Page 100 of Finish Line

She waves her hand through the air. “Nothing you say will excuse how you’ve behaved since I brought you into my home.”

A door shuts from inside the house.

“Shelby?” Peter calls out. “Patty?”

Mom glares at me as Peter approaches us.

“I have a headache, Shelby.” She grabs her head. “I’m trying to help you. You don’t have to talk to me like that.”

She turns and covers her mouth, eyes wide. “Hey, baby.”

The pet name raises my and Peter’s eyebrows.

“I’m going to lie down.” She kisses him.

When they stop, Peter’s face is red, and he avoids eye contact with me. Mom disappears into the house.

“Did she tell you?” His features soften.

My brow pops up. “Tell me what?”

He runs his fingers through his hair. “She didn’t. Dammit, Patty.”

I take a step closer. “What’s going on with my mom? She’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

He chews on his bottom lip and sighs. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I can’t tell you. I made a promise to your mother.”

“Okay.”

I go back to my exercising, and he enters the house.

While in Hawaii, it gave me a chance to think about how Mom treated me. I tried to convince myself she acted the way she did when I came home from the hospital because she was scared and worried about my well-being. But her actions and words since I’ve returned make me re-evaluate.

She wants to hurt me. Which is and isn’t a surprise.

It takes longer than I thought it would to find a part-time job stocking shelves at the local grocery store.

The job isn’t glamorous, but it puts money in the bank. When I’m not working, I study for my GED.

Luke comes over three times a week to work on my karate. The guys join me when I have free time, which, thanks to my work schedule, is after school hours and on weekends. They’ve each taken me on dates and even spent the night a few times.

At first, I worried about what my mom would say, but since our talk, her friends monopolize her time.

As I finish my shift and walk to my bike, every hair on my body stands on end. Roger’s somewhere nearby.

I scan the parking lot, then beyond. He stands across the street with his hands in his pockets. I reach into my pocket and grab my knife, which I’ve returned to carrying.

I walk toward him, but Dom’s face flashes through my mind. I stop at the edge of the parking lot.

Two sidewalks and a street stretch between us.

Roger gives me one of his creepy smiles. “I didn’t want you to think I forgot about you.”

“I thought you were done with me. After all, you gave me to Evan,” I say, no emotion on my face or in my voice.

I’m not giving him the pleasure of thinking he affects me.

His entire demeanor changes, and he grits his teeth together. “I’ll have to pay you back for his death. I can’t have you thinking you can misbehave. Now, can I? And, while that may be true, I told him he could play with you, but he took privileges he wasn’t supposed to.”

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