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He waggles his brows, clearly not deterred by my lack of interest.
“You know, dude. Girls, parties, substances, whatever you want. You must be itching for some puss—ow!” He rubs his arm from Kim’s second blow of the encounter.
“He’s on parole, you moron.”
“I’m just saying. A lot changes in four years. If you need help getting back—”
“He doesn’t.”
She gives me a warning look, and I clear my throat.
“That’s cool of you, man, but I think we’re okay.”
Jack crosses his arms. “You know, Candace hooked up with Trey, like, the second you got locked up, right?”
“Yeah,” I say, gritting my teeth. Another not-so-pleasant reminder. I didn’t expect her to wait three-to-six years for me, but three-to-six hours would have been nice.
“Okay, so if you need puss—ow!”
“He’s.Good,” Kim snaps.
Jack glares at her, and she widens her eyes in challenge.
“Whatever,” he says. “Just trying to be a good citizen to my fellow dude.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure there are plenty of otherdudesin the Dude Kingdom who’d love your help. This one is fine.”
She shoves a fry in her mouth, and I can’t stop a smirk at her taunt. Kim never liked Jack. Still doesn’t, I guess. Good to know one thinghasn’t changed while I was gone.
Iz still hates you.
Two things.
So does everyone else.
Three things.
“Fine, fine. Well, you’ve got my number if you change your mind,” he says, pushing up from the table. Guess his number hasn’t changed either?
“Thanks for stopping,” I say, relieved when he offers a weird salute and stalks toward the other side of the restaurant. Shelton Barn and Table is new since I last lived in Suncrest Valley. It’s a nice spot. Maybe they’re hiring? If the owners are new as well, I might actually have a chance.
“Jack’s still around,” Kim says dryly.
I smile through a long swallow of my iced tea. “Finally. Something Ididn’tmiss.”
Five hours later, I’ve met with my parole officer, purchased some basic necessitates, and picked up several job applications there’s no way in hell I’ll get in this part of town that knows—andrevels in—every gory detail of what happened.
I could try my luck in the richer districts of Suncrest Valley, but I’m going to guess their tolerance for ex-cons scanning their groceries and serving their food is probably even lower. I needed an employment plan to get parole but, the folks around here aren’t exactly known for their ability to forgive and forget, especially when you’re the biggest headline of the decade.
Kim’s uncharacteristic optimism all day has been having the opposite effect, so by the time we climb the stairs to the sixth floor of the Rosewood apartment building, I’m completely drained. I counted on some tension during my adjustment to the outside, but so far the overwhelming task of absorbing and adapting to every minute detail of existence has taken its toll. My brain is already shutting down when we push through the door and find Isabel at the table with… some guy.
“Hey, Pierce,” Kim says to him.
The guy nods back before settling his cold stare on me.
“This your brother?” he asks.
I drop the bags and cross toward him, already getting a bad vibe fromPierce. I force myself not to look at Isabel as I shake his hand with a hard grip. By the icy look in his eyes, he’s not thrilled about meeting me either.
