been invited to something like that before. I’ve never really been invited to anything, actually.

“Hurry up, weirdo.”

I smile. I’m kinda the weird kid, but Jeremy acts like I’m not. He acts like I’m someone he wants to be friends with, and that just makes me smile so hard I can’t stop.

We’re at the very edge of their yard where it meets the pasture and the treeline. Jeremy bends down, and I catch up, panting for breath. It’s so hot today I can feel the sweat trickling down the back of my neck.

He’s looking at a cage. A raccoon trap. And there’s something in it.

A fox.

I suck in a breath of air. It’s so pretty. It has a red coat, black-lined eyes, and a tail that looks like it’s been dipped in white paint. The fox is panting, staring at both of us.

“Wow,” I whisper.

“Yeah.” Jeremy rips up a long piece of grass and starts poking it through the cage. The fox has nowhere to go and shifts, baring its teeth. It looks hot and scared. Jeremy keeps poking it.

“Hey,” I snatch at the grass.

“What?” Jeremy turns to me, frowning.

“Don’t.”

He blinks. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t tease it.” I stare again at the animal whose breathing is so fast.

“Really?” Jeremy crosses his arms. I turn to see he’s cocking his hip, giving me a look that makes my stomach clench. Is he mad at me?

My shoulder twitches, and I rub it. My shoulder always twitches when I get nervous, and I hate it.

“Dad’s gonna shoot it anyway, what does it matter?”

“What?” I ask, stomach tightening.

“Uh, yeah.” Jeremy grabs another piece of grass. “It’s a fox.” He starts poking the fox again, and I watch helplessly as the animal’s fur twitches, but it doesn’t run. It has nowhere to go.

“He’s going to kill it just because it’s a fox?” I ask.

Jeremy turns and gives me a look that makes me feel stupid. Like I should have known the answer already.

I look at the ground. I don’t like not knowing what everyone else does. But also, this seems wrong. Why kill something just because you can?

I want to ask. The question bubbles up in me, but Jeremy seems to lose interest. “Hey, wanna go jump in the pond?” He sounds normal again. Not like he’s mad at me. But maybe he is? If he’s mad, is he going to stop being friends with me? Why did I ask him that?

I let out a breath and agree. Because Jeremy is my best friend, and I’ll do whatever he wants to keep him from being mad. To keep him from leaving.