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ALLIE
After speeding past five cops and getting away with it because I was driving Harlan’s car, I parked out in front of Jamal’s house. I hurried to the front door and banged on it twice, my fingers shaking as I continued to glance over my shoulder to see if Harlan had followed me.
Jamal’s mom opened the door with a big smile on her face, but then it dropped. “Allie, baby, what’s wrong?” She held the door open, snatched Marquis’s hand, and pulled him aside. “Come in, honey. It’s freezing outside tonight. Coldest night of the winter so far.”
I rubbed my frozen hands together and stepped into the house. “I need to talk to Jamal. It’s important,” I said, heading for the stairs.
“Allie, he—”
“J has a girl over,” Marquis said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
Jamal’s mom smacked Marquis on the back of the head. “Go shower.”
He rubbed the back of his head and ran to the staircase. “You know, my room is always open if you want to watch Paw Patrol with me. My sisters will be sleepin’ later, if—”
“Marquis! Don’t make me smack you again!”
Marquis widened his eyes and sprinted up the stairs. I glanced up the stairs at Jamal’s room and gulped. If Jamal had a girl over, I didn’t want to ruin his chances with her. This was important, but …
“It’s fine,” I said before his mom could call his name.
“Jamal!” Jamal’s mom shouted anyway. “I seen that girl whoring around with another guy this weekend anyway. I taught my baby better than that. Jamal! Get your ass down here now,” she continued. When he still didn’t open the door, his mom said, “Allie is here!”
The door flew open, and Jamal stepped out with wide eyes. “Allie, what’s going on?”
“Get your ass down here before Marquis hits on her again.”
Jamal rolled his eyes, said something into the bedroom, and held the door open for Jenny—the same girl I’d found with Jace a few weeks ago. Jenny scurried down the stairs and past Jamal’s mom, who was giving her major stink eye.
After she left, Jamal jogged down the stairs. “Is everything okay? You didn’t show up for school. Imani couldn’t get in contact with you either today. We were worried about you,” he said, gripping my shoulder.
“Have you seen Jace?” I asked.
He furrowed his brows. “I thought he was with you.”
“You’re bleedin’.” Jamal’s mom spotted blood that must’ve been dripping down my neck, then grabbed my arm and brought me to their downstairs bathroom, turning on the sink and running a torn rag underneath it. “Why is the back of your head bleeding?”
My eyes widened, and I touched the spot where I’d hit it last night. I’d thought it had closed up, but my fingers felt wet. I swallowed hard as the tears filled my eyes and glanced over at Jamal. As much as I wanted to tell them about the true reason, I couldn’t.
It would be a betrayal to Jace, and it would put them into danger.
The less people who knew about this, the better.
“I just … hit my head last night.”
Jamal’s mom placed the rag on my head and pulled my hair aside. “Honey, this is deeper than it should be from a fall. What happened? And don’t even think about lying to me. I can spot when someone’s lying.” She wagged a finger at me. “Especially you.”
“Nothing,” I whispered. She narrowed her eyes at me, but before she could say anything, I shook my head. “Please, do you have anything to seal the wound for now so that it doesn’t open back up? I really need to find Jace.”
After grimacing at me, she guided me to the kitchen, sat me in a chair, and disappeared into the bathroom to find some stuff. Jamal’s mom was a nurse, so I hoped to God that she had something lying around that could help me for now.
Jamal glanced down the hallway to make sure nobody was listening in, then turned to me. “Allie, that wound is so deep. What the hell happened, and where was Jace when it did? He’ll fucking kill whoever touched you. It wasn’t Carter, was it?”
I pressed my lips together. “Harlan,” I whispered, and that was it.
Jamal tensed and pressed his lips together when his mother walked into the room. She shook her head, parted my hair to the side to give herself better access, and started to clean the wound.
Jamal’s mom looked between us as she continued, “You ain’t gonna say anything?”
