Page 55 of Backfire
I didn’t know who the bad people were. Mom never told me. Maybe she didn’t know? Maybe they could make themselves look like normal people? When I was bigger, I’d figure out a way to find them so she could stop being scared and enjoy the little things. Like squishing her toes in soft, warm sand. That was really fun.
Giggling, I looked down at the tiny grains my feet were sinking into. It tickled a little every time I moved.
“Sydney,” Mom waved at me. “Come here, Darling.”
“Coming,” I sang and skipped over to where she was sitting.
It was an okay spot. There was nothing special about it. I didn’t complain when she pulled me on her lap, but I didn’t know why she picked this place to sit. There were so many other places with pretty things, like flowers, water, and sand. The only thing here was a big, old, ugly tree.
My eyes scoured the graying bark on the trunk, then lifted to Mom’s bright gaze. “Why’s the tree sad?”
“Shh.” She hushed and kissed the top of my head. “Do you remember when I told you the beach was special?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s because there’s buried treasure here.”
My eyes widened. “Like pirate treasure?”
How cool would that be? I bet stupid Clive Tompkins didn’t have real treasure in his video game.
She leaned in and said, “Better.”
My nose crinkled as she held up a necklace. How was that thing better than pirate treasure? It was old and rusty. I couldn’t tell if it was a flower or something else on the front of the locket.
“And now.” She held out my hand and dropped the necklace in my palm. “It’s your job to protect it.”
I stared down at the chain in my hand and asked, “Protect it from who?”
“The bad people,” she whispered. “What’s hidden inside is very powerful.”
My fist immediately tightened around the jewelry. We couldn’t let the bad people get it. Not if it had power.
“But you must never open it, Sydney.”
“Why not?” If it was powerful, then maybe I could use it to protect her?
Her hands wrapped around my cheeks, cupping my face as she stared deep into my eyes. “Promise me you’ll never open it.”
She was serious about this. I could tell by the way the corner of her mouth jerked in a tight line. It was the same look she gave me when I was in trouble.
“Okay.” I sighed. “I promise.”
Guess I’d have to find another way to defeat the bad people…
Huh?Guess Charmaine wasn’t as sane that day as I thought. I think I still had that necklace tucked in the back of my dad’s picture. Not sure why I held on to it all this time. Honestly, I forgot about it. Oh well. I had better things to do than worry about some trinket of imaginary power.
I leaned forward and peeked out my open window.
There she was. Miss. Mary Sunshine who woke me up every morning with a creepy ass smile. I watched her move around, watering the flowers below, and smirked. ’When I found a box of condoms in the bottom of one of my bags, I wasn’t sure what to do with them, or where they came from.
If I had to guess, I’d say it was one of my foster sister’s ideas of a joke. The cherry flavor written across the bottom was a huge tip off for that. My virginity status didn’t exactly win me any cool points.
Well, the joke was on them. I was going to use every single one of those expired condoms. And when I heard a familiar voice singing outside, I knew exactly who would get the last two.
The rest I filled up and threw against the wall of my shower. Figured it would be a good way to work off some anger, and it was better than breaking stuff. All I had to do to clean up the mess was turn on the water. But this…
My eyes zeroed in on the head of my moving target.
