Page 5 of His Property

“Fuck.” TJ hunches forward, and it takes me a few moments to realize he wasn’t responding to me. He’s zeroed in on the game again. There’s only a minute left, and the Warriors have come back the last few plays. They’re only two points behind, and they have the ball.

“Goddamn it,rebound,” TJ grits. He bites his nails.

My brow furrows. “Seriously, when did you start liking basketball?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why do you care about this game?”

The Warriors score, tying the game, and TJ jumps up. “Fucking come on,” he says, throwing off his ball cap and raking his hands through his hair.

“TJ…”

He still doesn’t answer, so I just watch the game. A Heat player misses a shot, and a Warrior player rebounds. He passes it to a teammate at the other end of the court, and they sink a three-pointer.

The Warriors are up by three.

I look at TJ and watch his face pale.

Something’s wrong.

The Heat get the ball, but they don’t manage to score before the time runs out, and the Warriors win.

TJ hasn’t moved. I get up from the couch and move toward him slowly. Tears shine in his eyes, and he stands there, stunned.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my brow creased with worry.

He looks at me and blinks away the tears. He rubs his eyes and gives his head a shake. “Nothing. I just bet a friend a hundred bucks on the game, and I lost. It’s no big deal.”

My heart cracks hearing the disappointment in his voice, and I instinctively reach out and lightly touch his arm. “Do you have the money?” I ask, knowing he doesn’t. Neither do either of our mothers. As much of an idiot the guy can be, he’s just a kid, and I don’t have the heart to see him like this.

He shakes his head. “They weren’t supposed to win,” he says incredulously, gesturing to the TV. “The Warriors were missing three of their starters. How thefuckdid they win?”

He looks at me, and the tears are back in his eyes. “I’m so fucked, Mae.”

I let out a stunned laugh and put both my hands on his shoulders. “You’re notfucked, and I wish you wouldn’t curse. I’m sure your friend would understand, but I’ll give you the money anyway. Okay?”

He nods but there’s no relief in his expression. He clenches his eyes shut, but it isn’t enough to hold the tears in.

My heart sinks, and I want to hug him, but instead, I start toward my bedroom where I have some money stashed in a shoebox underneath my bed. “Hang on, I’ll be right back.”

By the time I’ve got five twenties in my hand, the front door slams. I hurry to my feet and poke my head from my bedroom, not seeing TJ anywhere.

When I swing the front door open, TJ is pedaling down the block on his bike. Worry pools in the pit of my stomach, and I think about going after him in my car. I stare down at the money in my hand and frown.

After one last glance down the road, I shut my front door and set the money down on the entryway table.

He’ll be okay. If he needed my help, he’d take it.

This is what I tell myself as I lock the door and get ready for bed, but the whole time I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a lie.

2

VICTOR

My eyes are closed as I listen to the intoxicating blend of the man’s screams and the hissing blowtorch.

The smell of burning flesh and smoke is caked into my nostrils, and I’ll be smelling the mixture for the rest of the day. I wonder if it would bring the man any comfort to know he’ll still be with me. That, in a way, he matters to me, despite not mattering to every other person on the planet. He’ll live on in my memory while being a fleeting thought in others’. Am I doing him a favor?

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