Page 156 of Invisible String
Drake teases me, saying I have a crush on her. I don’t. Just because I asked what it meant that my heart beats like crazy when she’s around, and she’s always around. We are hardly apart. Then, when a boy in our class sat next to her on the redcarpet, my stomach felt weird. I want to beat the boy so bad. I don’t like boys talking to her.
The neighbor has a treehouse in her yard. She just bought the house, and she’s old, so she doesn’t have small kids. She said Sol and I can play in it.
It’s been two months since Sol moved in. I’m always afraid one of us will be sent away to another home. I need to protect her. I don’t like how Jason looks at her. It makes her feel uncomfortable. Last night, Jason told her to sit on his lap. I shook my head at her and told Sol to go upstairs. Jason punched me in the stomach. I kneel on the floor holding my stomach, my dinner, lurching to come out. Drake jumped in front of me. Jason then punched Drake. Mrs. Sara was at work. The next day, she never asked about the bruise on Drake’s face or why my stomach hurt.
“Should I make you an ice pack?” Sol offers. We’re both lying on the floor in the treehouse. The light shining from the window reflects on her face. God, she’s like an angel. My cheeks grow hot, and I look away.
“No, I’ll be fine. I think it’s sore.”
“Maybe now that the pool guy left, we can go for a swim.”
The weather has changed, and it’s getting hot. School is almost out. Swimming is not something I like to do because boys take off their shirts, and I don’t like taking mine off. I don’t want Sol to see my scars.
“Maybe later,” I tell her.
“Okay.” She smiles, so pretty. Then lifts my shirt up.
“What are you doing?” My voice comes out in a panic.
She rolls her eyes. “When my tummy would hurt, my mom would massage it. Let me try.”
“No.”
“Yes, you stubborn ass.”
“You cursed,” I say in disbelief.
“I did. You make me angry, Maxi.” She frowns. “Now let me see your stomach. It’s me. Remember, I will not hurt you.”
I let her. Sol’s hands are warm and soothing as she massages in circles. Her touch is comforting. I feel myself relax, and my eyes gently close.
“I want to be a doctor when I grow up.”
“You do?” I open one eye.
“Yeah, a doctor you tell your problems to. I think it’s a psychologist. The ones Mrs. Sara has us go to. I want to help people.” Sol would be good at that. She always listens to me when I talk about my mom. She makes me feel better. Sol is the only one I trust.
“You’re good at talking. I’m not.”
“That’s because you’re grumpy.”
I sit up, my brows drawn. “I’m not.”
“You are at school.” She grins, her smile like a glowworm.
I am at school. For one, not many kids are nice, and everyone already has a best friend when you go to a new school. You become the outcast. Second, kids say, ‘You always hang out with your foster sister.’ She’s not my sister.
“Not with you.” No, never with her.
I lie back down, and so does Sol. Our heads bump, but our bodies are on opposite sides. We spent the morning cleaning the treehouse, which was so dusty.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
No one has ever asked me. I take a silent moment to think.
“I want to learn to do a lot of things. My dad used to know how to do different things. One thing I want to do is boxing. My dad used to box. He stopped when he started a family. I asked if I could join boxing. He said no because too many hits to the head are dangerous.”
Sol passes me some M&M’s. “Your dad’s a meanie. My daddy knew how to fix so many things. He’s my hero.” Sol brought herfamily photo albums with her and showed me pictures of them. Some days she still cries for them. She didn’t have other family. She said her grandma was too old to raise her.
