“Yeah, I came by with Greg as soon as Cameron told me you were here.”
Tyler turned to Cameron with a questioning look on his face.
“I swear to god, I had no idea Chrissy came. I thought she couldn’t find a ride.”
Yep, something was definitely going on.
“Cameron, can I talk to you in the hall?” I asked.
He nodded and got up, following me into the hall.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“Last night the police came over and told me about Tyler. Then they went to your house, right?” I asked.
Cameron nodded.
“And then I asked you which hospital Tyler was at. Greg gave me a ride, and we were both here. Jordan saw us. He told us that Tyler couldn’t see anyone, that he couldn’t have visitors.”
“I believe you. But Jordan lied to you guys. Kyle and Caleb were here last night. Jordan never said anything about you or Greg being here. When you never showed up, I just assumed that you couldn’t find a ride.”
I didn’t say anything. I just let everything sink in for a moment. Again, I asked, “Cameron, what’s going on?”
Cameron shook his head. “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out. Why don’t you go spend time with Tyler? He’s been asking about you since I got here.”
I grinned. “I’ll go see him.”
I walked into the room.
“So, what happened last night?” Tyler asked.
I shrugged. “Just a misunderstanding, I guess. But I should be asking you what happened last night.”
Tyler shrugged. “A couple of guys jumped me. One of them knocked me out with a crowbar. They said it was revenge for Josh killing Adam.”
A crowbar? Sam and Adam had threatened Joshua with a crowbar. Were crowbars the weapon of choice around here, or was Sam one of the guys?
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Chrissy, it’s not your fault.”
“It is. I threatened Adam. If I hadn’t threatened him, they probably wouldn’t have gone after Joshua.”
“Chrissy, there’s something I haven’t told you. That I haven’t told anyone. Even the police don’t know.”
I froze. “Oh god, you killed Adam? Why is Joshua gone, then? Oh my god, did you kill Joshua? Why?”
“No! It’s nothing like that. But one of Adam’s friends sent me a screenshot. Josh sent Adam and all his friends a message saying that he wanted to fight. To finish what they started.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why didn’t anyone tell the police?”
“If the police knew Adam’s friends were looking for a fight, they’d be in huge trouble. So, it’s best to just pretend that Adam and his friends ran into Josh on accident.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“We all agreed that we wouldn’t talk about it.”
“Now you’re making pacts with Adam’s friends?”
“I’m protecting Josh, too.”
He was. It was bad enough that Adam and his friends went out looking for a fight, but it the police knew Joshua organized the fight? Joshua would be in even more trouble. But now the question was, why did Joshua bring a gun to the fight?
“So, what’s in the bag?” Tyler asked, nodding toward the bag in my hand.
It was one of those massive bags you can buy for a dollar at most grocery stores and places like TJ Maxx.
“Oh, I brought you something,” I said.
I pulled out a giant book and handed it to Tyler.
Tyler looked at the front cover. “Ghosts by Hans Holzer?”
I nodded. “Remember a few weeks ago when we were talking about life after death, and you said you didn’t believe in that stuff? Well, here’s your proof. Hans Holzer was one of the most famous paranormal researchers ever. One of the first, I think. And these are all about his experiences.”
Tyler nodded. “I’ll be reading this. As a fiction book, at least.”
I laughed. “No! You have to read it with an open mind.”
“Fine, I will.”
I grinned. “And I dog-eared the stories that I like best. This is my copy, so there’s some highlights and annotations too. And the best part? You don’t even have to give it back. I’ll just buy a new one. Used copies are really cheap on Amazon.”
Tyler grinned. “Thank you. I love this.”
“I’m glad. I wasn’t sure if you would. So, when do you get out of here?”
“Tonight.”
“Great. Is your dad coming back?”
“Yeah, he’s on a plane right now.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you’re alright, by the way. I don’t think I said that.”
“It was implied.”
I grinned. “Good to know I’m read so easily.”
“Well, you are to me. I don’t think you are to anyone else.”
“Good.”
“Any word from Josh?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“I’m sure we’ll hear something eventually.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
I didn’t think we’d be hearing from him anytime soon.
“Alright, Tyler needs his rest,” A voice said from the door.
I turned around. Jordan was standing in the doorway.
“Jordan, I feel fine,” Tyler said.
“Sorry. You’ve gotta rest,” Jordan said.
I kissed Tyler on the cheek. “I’ll stop by your house after school tomorrow.”
I glared at Jordan as I walked past him.
“What?” Jordan asked sharply.
“You know exactly what. You have a problem with me. I just want to know why,” I said quietly, so Tyler didn’t hear.
Jordan lead me out into the hallway. “Why do you think I have a problem with you?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Last night you-“
“No, I’m admitting I have a problem with you. I’m asking you why I would.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Although I guess the better question is, why shouldn’t I have a problem with you?”
