Page 11 of Cruel Promise


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CHAPTERNINE

Charleigh

“What’s wrong with you today?”

Ugh. I thought I was hiding my distraction.

Dammit.

I think carefully before I speak. Luci’s not only my study-buddy, but she’s also become my best friend. Actually, she’s my only friend. The last thing I want to do is lie to her, but how can I tell her about my father’s debts, and the visit by those horrible men?

Who, if they’re true to their word and return twenty-four hours after they first threatened and beat Pops, are due back at the pawn shop around five p.m. I will be there when they are. I don’t have a plan yet, but I’ve been trying to come up with one.

So far, no luck.

Thus, the distraction that’s so obvious to Luci.

“I… I’m sorry. Guess I’m not all here. My dad… is having some health problems.”

That’s not a total lie. I mean, he was bleeding all over the shop floor. I would call that a health problem.

Thank God my younger sister wasn’t around to witness the mess, and in fact I’ve arranged for Evie to stay over at her best friend’s house tonight just to ensure she stays away from the shop. I’m not particularly thrilled with the mom of Evie’s friend—I have a feeling she gives them run of the house and anywhere else they want to go—but at least there’s safety in numbers and they are clear across town. There’s no way they’ll pop in on my dad.

“What’s wrong with your father?” Luci asks, frowning.

She knows a bit about my ‘situation,’ that since my mother died, my sisters and I were pretty much left on our own. Pops’s employee Victoria picked up whatever slack she could, but when my older sister left for New York, all the responsibility for looking after Evie shifted to me. Not that I mind. It’s just that my dad withdrew into himself after we lost Mother, barely getting himself out of bed to get to the shop every day, never mind taking care of his three young daughters. So, we figured stuff out on our own. It wasn’t too hard.

Evie says Pops feels guilty, an interesting observation for someone so young. But I don’t know what he should feel guilty about. It’s not his fault Mother was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Pops… well, he hurt his head. He hit it on something. In the shop. Something hard. He was bleeding all over. You should have seen it. What a mess,” I babble, the words coming more easily the more I say.

And to think I’m still notexactlylying.

A ‘sin of omission,’ my faithful mother would have called it. Yes, she did try hard to instill her church values in her daughters. But all that pretty much flew out the window when she died.

Was murdered, actually. It’s still hard to say that. The ‘m’ word. So, I usually don’t.

“Damn, girl, I’m sorry to hear that. Is he gonna be okay?” Luci asks, her face covered in concern that makes me feel like shit for sort-of lying.

I nod quickly. Probably too quickly to be convincing. “Oh, yes. You know, it’s just… worrisome. All the blood that comes from a head wound is just crazy. It was scary.”

Scary? It was freaking terrifying. And I’m afraid the worst is yet to come.

Luci extends her hand to mine. “That sucks. I’m so sorry. But look, we have an exam coming up. We’re at the top of the class. We’re gonna ace this one, Char.”

She’s right. The teacher, who’s taken a liking to the two of us—she says she’s never seen anyone work so hard in her bookkeeping class—gets to recommend her top students to the school’s placement center.

That means jobs. And money. And no more scraping by with the minimum-wage pay Pops gives me for the few hours I help him in the shop. Of course, I can’t move out of our apartment yet, not until Evie graduates from high school. But I can establish my independence and get some money in the bank for when the time is right.

There’s a lot riding on this prize our teacher is dangling before us. And now, I have to worry about this business with Pops.

He wasn’t a great dad before Mother died. I think that’s partially why she turned to religion. Helped her get through the long days of parenting three daughters pretty much on her own. And after she was gone, well, he was more disengaged than ever.

But hell, he’s my father, and I’ll help him any way I can. Although maybe I should think hard before I say that.

Luci’s looking at me like she can read my mind. God, I hope she can’t, but we have a lot in common, with our religious upbringing, hardships, and other stuff.

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