Hush Money (15 page)

“So we gathered up some trash into the middle
of the room, Emily held her hand over it, concentrated, and it
burst into a little flame. It wasn’t like it was the first time she
had ever done something like that—or that I had seen it. But that
time, there must have been something flammable on some of the trash
because this flame just shot up in the air and burned her hand. She
fell back screaming, and Trina and I were so busy trying to see her
hand that we didn’t notice the fire spreading and catching the
curtains.

“It all happened so fast. It got so dark in
there, and hard to breathe, we were just terrified little kids, so
we couldn’t think what to do or how to get out. We couldn’t get the
windows open to call for help or anything.”

“That’s horrible.”

“It was horrible. We had gotten in through a
window on the back porch, so we got back to the kitchen. But, I
don’t know, we got trapped in there somehow. I think part of the
house collapsed because I remember that when the firemen got there,
and heard us screaming, they had to come in with axes to get us
out. They took us to the hospital, and as soon as we were stable,
people started coming in and asking us how the fire had
started.

“Emily and I knew that we were never supposed
to say anything about what she could do, but Trina was new. She
didn’t know. And I think even if she had, her parents were really
upset and telling her to tell the truth about how the fire started.
So she did. And then Emily went away.”

“Aw, honey, I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah? Because I’ve spent all these years
from then until now trying to avoid having to go through anything
like that again. And I was doing just fine until you came along.
Then I had to start getting involved in your problems with Marco
and look where that’s gotten me? First the whole mess at your
house, my parents are furious at me all over again, my dad’s about
to have a breakdown, and then my idiot little sister goes and
reveals her Talent to Marco, of all people!”

“Wait. Wait, wait. Your sister’s a
Talent?”

I dropped my head into my hands. What the
hell was wrong with me? “I can’t believe I just said that.”

“Joss, it’s ok. You know I’m not going to
tell anybody.” She rubbed her hand in circles on my back and I
actually wanted to lean into her. All this talking was making me
crazy. So I told her, all about what happened at the park, about
Jill and Marco. And I told her about Dylan, all my suspicions about
how he kept talking to me, and then the fight we’d had…

“So wait, back up. You
hit
him?”

“Hard enough to knock teeth loose, maybe. I
was pretty upset.”

She actually laughed. “I’m sorry I missed
that. But I don’t really believe it.”

“I don’t believe I did it either, but I was
pissed.”

“No, I believe
that.
But not about
Dylan. I don’t think he’d do that.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t. Hey! Let’s ask Heather.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.”

“You’re probably right. We’ll get Maddy. I
can talk her into it. Then you can know anything you want to.”

I grabbed her arm, like I thought she was
going to go do it right now. “No, don’t do it. That’s not right.”
There was still some stupid part of me that still wanted to believe
Dylan might actually be innocent, and I hated the thought of
someone violating his privacy like that. I’d spent part of my
sleepless night imagining he would climb up to my window, prove his
innocence, and tell me how he was going fix everything, get rid of
Marco, save my sister, etc, and all because, he would confess, he
had been in love with me from afar, lo these many years.

And I’d spent the rest of the night imagining
all sorts of different ways to take him and his friends apart and
hide the pieces.

Kat snorted. “And you mock Heather’s rules.
You’re just as bad. Well, whatever. We’ll figure it out. I totally
screwed up that thing at my party—”

“I don’t even want to talk about that.”

“—but we’ll come up with something. Don’t
worry, Joss.”

Yeah, sure.
I couldn’t even manage to
take on Kat and un-friend her. How was I supposed to fix my
problems with Marco?

* * *

Joss

I waited on the lawn after school that day,
waiting for Marco to approach me. I just wanted to know what he was
going to ask for and get it over with. I had thought about going to
lunch in the cafeteria again, so maybe he’d pass me a note or tell
me when to meet him or something, but a) I didn’t want to have to
see Dylan sitting at his table—the liar, and b) I just couldn’t
deal with all those people. What had happened at Kat’s party was
all anyone was talking about in ridiculous stage whispers all
day.

