Page 157 of Invisible String
We eat the rest of our candy in silence. “Max,” she says after a while. “Let’s make a promise.”
I tilt my head to the side to face her. Our noses touch, and we giggle. “What kind of promise?”
“Let’s pinky promise to be friends forever. Even when we’re married.”
“Married to who?” My voice rises.
She shrugs. “A nice guy, who takes care of me and takes me on dates.”
I hate the sound of that.
“I think I better go see if I can find a snack.”
“We have to pinky promise first,” she pouts, and her pretty eyes go sad.
“What if my wife gets jealous?”
Her eyes widen. “Then don’t get married.”
“Why do you get a husband, and I can’t get a wife? Your husband might not want me talking to you. My dad was jealous with my mom,” I huff. Unbelievable. What am I? Chopped liver?
She sits up. “Then let’s pinky promise to be best friends forever and get married.”
My face gets so hot, I’m sweating.
Her cheeks are bright pink. Sol extends her hand, and her pinky finger is pointing out. My pinky loops in Sol’s, and the promise is made. We both stare at each other with wide grins.
We go inside when Mrs. Sara calls us to go in for supper. Sol and I sit at the table with Mrs. Sara and Jason. Seconds later, Drake comes down the stairs. The bruise on his cheek is still very purple. Drake has told Mrs. Sara many times about Jason, but she always makes an excuse for him. We eat spaghetti and meat sauce. I asked Mrs. Sara if she could make it for Sol. It’s herfavorite. Her mom would always make it, she said. She called it Mexican spaghetti. My mom made it for me too.
Jason keeps giving Sol strange stares. She keeps her head down while eating. Drake starts a conversation, and Jason turns his attention to him.
“He scares me,” Sol says in Spanish.
Our code is that when we don’t want them to understand us, we talk in our native tongue. I tell her Drake and I are here.
After dinner, we all go to our rooms. I get my pajamas from my drawer and go to the bathroom to change. When I get out, Sol’s sitting on my bed holding her pajamas. “You can go change now,” I tell her. My brows dip when I notice her chin trembling. “What’s wrong?”
“I want my parents back. He scares me.”
Jason scares her. I’ve never told her of the abuse I had in other homes, but she now knows about Jason. As much as I want her everywhere I move, I know deep down, it won’t happen. Who will watch out for her? My dad once told me, before he lost himself, and my mom was still alive, that men never hit women. He also said no one touches our private parts. No one has tried touching me, but Jason looks at her in an odd way. I asked Drake. He said for us not to leave Jason alone with her because he might.
“Can I sleep in your bed?” Sol pleads.
I nod with my mouth open. I can’t say no. She’s scared.
She exhales a long breath. “Thank you.” She gets off the bed, wipes her tears, and then goes to the bathroom to change.
We play a board game before she crawls into my bed. I hand her a stuffed animal, a dog I had brought from home. My mom had given it to me for a long time, and when I felt scared, I’d hug it to help me feel close to her.
“She’s cute. I had a dog like this one, a German shepherd. Her name wasDaisy.I’m not sure what happened to her.” Shesmiles, but it’s not her usual bright smile, but one that holds pain for the life she lost.
“You can have her. She’ll make you feel better.” I squeeze into the bed with her. It feels strange to have her in bed, but we’re best friends. She once said we’re like peanut butter and jelly. I think she’s right.
“Thank you,” Sol says, pulling the blue cotton comforter up to our necks. She leans to kiss my cheek, and my body freezes. “You’re my best friend in the whole wide world. I don’t know what I would have done without you. I would be sad and scared.” She hugs the dog she named Daisy and closes her eyes. My lips curve into a shy smile. I’ve never been happier than having her as my best friend.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
MAX
