Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
“ W ake up!” The breath of air startled me, and I jumped back, slamming against Cassander. Riley grinned, taking a few steps back.
Cassander grunted and sat up, stretching his arms and then climbing over me. I watched him go out into the hall and heard him close the bathroom door.
Riley had her arms crossed, unimpressed at my lack of focus. Her lips were tight.
“You like him.” Her lips pulled to the side. “You really like him.”
“What?” I asked, jerking back to focus on her. “I don’t like Cass.”
“Grandma says that if you can’t even admit you like someone, it’s a pressure point, and you can use it to manipulate someone.” Riley leaned in. “So admit it. You like him.”
“Kid.” I grunted, rubbing my face and sitting up. I shook my head once and then sighed. “I don’t like Cassander.”
“You do.” Riley’s lip lifted until it was nearly touching her nose. “You’re going to take me to the arcade, or I tell him you like him.”
I flattened my lips, unimpressed. “Do better. That’s not putting any pressure on the joint. Metaphorically.”
“Take us to the arcade, or I’ll tell Grandma…” She narrowed her eyes, thinking. My mother was housing us; there was no chance she didn’t know exactly how much I liked Cassander. “I’ll tell Mom you like him.”
Candy had probably also figured out how much I liked the attractive maybe-not-human I’d accidentally dragged home with me, but it was a good effort and deserved to be rewarded. Kids were like dogs: reward them once and they were loyal until the next person offered them a PlayStation or a steak, respectively.
“Why do you want to go to the arcade?” I asked, standing. I crossed my arms when Riley pursed her lips, twisting her foot on the ground. “Wait, are you allowed to go to the arcade?”
“I can!” Riley sounded immediately defensive. “Of course I can! I’m not a baby.”
“And your mother lets you go when you want?” I asked.
“My mother lets me go,” Riley said, her words careful.
“You would make a good member of my brother’s court,” Cassander said from the door. He leaned against the doorjamb, his expression amused.
“What? Your brother has a court?” Riley said. “Is he king?”
Cassander’s smile went sharp, and his eyes cut to me before dropping to the pocket I had tucked the coin in. “For now.”
“Go.” I shooed Riley with my hand. “I’m going to ask your mom about the arcade.”
She shot me a betrayed look. “I’ll tell.”
“Go ahead,” I said, arching both eyebrows. “This is why you need to find out exactly what to threaten when you find a pressure point. You know a secret, but it only matters if you know who it’s being kept from.”
Grunting, Riley turned and stomped out of the room. “You’re the worst fun uncle!”
Entering the room, Cassander said, “What secret of yours does she have?”
Which was a great question, and I kept myself from stepping back by reminding myself that Cassander wasn’t the one I wanted the secret kept from.
“That I like you,” I said, and why did it feel like a lie when I said it? Why did I know that liking him was a little fake, a little untrue, because the moment I had the chance to get back into the SPA, I was planning on abandoning him?
Or turning him in?
Cassander searched my face as though he was reading a book and could see every thought I had laid out in clear ink on my skin.
“I don’t think that anyone is surprised by that,” Cassander said, biting off the t into a crisp sound. “I’m very likable. Even animals like me.”
“Are you suggesting I’m an animal?” I teased.
“You’re the one who said it.” Cassander walked over to the closet and opened it.
“I don’t think there’s anything—” I blinked in surprise. The closet was filled with suits and shirts, expensive clothes that had definitely not been there the night before. “What?”
Cassander drew out one suit, holding it up to look at himself in the mirror on the back of my door. He looked high-end, even though his reflection was surrounded by No Doubt and anime stickers.
“I told you.” Cassander took the jacket off the hanger, grabbing a V-neck T-shirt from the closet and pulling it on before putting on the jacket and pants. “Magic.”
“ What ?” I repeated. “You can do this? Why didn’t you do it yesterday when we were wandering around like it was laundry day?”
Cassander adjusted his cuffs, brushing off his lapels before saying, “I couldn’t.”
“You couldn’t.” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Why not?”
“Breakfast is ready,” Cassander said abruptly. “Unless I’ve truly lost my touch, there’s something in there for you.”
He pulled the bedroom door all the way open and stepped out into the hallway, disappearing before I could press him any further.
