Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
MOJAVE
I’d already been at the school a little while when the social worker arrived.
She was early, school didn’t get out for another ten minutes, but then again, so was I.
I headed back to the school the minute I was done with getting what Wraith needed, just in case Frankie decided to sneak out or something.
I didn’t think to ask if she went to school and left that morning, or if she just never showed up.
The social worker parked in the staff parking lot and headed my way.
I watched her coming, wondering not for the first time how a woman that beautiful ended up with a piece of shit like Officer Packman.
He might not have been the one who put the drugs in Butch’s truck to frame him, but he was the one who came up with the idea and he was there when Larson did the deed.
He was complicit. An asshole like that who would destroy a good man’s life just because he rode a motorcycle and wore a vest didn’t deserve nice things.
“Mojave,” she greeted with a soft smile. “You’re early.”
I lifted a shoulder in response. I wasn’t sure what to say to her. I was only here because I made a promise.
She chuckled softly, moving to lean against the tree next to me. “Are you sure you and Frankie aren’t related? You two seem to communicate in the same way.”
“I’m sure,” I answered gruffly. “I don’t have family.”
It hurt to say it, but it was the truth and I didn't want her thinking Frankie was related to me when she wasn’t. She was just a kid in need of a little backup. And I was just the guy who noticed. That was it.
I could feel her eyes on me, and I waited for the questions or hollow words of apology. Unease skittered along my skin, making it feel tight and sweat beaded along my hairline. Shit. I was not going to freak out right now. I promised Frankie I would walk her home.
“That sounds lonely. But you’re part of the Dirty Devils, right? That’s supposed to be like a family.”
“Right,” I agreed, my brows pinching together in confusion. Her response wasn’t what I was used to and once again I wasn’t sure how to respond. It was shocking enough that the tight feeling passed before it could sink its teeth in, leaving me a little bewildered. What the hell was that?
I didn’t have a chance to figure out what just happened before the doors to the school opened and kids started spilling out.
We were far enough back not to be in the middle of the chaos, but close enough that Frankie noticed us when she finally came out.
I didn’t miss the relief that flashed across her face before she hurried over.
Someone was definitely bothering her and I wouldn’t stop escorting her to and from school until it was safe for her to go on her own.
“Hi, Frankie,” Rachel greeted with a bright smile. “How was school?”
Frankie shrugged, and I saw Rachel glance at me out of the corner of my eye. I didn't encourage it, tipping my head toward the sidewalk to get us moving. “We should get going.”
Frankie glanced over her shoulder and hesitated. “Uh… maybe we can wait a minute? It’s… hot. I want to be in the shade.”
That was a lie. I followed her gaze to a group of kids who looked older than she was, all of them glancing in our direction and away while laughing and joking.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to get more of their features, but they turned their backs on us and ran off before I could see exactly who they were.
Some of them looked bigger, though. Middle schoolers maybe?
Middle and elementary school let out at the same time and were right next door to each other.
“Here, this might help,” Rachel said, pulling a bottle of water from her purse. It looked cold based on the condensation on the sides, so she probably brought it specifically for Frankie. I hadn’t thought to do something like that.
Frankie accepted the bottle with a frown, uncapping it and taking a long drink.
She was dragging out the task, probably so we didn’t end up catching up with the bullies, and only stopped once the bottle was half empty and most of the kids had already left.
She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, smearing a line of dirt over her cheek, offering the bottle back with a polite, “Thanks.”
“That’s for you,” Rachel replied with a smile. “Ready to go?”
She still looked uneasy, but headed in the direction of her home after stalling long enough to cap the bottle and put it in her bookbag.
I saw her knuckles turn white as she gripped the straps of her bag and she scanned our surroundings probably as much as I did as we got farther from the school.
I didn’t like her so scared, so I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her with a serious expression.
“No one is getting near you while I’m here. Understand?”
She stared up at me for a long moment before nodding and relaxing just a little. I kept my hand on her shoulder, letting her lead while keeping her between me and Rachel so she stayed safe.
Rachel eyed me with an expression I didn’t catch out of the corner of my eye. When I looked at her, she masked it and turned forward again, filling the silence with conversation instead.
“So, did you learn anything fun today, Frankie?”
