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It wasn’t as if he’d called me a liar or looked at me like I was crazy—he just hadn’t even acknowledged what I said. He just kept asking like I wasn’t giving him a straight answer.
I didn’t blame him for it. I wouldn’t have believed me either.
A few minutes later, I found Bird sitting on one of the couches in the clubhouse. If I could’ve spared him from the absolute shock and fear that I saw in his eyes, I would’ve. I’d never wanted Bird to remember the shit we’d gone through with our mother and I was pretty sure I’d succeeded at making that part of our lives seem inconsequential—butthisI couldn’t hide. This was happening now, and it was something he’d remember for the rest of his life.
“Hey, Firebird,” I said, keeping my voice calm and easygoing. “I fell and hit my head on the porch last night—don’t worry.”
“That looks like it hurts,” Titus murmured from his place next to my brother.
“It doesn’t feel great,” I said with a laugh. I was really tired of laughing. Nothing was funny. “I’ve got a serious headache happening. You mind leaving early, Bird?”
“Let’s go.” They were the first words he’d uttered since he’d gotten a good look at my face.
A few of the kids muttered their goodbyes, all of them subdued. They knew something wasn’t right, and I was sure that the moment we were out of sight, they’d be running to their parents to tell them about Bird’s sister’s black eye.
“When did he do that?” Bird asked quietly as we strode toward the door.
“Not here,” I murmured, glancing at him.
Less than a minute later, we were in my car and driving sedately down the long gravel driveway. I smiled and waved at the prospect on the gate as he let us out. The minute we hit the pavement, Bird turned to me.
“What the hell, Nova?”
“He got pissed last night,” I said, checking the rearview mirror.
“What did you say? I thought we were going to be careful! Why didn’t you tell me? Was that why you went to bed so early? Does Nana know?”
“Slow down.”
“Is your cheekbonebroken?”
“Nana doesn’t know yet,” I replied, glancing at him. “I don’t think anything is broken.”
“We need to tell her. We need to go to her work and show her.”
“We’re going home,” I replied, my tone the exact opposite of his.
Bird was panicking. Distraught. With each passing minute, I became more focused and determined. I had my baby brother with me now. Everything was going to be okay. “We’re going to each pack a bag and then we’re leaving.”
“Leaving? What are you talking about?”
“We can’t stay there anymore, Bird.”
“You just want to leave Nana?”
“Nana can come if she wants to,” I replied, checking the rearview mirror again. “But I don’t think she will.”
“Of course she will.”
“They’ve been together for most of their lives, Bird,” I said gently. “She doesn’t know anything else.”
“She won’t want to stay with him after he did that,” Bird argued. “She’ll want to come with us.”
I didn’t think so.
“Alright,” I said as we pulled into the trailer park. “We’ll pack our bags and as soon as we have our stuff, we’ll run by Nana’s work, okay? Give her the choice.”
“You swear?”
