(Just ask your husband
When he gets home from the tracks).
Blood money
New reign
Wehappened to this town
So have some respect,
Say the boys
With the crowns on their heads.
four
Harper Apple
Almost a week passes, but I can’t relax. I know it’s not over. There will be more before it’s over. There will be blood. There always is.
The good thing about not letting anyone get close is that no one pries no matter what state I come back in. Sure, I get a few stares. When I sit down by Blue at lunch, she raises a brow, but she doesn’t ask. Mav asks if I’m okay when I walk by his table in the cafeteria. But it’s not the first time I’ve shown up with bruises, though the scrapes are new. No one really cares what happened. They go on with their lives, their lunches.
I go on with mine, but I’m waiting.
Mr. Behr doesn’t so much as look at me in class. He’s probably waiting for the other shoe to drop, too, too freaked out about being exposed to worry about my battered face. As I sit in class on Friday, I start to get pissed about that. Who decided he’s worth more than me? Just because he has a respectable job doesn’t mean he’s respectable. Me? I don’t have far to fall. I barely made it out of the trailer park, so you can bet your ass the moment everyone finds out, they’ll be calling me a homewrecker, even though I didn’t know he had a family.
Why is an adult’s reputation more important than a kid’s? Yeah, he risked a lot, but I sure as shit didn’t ask him to do that. And I went all-in, same as him. I bet it all on a chance to get out of Faulkner.
I’m in my last class when the familiar little black box with green letters pops up in the corner of my laptop screen.
MrD: Hello, Darling
Faulkner440: How TF do u keep finding me?
MrD: Magician never reveals, remember? : )
Faulkner440: What do u want?
MrD: The real question is, what do you want?
Faulkner440: For u 2 leave me TF alone
MrD: What else do u want? If I really was a magician, and I could make it happen, what would you ask for?
Faulkner440: I think genies r the 1s who grant wishes
MrD: I could be your genie.
Faulkner440: Gross
MrD: 3 wishes, Harper. What would they be? A car? A house on the other side of town? New school? What do you want?
I think about telling him to fuck off again, but what’s the point? He keeps finding me. He must want something. I’d rather know what it is and get it over with. It’s not like I’m giving him my home address. And who am I kidding? Dude already knows my name and hacked into the school’s computers. If he wants my address, he already has it.
Faulkner440: a million bucks, a way out of here, 2 matter
MrD: You don’t think you matter?