“Why should you? I’ve been nothing but nice to everyone in the group. I haven’t gotten into any trouble while I’ve been here. Hell, I haven’t ever gotten into trouble once in my life. I’ve gone out of my way to be nice to you, even though you haven’t exactly been nice to me.”
“No, I haven’t. Your brother is trouble, I’ve never liked him. I don’t like him hanging around my house, around my brothers. My mom might have liked him, and my dad might like you, but I know better. I knew that you’d be like your brother and everything that’s happened since the hockey game has proved it. You and your brother Scoppios. And Scoppios are worthless.”
I shook my head. “You know what’s worthless? A nineteen year old guy saying all this to a fifteen year old girl. Judging someone that way before they’ve even met them. Because let me guess, you thought about me this way before we met, right? Well, fuck you. Stay the fuck out of Tyler’s and my relationship.”
Before Jordan could say anything else, I turned and walked away.
That night, at two o’clock, I woke up to someone moving around in the loft.
I turned on the light, and Joshua was digging through one of the dressers.
“Joshua? What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. “Where have you been?”
Joshua put a shirt on as he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
I sat up. “Where the hell are we going?”
“We’re going to my hiding place.”
Chapter 12
A few minutes later, we were driving down the street in Greg’s Trans Am.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“It’s going to take a while to get to where we’re going. Besides, I want to get there early. Before anyone sees us.”
“Why are you going back?”
Joshua asked, “Where else am I supposed to go?”
“Um, how about h
ome? Adam’s friends told the cops that it was self-defense. And they don’t want the cops to see the message you sent them. Joshua, everything’s going to be alright!”
Joshua shook his head.
“Do you expect to spend the rest of your life hiding out?”
He shrugged. “I mean…”
I shook my head. “We have to figure something else out.”
Joshua smiled. “We?”
I nodded. “We’re in this together.”
Joshua grinned. “I guess we are.”
We had been driving for a while when Joshua stopped the car on the side of the road.
“What are we doing?” I asked.
“Lean back and look at the sky.”
I did as I was told. “Wow.” I breathed. “It’s beautiful.”
The sky was a dark blue, and there were thousands of stars.
“I thought you’d like it. Desert stars are so much better than city stars. Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes, when I need a break from everything, I drive out here and just look at the stars.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this. How’d you know I’d like it?”
“I remember you liked that kind of stuff when you were a kid. You wanted to be a, what, astrologer?”
I shook my head, laughing. “No. An astronomer.”
“And now you want to be a fashion designer. And you are! You’re selling things you design! It’s crazy. You aren’t a kid anymore, Chrissy.”
I looked at Joshua. “You talk like you’re way older than me. We’re only two years apart.”
“Almost three. You just turned fifteen last month.”
I was surprised Joshua had remembered when my birthday was. But I said, “You weren’t a kid too long ago, either.”
Joshua looked at me. “I had to grow up a lot faster than you, Chrysanthemum,” He said quietly.
Oh.
I knew what he meant. He was right. I didn’t know what to say. Do you tell someone you’re sorry they had to live a life like that? It seemed like a weird thing to apologize for.
We sat in silence for a while, just looking at the stars. It was comforting. When I watched the stars, I was able to lose myself. I had spent hundreds of hours sitting on our apartment balcony back in Los Angeles, looking at the stars and thinking about absolutely nothing but their beauty. It was the same with the sun setting and rising. Sunsets and sunrises,
however, didn’t last very long. They didn’t last long enough for me to lose myself.
When we were on the road again, I asked, “Are you alright?”
“What?”
“After The Incident.”
“You can say it, Chrissy. I killed Adam.”
“Yeah, but are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Killing someone… I don’t think I’d ever be ok after killing someone. But as much as I loved my brother, he was a different breed from the rest of us. He was meaner. He was tougher. He was more reckless. As much as I hated to admit it, he was a criminal. There was a fine line between getting into mischief and being a bad person. And while I wasn’t ready to say that Joshua was a bad person, he still blurred that line.
Sometime later, when the sun was barely rising, we pulled up to a house somewhere in Red Rock. It wasn’t a house, really. It was more of a shack.
I looked at Joshua. “What is this place?”
“It’s my hideout.”
“Whose place is this?”
“Greg’s uncle’s.”
“Does Greg know you’re here?”
“Nope. If he or his uncle showed up, there’d be trouble all around.”
“So, you’ve been living here?”
“Yeah.”
“Why does Greg’s uncle have a creepy shack in the middle of the god damn desert?”
Joshua shrugged. “Beats me.”
“What have you been eating?”
He grinned. “Snakes and scorpions.”
“Seriously.”
Joshua’s smile faltered. “I haven’t been eating a lot,” He admitted. “I’ve been eating pizza rolls.”
“Pizza rolls?”
“Yeah, they were in the freezer. They were freezer burned as hell, though.”
I took a good look at my brother. He was pale and had lost a lot of weight.
We ate pizza rolls and played Go-Fish, which was the only card game I knew how to play. Between the actual gameplay, I brought Joshua up to speed on everything that was going on.