I walked over to the closet, brushing my fingers over the smooth fabrics, admiring the colors before shaking it off and checking the sizes. Frowning, I checked all of them. All of the clothes were my size, but Cassander had seemed to grab at random when he needed a suit.
Confused, I pulled out a pinstriped suit and a white button-up. I pulled off the high school gym shirt, tossing it on the bed along with the sweatpants that just barely fit.
The shirt slid over my arms like it had been made for me, the fabric butter smooth. When I buttoned it up, I could see that it fit nicely on the shoulders, the waist narrow and the cuffs falling just past my wrist bones.
The suit itself was even better, the fit giving definition to my figure that I never quite got with the suits the SPA paid for.
“Well.” Cassander stood in the doorway. “I?—”
He broke off, swallowing, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he traced his eyes over me. “Your mother says she’ll dump your breakfast in the trash if you don’t come now.”
Mamá Reyes wasn’t one to make idle threats, so I followed Cassander out into the living room.
“Cass, how did you know my size?” I asked quietly.
He leaned over, his lips brushing my ear. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you attract attention.”
My mother cleared her throat from the kitchen, and I leaned back, smiling at her. “Ma.”
“Eat. Then you can decide if you’re coming to work with me.” Her words were severe, and she shook her spatula at the plate full of food.
I began eating, grabbing a tortilla to wrap around the beans and eggs. Looking at the food, I said, “I’m not going with you, Mom.”
The silence was heavy, and Riley shifted in her chair, hissing at Junior when he started to ask a question. Young and inexperienced, Riley was still better than I’d been at her age when it came to reading the room.
“And what are you going to do instead?” My mother’s voice was the judge’s gavel falling, a verdict all on its own. I had no job, no money, and I was relying on the generosity of someone who I’d just insulted.
“Today, I’m going to take the kids to the arcade,” I said. “And tomorrow, I’ll work on getting my job back.”
My mother’s nostrils flared, but she silently started doing the breakfast dishes. The rest of us ate in silence until she came out from the kitchen, sitting down at the head of the table. Riley’s shoulders relaxed. She knew what I did: if Mom was at the table, she wasn’t that mad.
For a second, we all ate in perfect silence. Then, my mother set down her fork.
“What do we do at the arcade?” Mom asked.
“Watch and see if anyone’s running a con,” Riley said around a mouthful of food. She swallowed. “Watch body language, watch facial expressions.”
“Good girl.” Mom reached out and patted Riley’s cheek. Riley gave her an easy smile, the sort of expression I guessed was the prerogative of grandchildren because I would never have been brave enough to be that open around my mother.
“And you? What are you going to be doing?” My mother looked at Cassander, none of her distrust coming through in her expression.
“For now, I’m helping Damian,” Cassander said. “As long as our needs align.”
My mother hummed, the noncommittal noise another sort of judgment. “Well. I suppose we all can’t have goals.”
It was like watching a sniper shoot the broad side of a barn. Cassander’s ego was such an easy target. His whole demeanor flattened, and if he was a different man, his shoulders would have slumped.
“Ma.” I kept my voice flat, trying for a warning and ending up sounding like a whine.
“What?” My mother blinked, her eyelashes thick with mascara and nearly sticking together.
“Are you serious?” Riley asked, her voice hushed in wonder. She’d just found out Santa was real and didn’t want to risk the reindeer running off if she shouted. “You’re really going to take us to the arcade?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll take you.”
Junior started to say something, but Riley kicked him sharply, and he subsided into silence. Then they were both shoveling food into their mouths so fast that I said, “Hey, slow down, or you’ll choke,” just as my mother said, “Slow down, mi amor, you’ll choke.”
We turned, staring at each other awkwardly. My mother broke the stalemate, standing and putting her empty plate in the sink. She walked over to her purse and took out her wallet, placing fifty dollars and four bus passes on the table in front of me.
“Mom, I can pay for the arcade,” I said.
She just gave me a look, and she could probably name how much money I had down to the last nickel. Instead of embarrassing me in front of the kids and a guy I kind of liked, she just turned to Riley. “If you’re going, I want a report when you get back. What you learned, what new information you have, any questions you have.”
“I can’t ask Uncle Damian?” Riley looked at me before dragging her gaze back to my mom.
“You can.” My mother looked at me. “Can’t she?”
