“Where?” I play along, knowing what my answer will be. I want the fantasy—if only for a second.
“Wherever you want. You once said that you wanted to see the ocean. Let’s go to the ocean, Beth. We can live there.”
The ocean. The scene comes alive in my mind. Me in a pair of old faded jeans and a tank top. My hair blowing wildly in the breeze. Isaiah with his hair buzzed short and shirt off, his tattoos frightening the tourists as they stroll by. I’ll sit barefoot on the warm sand and watch the crashing waves while he watches me. Isaiah always keeps his eye on me.
I wrap my arms around myself and clutch the hem of my shirt to prevent myself from grasping him. “I can’t.”
He keeps his arm extended, but the weight of my words causes it to waver. “Why not?”
“Because if I run away, if I break Scott’s rules, he’ll send my mom to jail.”
Isaiah’s hand clenches into a fist and his arm drops to his side. “Fuck him.”
“My mom!”
“Fuck her too. In fact, why were you even with her Friday night? You promised me you’d stay away from her. She hurts you.”
“No, it was her boyfriend. Mom would never hurt me.”
“She let you take the fall for her bullshit and she sat back while he used you as a fucking piñata. Your mom is a nightmare.”
A car door slams in the parking lot, and we slink to opposite corners by the door.
“We need to talk, Beth.”
I agree. We do. I nod toward the pinewoods. “Let’s go over there.”
Isaiah pokes his head out and scans the area. He waves his hand for me to go. We don’t run. We walk in absolute silence. Once we’re deep enough in, I turn, waiting for the question that has to be tearing him apart.
“You lied to me.” Isaiah shoves his hands into his jeans pocket and stares at the brown pine needles on the ground. “You told me you never knew your dad.”
Okay. Not a question, but an accusation. One I deserve. “I know.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want to talk about my dad.”
He keeps looking at those damn needles. A few years ago, I told Isaiah the same lie I gave everyone else regarding my father. Isaiah was so moved that he told me something he’d never told anyone else: that his mother had no idea who his father was. The lie I told Isaiah bonded him to me for life. By the time I figured out what cemented our relationship, that he believed we both had huge question marks on the paternal side, it was too late to tell him the truth.
“You know how people are.” I hate the desperation in my voice. “They love gossip and if there’s a story, they’ll dig, and I never wanted to think about the bastard again. When I told you I never knew who my father was, I had no idea that was your reality. I didn’t know that was the story that would make us friends.”
His eyes shut at the word friends and his jaw jumps as if I said something to hurt him. But we are friends. He’s my best friend. My only friend.
“Isaiah …” I have to give him something. Something that will let him know what he means to me. “What happened with my dad …” It hurts to breathe. “When I was in third grade …” Say it already!
Isaiah’s gray eyes meet mine. The kindness in them fades as they turn a little wild. “Is your dad around?” In the predatory movement of a panther, he takes several steps toward me. “Are you in danger?”
I shake my head. “No. He’s gone. Uncle Scott and Dad hated each other. Scott didn’t even know Dad left.”
“Your uncle?”
“He’s a dick, but he’d never lay a hand on me. I swear.”
He blinks and the wildness fades, but his muscles still ripple with anger. “I trusted you.” His three simple words gut me.
“I know.” I can give him honesty now. “I wish I could go with you.”
“Then do it.”
“She’s my mom. I expected you to understand.” It’s a low blow. I stay silent, unmoving, waiting for him to swallow his demons.
“I get it,” he says in a hard voice, “but it doesn’t mean I agree.”
Good. He’s forgiven me. Guilt still eats at me, but at least my stomach muscles relax while the guilt feasts.
“Nice shirt,” he says, and I smile at his playful tone.
“Fuck you.”
“There’s my girl. I was wondering if they sucked out your personality in first period.”
“You’re not far off.” Time is running short. I’ve lost so much already. I can’t lose him. “What do we do?”
“What are your uncle’s terms?”
“No running away and no more seeing you or Noah.” Scott said he wanted me to completely forget my old life. That the only way I’d have a fresh start was to make a clean break and if I wouldn’t willingly amputate the past, then he’d do it for me.
Isaiah grimaces. “And?”
“No ditching school. No being disrespectful to his wife or teachers or people.”
“You’re screwed.”
“Fuck you again.”
“Love you too, Sunshine.”
I ignore him. “Good grades. No smoking. No drugs. No drinking. And … no contact with Mom.”
“Hmm. I agree with the last one. Can you make it happen this time?”
I glare at him. He flips me off. God, he’s aggravating. “No more cursing. Keep curfew.”
His head pops up. “He’s letting you out?”
“Probably with a GPS stitched under my forehead. I have to clear every second of every outing through him. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking you’re a bright girl who could manipulate the devil for a passage out of hell. You get out of that house and I’ll come get you. Any day. Any time. And I’ll have you safely home by curfew.”
Hope fills me, yet it’s not enough. I need more than Isaiah. I need something else. I fiddle with the ends of my shirttail. “Will you take me to see my mom?”
He sighs. “No. She’s no good for you.”
“He’ll kill her.”
“Let him. She made her choices.”
I stumble back as if he punched me. “How can you say that?”
The anger returns to his eyes. “How? A few months ago, she let you bleed in front of her. How could she go back to that bastard? How could she let you take the fall for her? Don’t play the sympathy card on me. No one fucks with you. Do you understand me?”
I nod to placate him, but I’ll find another way. Isaiah’s right. I can play Scott, keep Isaiah, and find a way to take care of Mom.
He pulls something out of his back pocket and tosses it to me. I slide open a shiny new gray cell phone. “We saw Scott trash your cell so I bought a new one for you and put you on my plan.”
I quirk up a smile. “You got a plan?”
He shrugs. “Noah and I got a plan and we put you on it. Cheaper that way.”
“How …” Echo inspired. “Grown-up.”
“Yeah. Noah’s been doing a lot of that.”