Page 27 of Neverland

“That’s what I said.”

I had one stipulation. “If I do come and work for you, you have to stop overcharging the Sanchezes, and treat them like everyone else.”

His permanent scowl flicked from me to the three family members watching on and then back. “Fine,” was all he said.

“Then we have a deal.”

No more than a few words later, Mr. Hopkins left and both Romeo and I had to come clean. Well, come clean may have been a little misguided.

“How could you do this, miho?” Mrs. Sanchez pleaded, trying to understand what had happened to her son. “It’s already hard enough for your father to get work, the last thing we need is for our son to be known as a thief. And you know what will happen to you when Principal Rosser hears word of it? You can kiss any hope of a scholarship goodbye, that’s what. Everything we’ve worked so hard for, gone.”

“It was me,” I blurted out without giving it a second thought. Truth was, while my life sucked in so many ways, Romeo was going places. “I stole the milk and bread because I saw how much Mr. Hopkins was overcharging and didn’t think it fair. It had nothing to do with Romeo. In fact, he pleaded with me not to do it.”

Romeo’s eyes widened in horror. “Lucy, that’s not true. I’m the one—”

“It is true. He’s just saying that to protect me.” I shot him a subtle look of reproach. “I’m really sorry Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez. I never thought it would get so out of hand.”

Mrs. Sanchez’s threw a dubious glance between us, not knowing who she should believe. It wasn’t that I was completely lying, there was some truth to my words.

Mrs. Sanchez threw up her hands, exasperated. “I don’t know who to believe. I’m just disappointed either of you are involved.”

“We’re involved, Mom, because he was ripping us off. He’s a racist ass—”

“That’s enough, Romeo,” his father snapped. He was typically a gentle, soft-spoken man, but the whole ordeal had humiliated him enough that he’d lost all patience. “Both of you are in charge of cooking and cleaning tonight, and not another word is to be uttered about this. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir,” we replied in unison before heading to the kitchen.

“Why did you take the blame, Lucy?” Romeo hissed, pulling me around the corner.

I turned on him ready to spell it out. “You have way more to lose than what I do, Romeo. Even if I get that scholarship, I can’t accept it. My parents would never sign for it because it would mean we have to move. And we aren’t gonna do that. You…” I jabbed his chest for emphasis, “… on the other hand, have parents who already expect you to win the scholarship. That’s the difference. If Principal Rosser finds out you did this, and you lose the opportunity, you’ll regret it and your mom will kick your ass.”

“So, you’re just going to give up on chasing the scholarship?”

I shrugged my shoulders, feeling the helplessness of my situation. “My parents would still be required to cover some of the expense.” I smiled although it didn’t reach my eyes. “That loaf of bread was going to last us the week. There would be no way they’d be able to contribute to the scholarship. Nor would they want to.” My heart hurt at the reality of it and I chided myself for still feeling anything at all toward them. “They just don’t care enough, or at all.”

Romeo wiped my damp cheek with his thumb. “You’re too good for them, Lucy. They never deserved you.” He lowered his head and took a deep breath. “Thank you for saying what you did. I’ll always have your back, no matter what. Did Mr. Salvatore hurt you today?”

I’d forgotten all about him.

“He just caught me off-guard, that’s all.” My eyes wandered to the stack of bills that’d piled up on the kitchen counter. If they were all like the first with a big red ‘Overdue’ stamp on them, then the Sanchezes were in trouble. They had debts outstanding, and yet they always took me as another mouth to feed.

Romeo seemed confused by my apparent indifference. “Caught you off-guard? Lucy, I saw him throw you against his SUV. What did he say?”

“Who threw you against his SUV?” Mrs. Sanchez rounded the corner, wide-eyed with concern.

“Mr. Salvatore,” Romeo answered, and his mother gasped.

“What about Salvatore?” Mr. Sanchez now made an appearance, looking notably paler than usual.

Mrs. Sanchez replied to her husband in Spanish, both now seeming more concerned with that tidbit of news than the actual theft.

“You need to stay away from that man,” Mr. Sanchez warned. “I can’t say it explicitly enough. He’s extremely dangerous and I don’t want either of you anywhere near him.”

“You’ve never mentioned him before,” Romeo frowned over the sudden urgency in his father’s voice.

“Because you’ve never had anything to do with him. But for everyone’s safety, I order you both to stay away from him. Do you understand?”

I looked to Romeo, who’d obviously not told his parents whose son had beaten his face black and blue that time.

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