“Ma, I’m not that out of practice.” I looked at Riley. “You can ask me any questions.”
“Okay,” Riley said, looking between the two of us. “Thanks, abuela.”
My mother nodded, taking a cell phone off the counter. She placed it in front of me. It was an older model, a flip phone that probably didn’t even have GPS built in.
“From your sister,” she said. “Prepaid.”
I blinked, my eyebrows going up. My mother put her wallet back in her purse, gathering her keys and a paper bag full of what looked like toy fish. I didn’t ask.
She lingered at the front door, giving me a significant look. I nodded. I’d watch after the kids carefully. I’d keep an eye on Cassander to make sure he didn’t turn into a supervillain over a game of Mortal Kombat.
Moreover, I’d keep my opinions about Mom’s line of work to myself.
My mother left, and after I washed the dishes, I checked the phone. There were only three contacts in it: my sister, her husband, and Mom. My mother had left bus passes, but eventually, we needed a car.
My mother was playing the long game with me, showing me that if I went to work for her, I would have enough money for a car of my own. The fact that I could see it didn’t change how well it was working.
“Are you guys ready? The bus ride is going to be a while. You have something to entertain yourself?”
Riley bobbed her head. “Grandma says that anytime you have a moment to yourself, you should be people-watching.”
“I have a Switch,” Junior said.
Riley shot him a disgusted look, and he glared right back at her. Before they could devolve into bickering, I cleared my throat. “All right. Let me do the dishes, and then we’ll go.”
The kids leapt up from the table, tussling briefly over who got what seat on the couch. Riley was muttering under her breath at Junior about how stupid he was, while he was saying she was just jealous that she didn’t have a Switch.
By the time the dishes were done, Cassander was standing in front of the children, arms crossed. “What exactly were the terms of your deal?”
“He said that if I could pin him for a minute, I could have the Switch.” Riley crossed her arms and looked away. “But I couldn’t. I tried a few times, but I only managed to get him down for twenty seconds.”
“How many times?” Cassander asked.
Riley flushed, arms tightening on her chest. “Four or five.”
“So you did pin him for a minute.” Cassander leaned back on his heels, one hand in his pocket, tilting his head to look at Junior. “You owe her your game.”
“What? She didn’t get me down for a minute!”
“By my count, she got you down for over a minute. Twenty seconds added together four times is one minute twenty seconds. Added together five times is nearly two minutes.”
“That’s not—” Junior looked at me helplessly, eyes wide. “That’s not what I meant by the deal.”
“That doesn’t negate the fact that those were the words you used. Words have meaning, Junior. You should be careful with them.” Cassander waited, and when Junior’s mouth went soft, chin trembling, he held out his hand. “The game?”
“It’s not fair!” Junior turned on the couch, pleading with me. “That wasn’t what I meant.”
“Even small mistakes can have big consequences.” The words came out of my mouth automatically, one of the mantras I lived my life by. I could hear my mother in them, the number of times she had said them, the number of times we had practiced and practiced and practiced before she ever let me near one of her marks.
Fat tears rolled down Junior’s face, but he dug in his pocket and handed over the Switch. Riley stared at it, then looked up at her brother before looking down at the toy.
“You both still want to go to the arcade?” I asked.
They nodded rapidly, and I took all the money I had, along with the bus passes. Cassander followed behind me, lifting his lip at the bench covered in graffiti, the bus schedule behind plastic scratched beyond all recognition. When the bus pulled up, I ushered the three of them ahead of me, swiping the bus passes as the driver pulled away from the curb.
The bus trundled through the city, stopping every few blocks to pick up or drop off someone. Like most California cities, Desert Flower had spread wide, narrow streets carved into the desert that its name had come from like cracks in a broken windshield.
The center of the city was a small green park that was mostly reserved for festivals and local events. When I had been a kid, the area around it had been older buildings, their age making them hard to rent. At some point before I was a teenager, a construction company had bought the buildings directly around the park, renovating the area and turning a few into appealing storefronts.
The glossy veneer only extended to the buildings immediately around the park. Everything else looked like it had been built in the forties and fifties, the architecture distinct, the paint faded, most of the signs cracking from age.
“Here! Here, here, here!” Riley practically leapt from her seat, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind her straight into my past.