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“Huh.”
Saber’s dad emptied his glass and poured another one. It wasn’t like him to drink like that, topping a glass off when one was empty.
“I just finished building this house, my dream house,” he said. “I love it here. And you, you’re halfway through your senior year.”
“So tell him no.”
He looked at her.
“I can’t tell him no,” her dad said with a defeated laugh. “He’s not giving me a choice. And the raise is good.Greateven. I could quit, but there’s no telling what job I’d get here.Nothingis as good as what he’s offering, I’m certain of that.”
He sighed.
Saber felt a rush of anger. First her dad had moved her here, now Ansel was moving her somewhere else.
“I don’t want to start school over.”
“So don’t. I don’t care anymore. Drop out, get a GED, and go to art school in the fall. You’re eighteen, I’m not going to make you re-enroll in high school. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“What if we waited till I was done?”
“Hespecificallysaid I had to go now. Like, in a matter of weeks.”
Saber felt like her heart was racing.
“What if I just stayed here and finished the school year.”
He looked at her for a long moment, and something flickered in his eyes.
“What?” she asked, feigning innocence as well as she could.
“Ansel, in the email, specifically told me I needed to bring you with me. Not to let you finish the school year.”
Saber swallowed.
“W-why would he say that?”
He looked into her eyes as if seeking out a lie. Or maybe she justfeltlike that’s what he was doing.
“You know those kids who’ve died here this year?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“I gotta take you with me or the deal’s off. He didn’t get into specifics, but he seems to be concerned that there’s something going on, and it’s not safe for you.”
“Me,specifically?”
“I don’t think so,” her dad said, shrugging and taking a sip of wine. “Like, girls your age in general.”
“Oh.”
“I thought it was weird, a few kids have died, probably of drug overdose, but he thinks it’s more dangerous here on Bainbridge than in a major city in California.”
“Yeah, thatisweird.” Saber felt like her voice almost crack.
“Saber.” Her dad looked at her steadily. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“Like what?”