“Tyler ended up in the hospital.”
“How?”
“A couple of guys jumped him.”
Joshua shrugged. “It’s probably not as bad as anything I’d like to do to him.”
I leaned over from my seat and smacked Joshua on the arm. I was the only one who was allowed to do that. I imagine that Joshua wouldn’t be too happy if anyone else did that. “Be nice. He’s my boyfriend. How would you like it if I was going out with Jack Terse? He asked me out, you know.”
Joshua shook his head. “I like that kid all right, but I definitely don’t want you dating him. The Terse boys get into almost as much trouble as I do.”
I smirked. “That’s what I thought.”
“So, how’s business?”
I shrugged.
“Hey, maybe you could make Prom dresses and sell those. Prom’s what, a month away? You could whip some stuff up by then, right?”
I clicked my tongue and looked away. “It doesn’t matter whether I could or not. I lost all my customers.”
He nodded like he already knew. I’m sure he had already considered that. This conversation was just his way of asking. “I’m sorry,” He said quietly.
I shrugged. “It’s… You know, it’s whatever. Who cares, right?”
“You do.”
I shrugged again. “I’d rather you be alright. Come home.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No, Chrysanthemum! I can’t! I don’t want to go back to jail. If I go back to jail, you’ll go into foster care.”
I drew in a deep breath. “There’s a chance I’m heading there anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Before I could say anything, Joshua asked, “Do you smell smoke?”
I did. I looked around, but nothing was on fire. I looked out the window. “Shit!” I yelled.
Joshua ran to the window. “What?”
I pointed. The house about a quarter of a mile away was on fire.
“Come on,” Joshua said.
“What? Where are we going?”
“To see if anyone needs help.”
“Why? Why can’t we just stay here?”
“Chrissy, people might need help!”
“But it’s a fire! Dad died in a fire!”
Joshua ignored me and headed out to the car.
We pulled up to the house, and no one was there.
“The owners must not be home. Alright, we can go now,” I said.
“No, what if someone’s inside?”
“We’d hear them,” I told Joshua.
“I’m just going to check.”
“Why? Why do you have to do this?”
“It’s the right thing to do, Chrissy.”
“Screw the right thing!”
Joshua ran into the house, disappearing into the smoke.
People began stopping in front of the house. A few of them asked me questions, but I ignored them. I was too much of a wreck. I was walking around, pulling on my hair, blubbering like a baby. I was absolutely positive that the house was going to collapse on my brother, just like the apartment building had on my dad. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how much my dad’s death had affected me.
After a while, I thought, Shouldn’t he be out by now?
“My brother is in there!” I cried. “Someone help him!”
A few men started running toward the house when I said that. After what seemed like hours, they emerged with Joshua, who seemed fine. He was walking funny, but that was it.
I let out a sob when I saw him. I rushed over to hug him. I didn’t let go even after the ambulance arrived. I didn’t let go while Joshua argued with the paramedic, insisting that he was fine to drive home. But the paramedic insisted that he had to treat the burn on Joshua’s back and that he had to ride in the ambulance.
Joshua sighed. “Fine,” He said at last. He turned to me. “Do you know how to drive?”
I shook my head.
He handed me the keys to Greg’s car. “Well, you’re gonna have to figure it out pretty quickly.”
I watched as he was put into the ambulance. Then I followed, carefully driving to the hospital.
Chapter 13
We went to the nearest hospital. When I tried to ask where Joshua was, the nurses at the nurse’s station said it was too soon to see him. I read every magazine in the waiting room before I decided to try again.
I walked over to the nurse’s station. “Can I see Joshua Scoppio yet?” I asked.
“Joshua Scoppio?” One of the nurses asked.
I nodded.
“Are you his girlfriend?”
“No. His sister.”
“Sweetie, do I feel bad for you,” She said. “Room 411. On the fourth floor.”
As I was in the elevator, I wondered what Joshua had done to create such a reputation for himself here. We’d only been in the hospital for an hour.
When I walked into his room, he was arguing with the doctor.
“I’m fine,” He said. “I just want to go home. I hate it here.”
“The burn site appears to be stable for now, but that could change.”
“Then I’ll come back,” Joshua said, even though I knew he wouldn’t. He had always hated hospitals. I don’t know what it was about them, but he just couldn’t stand them.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Scoppio. I can’t let you leave,” The doctor said, turning to walk out.
“Fuck you,” Joshua called after him.
I walked in. “I see you’re feeling fine.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I’ve just got some burns on my back. It’s no big deal. Apparently, I’ll always have the scar, though. But hey, scars are pretty sweet.”
I shrugged. “I guess,” I didn’t think that scars were all that cool, but everyone else seemed to think that they were.
I had to ask the question that had been burning in my mind since the ambulance had pulled away up in Red Rock. I didn’t hesitate when I asked, “Why did you go into that house? You knew there was no one in there.”
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