He knows where the watch came from. I don’t know how. I didn’t notice any etchings or name written across the band. But Jim knows, and he’s warning me. I’m not going to get anything else out of him though—no other help or words to explain why he’s worrying. I’m not afraid of anyone, including the boy I stole the watch from.
I turn without another word and leave the pawn shop, leaving only the ringing chimes of the door as I exit.
The sun blazes hotter as I step outside, causing instant blisters to form on my bare shoulders. I wish I had a car, a bike, any form of transportation to get me home faster. I would even settle on a hat to shade my head from the burning rays causing sweat to bead down from my forehead to my back. Even my ass is sweating.
The heat doesn’t stop me from running. I have two miles to run to make it back to the trailer and not a minute to spare. So I run, despite my flip-flops, despite the intense heat, and knowing what awaits me when I get home.
My flip-flops slow me down, so I take them off and run, risking piercing my foot on broken glass that tends to clutter the sidewalks from drunk tourists. Risking tetanus with each step doesn’t stop my feet from running.
Running should make me feel free. My feet are moving so fast, my body flying. But I only run out of fear. Only one thing makes me feel free. Only one thing brings me a moment to forget. I
close my eyes as sea salt sprays my face. The ocean is the only place I truly feel free.
My body collides with that of another. The body isn’t strong enough to knock me down, just enough to make me stop.
“Mason,” I gasp and fling my arms around my only friend in the world.
He holds me tightly in his scrawny arms as I bury my face in his chest, breathing in his cheap cologne so different from the rich, musky scent that oozed from Enzo. I may have called Enzo a boy, but he carries himself like a man. Mason, on the other hand, is a boy through and through. Mason is skinny, not from lack of food, but because he hit a growth spurt recently and his body has yet to catch up with his new found height. His muscles are there, but thin against his frame in long bands, not thick with years of working out. His hair hangs in long waves around his tanned face, made for the beach. But no one would ever call him anything but a boy.
I pull away and see the hauntingly worried look in Mason’s face. I can’t call him anything but a friend, even though I felt him sniff my hair as he held me. Even though I felt his body go rigid, his cock stirring against my flat body.
His feelings have only recently developed. A few months ago he thought of me as nothing more than a friend. More like an annoying younger sister than as a girl he craves. But things changed. I don’t know how or when exactly. But they did. Mason stopped seeing me as a girl and started thinking about me as a woman. But he’s wrong. I’m nothing but a naive girl and Mason is my friend. That’s all.
“What are you doing here?” I ask as I pull away, out of his clutches. Mason is standing at the entrance to our trailer. He rarely comes here. When we hang out, it’s at school or his home. An actual house. Not here. Not where we are both reminded of how I come from nothing, and he has everything.
“You haven’t been at school in weeks. I was worried about you.” He strokes my face, and I see the fret all over his.
I nod. “I’ve been busy working. I should have called and told you I was fine.”
“You don’t seem fine. You wouldn’t have run into my arms that way if you were fine.”
I smile making sure the edge of my mouth reaches my eyes, so it seems genuine. “I missed you, Mason. And I wasn’t expecting to see you again until I go back to school.”
“Don’t lie to me, Kai. You’re not planning on returning to school, not now that you are sixteen and not legally required to go. You’ve been slipping away more and more to work on that boat. To pay back debts that aren’t yours to be burdened with.” His fingers twist the ends of my hair between his fingers. “Stay with me, Kai. Finish school. You could live in Colton’s room, now that he is away at college. My parents wouldn’t mind. And then after you and I could—”
“I can’t.” I won’t let Mason finish his thought. I don’t think I can ever think of Mason as more than my friend. I don’t think I can think of any man in that way. Not if I want to survive.
“You can.”
I shake my head. “My father needs me.”
“Your father is a grown man. He can take care of himself. Come with me.”
I hear the footsteps behind me, the rough sand shifting beneath their feet and their voices echoing throughout the trailer park. This is a world Mason doesn’t belong in, and I won’t let him become a part of it.
“You should go. My shift starts soon.”
Mason nods. “I can give you a ride.”
“Dad is giving me a ride on his way into town.”
Mason studies me a moment, trying to determine if I’m lying or not.
“I need to change. I’ll see you at school next week. I promise.” I pat his shoulder and smile. He seems to accept my words as truth. He doesn’t realize his friend would ever lie to him. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to do anything to survive.
“I’ll see you next week, Kai.” He smiles back at me brightly, thinking our world will go back to normal.
He walks away with a small skip to his step. My smile drops watching him. I hate lying, but I won’t let myself bring him down with me.