Chapter Ten

Annabelle

“You’re really late,” says Nonny, looking up from a textbook when I finally get back home. She’s on her belly on the floor, ankles crossed in the air. Her hair’s damp from a shower. The oversized yellow nightshirt and blue cropped pants are relatively new—something I bought from Target before I got laid off. The sight of them makes me feel slightly better…even though they aren’t really proof that I’m doing a good job of taking care of my sister.

“Sorry. Really bad traffic, and I made a wrong turn on top of that.” The lie slips out surprisingly easily. But what can I say? I can’t tell her the truth. “Did you eat dinner?”

“Uh-huh. I had some of the leftovers.” She rolls over and sits up. “So how was it?”

“How was what?”

“Your first day at work. Duh.”

“Oh. Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. Actually pretty easy. No irate diners to deal with,” I say, looking through the fridge for something to eat. Nonny left me a portion of casserole from yesterday, which I decide to nuke.

“Really? Okay, well…cool.” She waits until I pull out my dinner before continuing, “I’m going to study hard and go to a kickass college and make lots of money.”

I raise an eyebrow. What is this about?

“Good for you,” I say finally. “But you should find something you’re really passionate about, not just something that can give you a lot of money.”

“What I’m passionate about is a big paycheck.”

I laugh through a tinge of apprehension. “Seriously?”

“Totally. If we had money, we wouldn’t have to live like this, and you wouldn’t have to take janitor jobs.”

A sudden lump fills my throat. I go over and give her an extra-tight hug. “Nonny, I’m so sorry.”

She hugs me back. “You’re doing your share, so I have to do mine, right? I’m going to help you finish college.”

“Don’t feel like you owe me.” I look at her. My lower jaw quivers, but I put on a smile. “I’m doing this because I love you. It’s you and me against the world now.”

“But if you didn’t have me, you’d be happier. Like Caroline. You could go out and have fun and stuff.”

“I’m happy exactly where I am. And if I lost you I don’t know what I’d do.”

Nonny looks skeptical.

I cock my head. “Did Caroline say something?”

She doesn’t answer.

God, that meddling bitch. I can’t believe this. “Don’t listen to her. She’s not worth it.” I put my hands around her arms. “Just worry about yourself. Not me.”

My poor little sister. She’s growing up too fast, maturing too soon. When I was her age, my biggest worry was how I was going to get away with skipping school and sneaking into parties with the older kids.

Nonny nods. As I pull away to go finish my dinner, her shirt slips, showing a bit of shoulder. She drags it back up fast, but not before I see something that looks suspiciously like a bruise.

“What’s that?” I take the shirt and pull it over. I was wrong about the discoloration being a bruise. It’s a bite mark. “Did you get bitten?”

Nonny’s voice is sharp, her motion jerky as she yanks the shirt out of my grasp. “It’s nothing.”

“We have to go to the hospital and get it checked.”

“It happened yesterday, and I’m fine. No need to waste the money.”

“It happened yesterday?”

She doesn’t look at me. “Just a stupid fight. It’s nothing.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because it’s not important! I yanked on her earrings, and she backed off. She’s dumb anyway.”

“Is she from the Evil Squad?”

“Yes, and she won’t do it again.” Nonny juts her chin out like a boxer before a match. A fierce light burns in her eyes, and I don’t know what’s happened to my sweet little sister.

She grabs her textbook. “I need to get some sleep. Gotta be up early for morning rehearsal.” She starts toward our bedroom. “By the way, don’t worry about the trip. I told the band director I can’t go.”

This hits me so hard I gasp. “Why?”

“You know…” She shrugs and kind of looks around at our cheap place.

“Tell her you made a mistake. You can go. I’ll make it happen.”

She shakes her head. “Forget it, Anna. It’s just a stupid hobby.” She goes into the room and shuts the door.

I stare at the closed door. My appetite’s gone. This is all my fault. I should’ve hidden my struggles from her better and warned Caroline to keep her big mouth shut.

But maybe none of that would’ve mattered. Nonny’s a perceptive girl, and it’s impossible to hide how little money we have.

I pull out Elliot’s card. It has his full name, plus a phone number, neatly written in black ink. Does he think this is how he’s going to get me? A kiss, a finger down there, a promise of some money and a card?

Shaking my head, I stick it back into my bag and change into my old PJs. They’re nice—Mom bought them before everything tumbled down around us. Nonny doesn’t have anything similar since she grew out of them all.

An hour later I crawl into bed next to Nonny and stare at the ceiling. Maybe Elliot is the answer to all my problems. It’s just sex, right? And only for a year. At least he’s open about what he wants and what he’s willing to give in return.

Of course there’s the possibility he’s some kind of psycho. What’s up with his insistence on calling me Gigi? Some kind of fetish? Or does he want me to act like an unrequited love of his? Some old girlfriend?

Probably not. I narrow my eyes. He’s too handsome and rich not to have everything he wants.

I wish I could talk to someone, but there’s nobody for me. I sigh. I don’t even have Traci’s number anymore. I deleted it from my phone after Nonny and I practically fled Lincoln City.

Closing my eyes, I will myself to sleep. Tomorrow’s another long day and I need some rest.

But when the sleep finally comes, I dream of Elliot…and his wicked finger.