Page 33 of Ruthless Consequences

“That I’m glad I washed my hair this morning.”

He gives me a look that I’ve never seen before. Like he’s trying to figure me out. It makes me grin and him narrow his eyes. I’m serious, though. I washed my hair the day after we met, thinking he was going to show up the next day. When he didn’t, I lost all interest for the next couple of days. Ava reminded me yesterday that he might show up today, so…good timing.

“What are you doing here?” I say.

“I missed you.”

A beat after he says it, I wonder if that’s what he thoughtIwas going to say. That I missed him.

We stare at each other for a second. I’m expecting a grin from him, even one from me, but what settles between our eyes is heated. It stops me from saying I missed him too. Somehow, I think he knows. Maybe because he sees the relief in my eyes—I’m sure they’re glossy from the tears I refuse to cry at the sight of him.

“Come on, baby.” He stands, holding out his hand. “You’re coming with me.”

I stare at it because I’m breathless from a word.Baby.

“Where are we going?” I barely get out, knowing I need to say something.

Looking at him dares me to forget…everything that weighs me down. Even my responsibilities, which usually aren’t a burden. They help me bury all I don’t want to feel.

“Wherever we’re going, we’re going together.”

My eyes meet his again. Those words. They sound like a promise. I slip one hand out from underneath me. Then the other. I put both of mine in both of his and he pulls me up. I’m woozy for a second, but I play it off.

I’m drained, but at the same time, I feel so alive.

The bell rings.

He keeps my hand in his as he leads me through the mass of bodies and out of the school. The looks. The buzz in the air. I doubt he hadn’t noticed, but he keeps his eyes forward and his chin up, like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

We stop at a fast car I haven’t seen before. It’s black with dark rims and tinted windows. He opens the door for me. That’s when I notice his hand. The word DARK is tattooed across his first four knuckles. A letter for each finger. I take in his other hand. LIGHT is inked in the same way.

“You and me,” he says.

I nod, because words fail me, and take my seat. It smells like him. Leather. Something alcoholic. Something sweet. Maybe a cigar? Two or three comic books are on the back seat. So is an old wooden bat. Lilo slides in on the driver’s side. He tells me to roll down my windows, and he does the same. The car rumbles to life, he puts it in gear, and we take off. We’re not moving fast, though. We’re coasting past a group that’s hovering around something.

He stops and the crowd breaks. The lunch lady who slapped me is crying into her hands, standing next to a car. All the tires are gone, and underneath the empty spaces are comic books weighed down by cement blocks. That’s the least of the damage. The windows are shattered and the glass glistens in the sunlight. The entire car is dented.

The lunch lady takes a shaky breath and removes her hands. Her eyes meet mine and narrow. But they look away when I feel a presence next to my face. Lilo has leaned over and is staring at her.

“This time, the joke’s on you,” he says. “Next time, it won’t be a joke.”

The comic books in the back seat.Joke’s on you.The damage to her car.Next time, it won’t be a joke.

My head hits the seat when he revs the engine and takes off. The last image I see is Ken Nolan in the rearview, standing with his arms crossed, shaking his head.

* * *

Besides the growling engine, the car is quiet. It’s not an uncomfortable silence. I sink into the warm solitude like a second skin. The sun spills through the windows, wind whips inside the interior, and I can breathe.

Lilo squeezes my hand, and I turn to look at him. He kisses the spot she slapped, and I smile at him. He responds by kissing the spot even harder. His hold is tight, but I don’t complain. I like it.

He keeps our hands linked until we pull up to…

“Coney Island,” I say, narrowing my eyes against the glare.

It’s a beautiful late spring day. So, even though it’s still fairly early, people are crowding the boardwalk and the beach.

“You been?”

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