Anyway, there was nothing about the fact that
I was waiting for Marco to come up to me or pass me notes that
wasn’t sick and wrong, and I spent my time alternating between
fuming at Kat, Jill, and Dylan. Mostly Dylan.

“Sweetie, we have
got
to talk,” Marco
said, slinging his arm around my shoulders. I let him keep it there
and steer me across the lawn and into the little courtyard where he
and his friends like to duck out and smoke between classes. It
reeked. I ducked out from under his arm and he let me, probably
because there wouldn’t be anyone to see us together anymore anyway.
And if he wasn’t humiliating me, what was the point?

“Just tell me what you want.”

“You’re so…direct. And I dig that about you,
I really do. I want $500—”

“Ok, but it’s going to take—”

“—a month.”

“What?”

“But if you want to break that down into
weekly installments, that’s cool too.”

“I can’t pay you $500 a month, are you out of
your mind? Where would I get that kind of money?”

“I’m sure your daddy would pay at least that
much to keep your little sister’s secret.”

“I can’t tell my dad about this. Besides, he
would kill you.”

“He might try. He just might. But he can’t do
anything to me from the locked ward at the loony bin, which is
exactly where he’ll be if he finds out about this, isn’t it? After
what happened at Kat’s party while you were there, he’s got to be
right on the edge. What’s it going to take to push him over?”

My mind went blank, like I couldn’t process
how Marco could know about my dad or the fact that he was
threatening half my family now.

“So you don’t want to ask your dad, but he’s
got that store, so… he’s got stuff I like. I’m sure you can smuggle
out enough in cash and prizes to keep me happy.”

“I am
not
going to steal from my
dad!”

“Since it’s on your dad’s behalf, I’d hardly
call it stealing.”

“You are out of your mind. I can’t do that.
Don’t you think he’s going to notice?”

“How is that my problem?”

“Look, I understand the position I’m in—”

“Do you?”

“—and I’m just asking that you be reasonable.
Please.”

It killed me to say it, but he really liked
hearing it, if the grin spreading across his face was any
indication. He swaggered over to me, that’s the only way to
describe it. His hand hit the wall next to my head and his body
followed, but he stopped just short of falling against me.

“I think I can be reasonable. Since you
‘understand your position’ and all, I think I can be reasonable if
you can. ’cause you know that I’ve always liked you, Joss.”

I started swearing a blue streak in my head,
but I kept looking him in the eye. I couldn’t show weakness now,
even though I thought I could see where this was going, and I was
terrified about what my answer would have to be.

He flicked the hair back off my shoulder,
just a quick, light brush to see if he could touch me without me
hauling off and knocking his teeth out. And I so wanted to. With
some concentration on my part, the air between us would gather and
focus and then blast him back into the bricks on the other side of
the courtyard. But I had to hold it back. His hand settled on my
cheek.

This is what Trina felt like when you didn’t
help her.

“You want me to be your girlfriend,” I
guessed.

“Well…yes and no. See, I’m at a point in my
life where I don’t feel like I want to be tied down to one
‘girlfriend’ per se. But of course I am interested in female
companionship from time to time, and I could be interested in your
female companionship on a fairly regular basis, say—”

“You piece of shit!” Dylan just came in out
of nowhere, shoving Marco back, away from me. “She’s not gonna be
your…”

“Whore, Dylan. The word is whore.”

I grabbed onto Dylan’s raised arm, putting
all my weight into it and wishing, not for the first time, that I
could control animate objects as well as inanimate ones. Then I
could just make Marco walk off a bridge or something.

“Dylan, cut it out,” I said. “This doesn’t
concern you.”

Dylan

Marco had a laugh at that.

“The two of you,” he shook his head. “Doesn’t
it look like this concerns him?”

I really wanted to beat his face in, but it
was stupid, me standing there, pretending like I could, and knowing
I’d never walk away. I lowered my arm. I had the urge to draw Joss
against me, put her behind me, make some kind of he-man statement
that she was under my protection. But who was I kidding? Not either
one of them.

