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Ky has his brows pinched in confusion, and he just stares at me. I grip the sleeves of my faded red hoodie and glance at Stephen. “He’s right. They didn’t do anything. I’m just––“
Stephen’s expression softens. “It’s okay, Rubiana. You don’t have to explain anything. How’s Hope? Is he doing okay?”
“Who’s Hope?” Tyler asks.
I glance at Stephen, and then at Tyler and everyone else seated in the family room who are waiting for his answer.
Stephen smiles. “Rubiana adopted a cat.”
“Oh my God. How cute,” Abby squeals before standing up. “Can I see him, Rubiana? My mother would never let me have a cat inside the house. You are so lucky. What color is he?”
I glance at Tyler, who looks shocked and confused. “You let her adopt a cat and keep it in her room?”
Stephen flicks his gaze at his son. “Yeah, I did. You have a truck that cost over a hundred-thousand dollars. You have a bunch of friends who hang out with you. You get to go out whenever you want and have a hefty allowance. You have had everything you have ever wanted. So, yeah. I let her adopt a cat. Is there a problem?”
“No, what does Mom say?”
Mr. Murray chuckles sarcastically. “She said I should get Rubiana whatever she wants,” he replies. My cheeks heat in embarrassment.
I never thought of Stephen and Caroline wanting to be nice to me since they decided to take me in. I guess they aren’t so bad after all. At least, so far.
Abby walks over. “Could we see him?”
I bite my lip. “I-I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to bring him down since it’s his first night here.”
“We could all go up to your room quietly, then. Just to take a peek at him,” Abby offers.
“Well, you know the rules, Rubiana.” Stephen looks at Tyler. “No boys in her room. I’m firm on that,” he says, looking at the other guys. “No boys are allowed in my daughter’s room. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” they all say in unison.
“It’s not like any boys actually want to go up to her room,” Trisha adds.
The other guys snort, and their attention is aimed at me. Conner winks at me, but I avert my eyes.
“Tyler, come to my office, please. I need to talk to you about something,” Stephen demands.
Tyler gets up and nods. “I’ll be right back, guys.” And then he says quietly, “My father is going to chew my ass about the pizza.”
When Tyler and Stephen leave the room, I see the TV remote fly across to where Ky is seated, hitting Conner in the chest. He winces from the contact.
“Fuck around and found out, asshole,” Ky growls.
“What the hell, Ky?”
Ky turns to him. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Conner.”
Conner is the type who loves to throw parties where students from Westlake Prep can drink, get high, and fuck around. Typical rich boy jock who feels entitled, and these are their friends. I thought the handful of friends I have were shitty. My thoughts fly to Cesar because he must be selling the drugs to these rich assholes. That is how Cesar makes money and what he does running the gang. I haven’t seen Tyler, Ky, or Chris do any of that stuff I saw at the party, but it doesn’t mean they don’t though.
I’m not dumb to think that they don’t smoke weed, but I’m talking about the hard stuff. The stuff that makes people crazy and not act like they normally would, or draw out how they really feel deep down inside. Meth, coke, or heroin.
“Are you okay?” Abby asks with concern in her voice.
I give her a wry smile. “Yeah, I just thought of something sad.”
She is asking because she saw me crying. Not a total lie. I couldn’t tell her the whole truth. Not about how I know Ky, or the truth about the stupid pizza. I take a deep breath because what could have happened with Mike didn’t. He just used the fact that I was hungry to get me to do the unthinkable…he molested me.
My stomach protests in hunger but one thing about hunger is that you can get used to it and fight it. The body finds a way to preserve itself. Like right now, the feeling of hunger has my stomach screaming but I can fight it off. I have done so many times since I was a kid. I can do it again. And like always, no one will notice. No one will care.
