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“There’s more.” He says it confidently. “You didn’t hold onto it all this time for no reason. And I want to know what that reason is.”
“You’re right,” I whisper.
My eyes close.
And I let myself remember.
* * *
The newspaper crinklesunder my grip while I read and walk.
If they’re gonna keep cutting my hours, I’m going to need to find a new job.
Running my finger across a help wanted ad for one of the big bakeries in town, I remind myself that I have my diploma in my bedroom nightstand, and in two days I’ll be eighteen. Meaning I’ll be able to start working full-time.
And with the cash I’ve hidden away in my old textbooks it won’t be long before I can move out. And hopefully far, far away.
I don’t bother pulling my keys out of my purse as I walk up the short driveway and past Arthur’s car. He never locks the door. Which I hate. But I always hold out hope that someone will break in some day, and they’ll kill Arthur before stealing the tv that he’s no doubt sprawled in front of.
Tipping my head down to avoid confrontation, I open the front door and step inside. But there’s no one in the living room.
Crossing my fingers that I can make it to my room without being seen, I sneak toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
I’m halfway up the flight when I hear the voices.
“Can I do it in here?” A voice I recognize as Bobby’s, one of Arthur’s friends, asks.
“In her room?” my stepdad questions. “You like the frilly comforter and shit?”
Frilly comforter?
Are they in my room?
I freeze in place.
Why would they be in my room?
“Yeah.” Bobby laughs. “It really gives off that virgin vibe.”
Nausea crawls up my throat.
Why are they talking about virgins? In my room?
“Look, you’re paying for her first time, but if you want to do it here, that’s another hundred. And you’ll have to do it when my old lady is at work. She won’t say shit to me once I show her the money, but she might throw a fit if I tell her beforehand.”
“Deal.” I hear a jostling sound of slapping hands. “Six hundred and I get the first go at plucking that teenage pussy.”
Arthur laughs at his friend. “Not ‘til this weekend. In case she tries to go crying to someone about this, I don’t want issues with statutory rape or any of that shit. Once she’s eighteen, it’s just a he-said-she-said. And with the reputation her mom has, no one is gonna believe her.”
My body recoils, and my foot slips off the step.
I let go of the newspaper with one hand to grip at the banister.
The railing shakes, but holds. Moving as quickly as my shaking legs will go, I back down the steps and run to the front door.
Their voices are growing behind me, and I know I have to get out of sight. If they see me now, and find out that I heard… What they said…
Chest heaving, I turn the door handle as slow as I dare, to keep it quiet, then pull the door open.
