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“He can’t go pick up his own girlfriend?”
“He doesn’t have a car. Can we not talk about this? I need to study.”
It’s true, but I can’t concentrate. When I look at a page in my textbook, it doesn’t even make sense.
“Where did you say you were from?” Rob asks.
“Dallas,” I mutter, flipping through the book.
“No, I mean when you lived here. What part of Chicago?”
“Why does it matter?” I say, not wanting to tell him. I don’t want people here knowing how I grew up or anything about my dad. He was in the news for what he did, but most people my age don’t watch the news, or they wouldn’t have back then. I was just a kid the first time he went to prison and it’s been almost four years since he went back there.
“We lived all over,” I say. “Different apartments in different suburbs.”
“Then I guess you’re not him.”
I look up at Rob. “Who?”
“I told my mom your name and she said you’re that kid who was taken a few years ago. The kid’s dad escaped prison and almost killed his brother. Do you know the story? It was all over the news.”
“Yeah, I heard about it.”
“The guy had the same last name as you and the kid would’ve been our age.” He picks up his phone. “I’ll text my mom. Tell her it’s not you.”
Rob’s parents only live an hour away, which means they’ll be coming here a lot. I won’t be able to avoid them, and when his mom sees me, she’ll know I’m that kid. I’m taller and bigger than I was then, but she could tell by my face that it’s me.
“Okay, yeah,” I say with a sigh. “It’s me. But can we keep that between us? I don’t want people knowing about it.”
“Shit, are you serious?” He tosses his phone aside. “You’re the kid who was taken?”
“Yeah, but I don’t like talking about it. Can you just let it go?”
“What about your dad? You ever go see him in prison?”
“No. I never want to see him again.” I say that, but I’m not sure if it’s true. Maybe years from now, when I’m older and my dad’s close to dying, I’ll go visit him one last time. But as of now, I want nothing to do with him.
“Can I tell my mom?” He picks up his phone. “She’ll know it’s you when she sees you.”
“Yeah, whatever. Just don’t tell anyone else.”
He texts his mom, then puts his phone down. “So you’re from the part of town even the cops don’t want to go to. That’s kind of badass.”
“Not really. When you live there, people don’t bother you. They target the people who aren’t from around there.”
“You ever deal drugs?”
“No. My brother kept a close eye on me. He was more of a parent than a brother. I hated him for it when I was younger, but now I’m kind of glad he was so strict. I might not be in college if he hadn’t been that way.”
“Dean, right?” Rob says, picking up his laptop. “Plays college football?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m looking him up,” he says, typing on his laptop. “Damn, your brother’s huge. And a really good football player. I’m looking at his stats.”
“He was good enough to get a football scholarship.”
Rob puts his laptop down. “I thought you were just another boring tech geek, but now I’m kind of impressed.” He grins at me. “My roommate’s a thug with a dad who’s in prison.”