“I mean, you’ve got no idea, Joss, what this
guy’s been willing to do to keep your dad’s
issues
a secret.
And now he’s willing to go to the mat for you over a little
name-calling, let alone the rest of what we were talking
about.”

“I wish you would shut the fuck up.”

“You knew? About my dad?”

I turned to her, unsure of what to say or how
she was going to react to that. I guess I should have told her I
knew? I wasn’t sure. Whatever I decided, it was always the wrong
thing.

“Marco found out from someone at the
hospital, a long time ago. He told me back then, and I thought he
was going to keep it to himself. I’d pretty much forgotten about it
until he brought it up last week.”

“Why did he—?”

“Because I wanted something from Dylan,
something that’s not your business. Given his obvious interest in
you lately, I thought it was time to pull that one out of my hat.
Worked like a charm, too.”

“But he’s your friend.”

Marco narrowed his eyes on me. “I thought
that too. But I think we’ve been growing apart.”

“I’d say so.”

“But still, he’s got his uses. Want to tell
her how useful you are?”

“No.”

“I think you’re right about that. The less
she knows, the better. Girls are so chatty. Take little Miss Jill,
for example.”

“Seriously, dude, leave her alone. She’s just
a little kid.” I was wondering how much rage I could hold back
before I just exploded. By the time I had left Joss the day before,
Marco had disappeared. He was good at avoiding me when he wanted
to, especially when he had Jeff to run interference for him, like
he’d had all day today. So I hadn’t even been able to confront him
about Joss’s accusations. Didn’t need to now.

“Oh, I want to leave her alone. But I’ve got
bills to pay.”

“What is up with your obsessive need for cash
lately?”

“That’s none of your business!” Marco
snapped, looking deadly. “You and I have a deal and part of it is
that my business is my business.”

“Take my share then.”

“Your share of what?” Joss asked.

I ignored her. “I was getting a share, right?
That’s what you told us. I’ll do what I said I’d do, you keep my
share, and you leave Joss and her family alone.”

“How do you know your share was worth that
much?”

“Because you can’t pull this off
without—”

“Just…watch what you say.”

I turned to Joss who was completely
unreadable as usual. “Would you go home, please, so we can work
this out?”

“No,” she said indignantly, and maybe with an
edge of concern? Or maybe that was just my imagination. “What are
you doing? You can’t—”

“Joss, please. Just go, ok?”

“Yeah, Joss. I’m intrigued by what Dylan
thinks he has to bargain with, so you just run along home.”

“Please.” I added.

She looked from one of us to the other, shook
her head. “Don’t be stupid.”

Too late for that,
I thought as I
watched her walk away. Then I turned back to negotiate with my
ex-best-friend.

Satan.

* * *

Joss

What the hell?

That was really the thrust of my thoughts.
They’d go off in one direction and then off in another but that’s
the phrase I kept coming back to. I was seriously down the rabbit
hole. Everything was going wrong, everything was crazy—

Speaking of crazy, my dad was the one who was
supposed to pick up Jill today and would be waiting at home for me.
As soon as I thought that, I felt bad about it. My dad wasn’t
crazy, not really, he just got really stressed out and then his
reactions weren’t exactly within the normal range. But hey, what
about our family was normal anyway? The point was that dad was
going to grill me about why I was late and I was afraid that I was
too distracted by all the crazy to lie effectively. It was one of
those rare times when I was wishing a friend would see me walking
and stop by to give me a ride home.

And wasn’t making friends what got me into
this whole mess in the first place?

The blast of a car horn right next to me made
me jump and a door swung open.

Okay, that’s just weird.

Not just weird, though. It was also scary and
irritating when I leaned down and saw Dobbs behind the wheel.

“Need a ride, Jocelyn?”

“Oh, no thanks, Mr. Dobbs. It’s a pretty nice
day. I was actually looking forward to the walk.”

“Hmm. Well, look Joss, Marco Finelli came to
see me this morning, and our conversation brought up a few
questions I’d like to ask you. I thought maybe we could chat now,
but if you’d rather I could call your parents in and we could have
a conference during school hours. I figured this way you wouldn’t
have to miss any class.”