“No, not really,” Frankie grumbled.
“Really? That stinks. What are you learning about in school right now?”
Frankie shrugged the shoulder I wasn’t holding, kicking rocks down the sidewalk. “Subtraction, spelling, stuff about tornadoes.”
“Tornadoes? What about tornadoes?”
Rachel knew how to engage a kid in conversation, I’d give her that.
She didn’t get annoyed or impatient with Frankie’s short responses or reluctance to talk, just kept asking questions until Frankie got more comfortable.
I wouldn’t have known to do that. I just let the kid be.
When I’d walked her home before, it’d been in silence.
“What do you want to be when you grow up, Frankie?” Rachel asked as we neared Frankie’s house.
I wasn’t sure if Rachel knew where it was, but I’d been there a few times dropping Frankie off.
It always looked the same. Chain link fence surrounding a manufactured home that looked like it tried to match the surrounding neighborhood aesthetic but they couldn’t quite afford it.
The grass was overgrown and the driveway had a few big cracks in it, little signs of neglect that told a story on its own.
Not that the rest of the houses were great, the town wasn’t that rich, but Frankie’s house stood out in that it wasn’t like the others.
The driveway was empty, but that wasn’t surprising considering what I knew about Frankie’s family.
The parents were still kids themselves when they had her and worked almost constantly just to keep the lights on.
Her dad worked at the grocery store as a stocker during the day, came home long enough to eat a meal, then left again for a night shift at the factory one town over.
Her mom was a waitress at one of the few restaurants in town, sometimes doing double shifts when nights were slow.
Neither brought in much money, so it didn’t surprise me that they had to work so much to make ends meet.
I’d looked into them after Frankie started following me around to make sure she wasn’t being abused or anything nefarious was happening behind closed doors that would need intervention. While they weren’t present for the most part, they weren’t hurting her. They were just busy.
Frankie didn’t even notice their absence, pushing through the metal gate and bouncing up the steps to the front door.
The screen had a cut through it and the door wasn’t even locked when she wiggled the handle.
She dropped her bag inside and turned around, closing the door again and jogging back down the steps.
Rachel frowned, tipping her head. “Where are you going?”
Frankie shrugged, stepping closer to me automatically.
I sighed. I should’ve known she’d do this.
She stopped at home long enough to drop off her stuff, but she was going to spend the rest of the afternoon following me around like she did most days this week.
If I’d thought about that, I would’ve parked my bike somewhere else.
Like at the clubhouse where it was safe.
Rachel looked to me for an explanation and I shrugged like Frankie had. “She follows me around town.”
She looked flustered by my response, looking between us with a confused frown. “Doing what?”
When both Frankie and I shrugged together, I began to see Rachel’s point. From an outside perspective, we acted the same. I wasn’t sure why, though.
“That’s…” She shook her head like she was trying to refocus herself. “I was kind of hoping to talk to your parents, Frankie. Are they not home yet?”
Frankie looked at the empty driveway, then back at Rachel. “No. They won’t be home for hours. But they don’t care where I go.”
I waited for the follow up, the qualifier for her being out and about.
My parents’ rule had always been that I came home before the street lights came on, so at least they knew I was safe after dark.
During the day, they didn’t care where I went.
But Frankie didn’t offer one. She just looked up at us with confusion the longer we both stood quietly.
“They usually come home for supper,” I finally said. “There’s always a car here and lights on when I bring Frankie home.”
Frankie bobbed her head in agreement. “Dad comes home to eat before his night shift. If I’m home when he is, he makes me dinner. Otherwise there’s stuff in the fridge.”
“Where’s your mom?”
“Working,” Frankie replied easily. “She doesn’t come home until after dark.”
The more Frankie talked, the more flustered Rachel seemed to get. I frowned at her, raising an eyebrow when she looked at me incredulously. “You okay?”
“What– I– You think it’s okay?”
I shrugged. “I grew up the same. My parents had to work to feed me, they couldn’t be there all the time. As long as she’s safe, I don’t see the problem.”
Rachel’s mouth opened and closed, her eyes wide with horror. I glanced at Frankie, confused, but she just shrugged.
Maybe we needed a better way to communicate.