Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Dragon
Seventeen years earlier…
I follow Mike and Zach to the front where a line is already formed.
A couple of older boys shove Mike out of the way. “Go to the back.”
Leon clears his throat.
“Sorry, Leon,” one of the boys says.
“Fuck,” Zach says. “We’ll pay for that later.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Mike says. “Just close your eyes. And remember, one day you will be the big one.”
I gaze at Mike and try to uncover the meaning of his words. His expression is unreadable. After a moment, he turns away and leads me toward the back of the line.
On the way, Zach mutters, “Just remember. Never show fear.”
As we wait our turn, I watch the others in the line. Most of them avoid looking at me. The few who do don’t seem happy to see a new guy.
When it’s finally our turn, a lady wearing a hairnet scoops gummy-looking pasta onto our plates and covers it with red sauce and two meatballs.
Two meatballs?
That’s not enough to keep me going, but I’m used to going to bed with my stomach growling.
As we grab our spoons and forks, Zach nudges me and nods toward the table at the far end of the hall. “That’s where you want to end up,” he says.
I look to where he’s pointing and see a group of older guys. They’re laughing and joking around, completely oblivious to everyone else. Despite their worn-out clothing, they carry an air of importance around them that’s hard to miss. It’s like they own the place, while the rest of us are intruders.
“Who are they?” I ask, keeping my voice low.
“The table of kings,” Mike replies, looking at them with a mix of envy and respect. “They’ve been here the longest, know all the rules. They think they run the place.”
Zach glances over his shoulder at them before leaning closer to me. “They pick on newcomers, but if you prove yourself, you can earn your spot at their table. And once you’re there…”
“Once you’re there,” Mike finishes for him, “you get respect. You stop being prey.”
I shake my head. This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. No one is better than anyone else. Who do these jokers think they are?
As we find an empty table, I take one last glance at the kings, etching their faces into my memory. One of them narrows his eyes at me.
Great. Just what I don’t need. The unwanted attention of a bully. He’s probably excited about tormenting the “new meat.”
Over dinner, Mike and Zach fill me in on the unspoken rules of the home. Never be caught alone after lights-out, never take more than your share at mealtime, and above all, never ever squeal on another resident to the staff.
“There’s something else,” Zach adds as he scrapes his fork against his plate, collecting the last bits of his spaghetti. “Never forget why you’re here.”
“What do you mean?” I know why I’m here. My parents gave me away because they thought I hurt my sister. They were wrong, and I’ll hate them until the day I die.
Mike answers this time. “We’re here because no one else wanted us. But that doesn’t mean we ain’t worth anything.”
His words hang in the air, and I’m not sure of their meaning. I already know I’m a piece of shit. My parents thought so, and they should know, right? That doesn’t mean I’ll let myself be bullied. I didn’t at the last place, and I sure won’t here, either.
After dinner, we head back to our room. I climb onto the thin mattress of my bunk, thankful to have made it through the first day. Well, half a day.
Until our door opens.
And a low voice speaks.
“We came to initiate the new meat.”
Present day…
I jerk upright in bed, a cold sweat beading on my forehead.
Where the fuck am I?
The dog reminds me. My mother’s mistreated dog, who’s now panting at my bedside with a doggy smile on his face.
Right. I’m in Taos.
With Diana.
“Where’s Diana, boy?” I ask the dog.
Then I remember. I was half asleep when she told me she was running an errand, that she’d fed the dog. What time was that?
I have no idea. I look at my phone on the bedside table. It’s now nine a.m. She could’ve been gone a minute or an hour.
Man, was I out like a light. A good fuck will do that to a guy.
And a good fuck with a woman he’s in love with?
I don’t have anything to compare it to, but it was magnificent.
I’m in love with a woman I can never have.
I’ll deal.
I spent my life dealing with things I can’t have.
No sweat off my back.
I rise, head to the bathroom, and take a quick shower. I throw on some clean jeans and a T-shirt, and then I notice the dog again. He’s whimpering.
“You need to go out?”
He doesn’t answer me, of course, and I don’t know when he was last out. I have a vague recollection of Diana saying she fed him and let him out, but who knows when the hell that was?
“Okay, boy. Where’s your leash?” I find it draped across a chair, and I attach it to his collar. “All right. Let’s go.”
Once the dog has taken care of things, I clean it up, return to the lobby—helping myself to a cup of complimentary coffee—and then head back up to the room.
Diana took the car, so now what?
I didn’t get any information from my mother that would lead me to where Griffin might be. If she’s even alive.
I grab the jeans I wore yesterday and pull a Ziploc bag out of the pocket. Inside is the heart-shaped piece of flannel fabric from Griffin’s pajamas. I could be wrong, but why else would someone give it to me?
It has to be hers.
What the hell kind of errand did Diana have to run? She already bought food and supplies for the dog. Maybe she went out to get some breakfast.
As if in response, my stomach lets out a growl.
I can’t leave the dog alone in the room. Who knows what he might do? This is my mother’s dog, after all. He probably hasn’t been taught how to behave.
What if he scratches at the door, bothering the other guests? What if he damages the door? What if he barks his head off? What if he pees everywhere?
No.
I’m not leaving the dog alone in this expensive hotel room.
I do a quick search on my phone and find out that Taos is a very dog-friendly city. So I throw a hoodie over my head and grab the dog.
“Guess we can find someplace to eat,” I say.
I open the hotel room door just as my phone rings.