left.”
“No, thank you. It’s a bit too
Rear Window–
ish for me.”
“Come on,” Jade teases. “You know you want to.”
Her words send me skyrocketing back to the past. I’m twelve years old, wearing my school uniform, about to board the downtown bus when I feel a man’s hand on my buttocks.
Don’t look so shocked, little girl. You know you liked it.
My knees buckle. I grab the nightstand for support, almost knocking over my brother’s coffee. “Oh, God.”
Claire is immediately at my side, holding me up. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, fearing I will collapse to the floor if she lets go. “Nothing.”
“You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I’m fine. Really.” It takes all my strength and determination to remain upright.
“You’re sure?”
I nod.
“Okay,” she says, although I can see she’s far from convinced. Eventually she loosens her grip on my arm. “We’ll get out of your hair. Give you some time alone with your brother. Say goodnight, Jade.”
“Goodnight, Jade,” Jade says.
Heath laughs.
“Is she always like that?” he asks after they’re gone.
“Pretty much.”
“No wonder you’re so fond of her.”
I
am
fond of her. Fond of both Jade and Claire.
“Too bad they’re only after your money,” Heath says.
I turn off the TV and climb onto the bed beside him, pushing his legs out of the way to make room for my own. “You really think that’s why they’re here?”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’d like to think …”
“You’d like to think … what? That they’re here because they find you, in the words of my most formidable niece,
irresistible
?”
The private investigator in me tells me he’s probably right. But I realize I don’t really care why Claire and her daughter come over. “Am I so difficult to love?” I wonder, surprised to hear I’ve spoken the words out loud.
“What? No, of course not. Don’t be silly.
I
love you, don’t I? Mom and Dad loved you. And God knows Travis is still crazy about you.”
“I don’t want to talk about Travis.”
“Really? Because you’re all
he
wants to talk about. If you’d just pick up the phone and call him, I guarantee he’d be over here in two seconds flat.”
“I don’t want him to come over.”
“Come on, Bailey. Throw the poor guy a bone. He’s driving me nuts with his pining and whining.”
“And
you’re
driving
me
nuts,” I counter, grabbing my binoculars from the nightstand as I climb back off the bed and proceed to the window, more for the distraction it provides than because I am interested in anything I might see. I locate the apartment Claire and Jade were looking at, three floors from the top, four windows from the left. The light is still on, although the room appears to be empty.
“He just wants to apologize, make things right,” Heath is saying.
“It’s too late.”
“What happened with you guys anyway? He won’t tell me, you won’t tell me.”
I ignore the question. To say that things didn’t end well with Travis would be a colossal understatement.
“So, what have you been up to all week?” I ask without turning around. “Besides smoking copious amounts of weed.”
“Working on my screenplay,” he says, and I sigh. Heath has been working on his screenplay for years. “And I had an audition for Whiskas cat food. It’s a national spot.”
“Did you get it?”
“Who knows? They had me rolling around on the floor, making a total ass of myself over some stupid cat. Is it any wonder I do drugs?”
I smile in spite of myself. “When will you find out?”
“Probably next week. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care one way or the other,” he says, and I hear the shrug in his voice. Heath claims to be used to rejection, but I wonder if that’s something any of us ever really gets used to.
That’s when I see the man.
He first appears as a smudge on the lens of my binoculars, a blur that quickly morphs into a shape. He
“No, thank you. It’s a bit too
Rear Window–
ish for me.”
“Come on,” Jade teases. “You know you want to.”
Her words send me skyrocketing back to the past. I’m twelve years old, wearing my school uniform, about to board the downtown bus when I feel a man’s hand on my buttocks.
Don’t look so shocked, little girl. You know you liked it.
My knees buckle. I grab the nightstand for support, almost knocking over my brother’s coffee. “Oh, God.”
Claire is immediately at my side, holding me up. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, fearing I will collapse to the floor if she lets go. “Nothing.”
“You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I’m fine. Really.” It takes all my strength and determination to remain upright.
“You’re sure?”
I nod.
“Okay,” she says, although I can see she’s far from convinced. Eventually she loosens her grip on my arm. “We’ll get out of your hair. Give you some time alone with your brother. Say goodnight, Jade.”
“Goodnight, Jade,” Jade says.
Heath laughs.
“Is she always like that?” he asks after they’re gone.
“Pretty much.”
“No wonder you’re so fond of her.”
I
am
fond of her. Fond of both Jade and Claire.
“Too bad they’re only after your money,” Heath says.
I turn off the TV and climb onto the bed beside him, pushing his legs out of the way to make room for my own. “You really think that’s why they’re here?”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’d like to think …”
“You’d like to think … what? That they’re here because they find you, in the words of my most formidable niece,
irresistible
?”
The private investigator in me tells me he’s probably right. But I realize I don’t really care why Claire and her daughter come over. “Am I so difficult to love?” I wonder, surprised to hear I’ve spoken the words out loud.
“What? No, of course not. Don’t be silly.
I
love you, don’t I? Mom and Dad loved you. And God knows Travis is still crazy about you.”
“I don’t want to talk about Travis.”
“Really? Because you’re all
he
wants to talk about. If you’d just pick up the phone and call him, I guarantee he’d be over here in two seconds flat.”
“I don’t want him to come over.”
“Come on, Bailey. Throw the poor guy a bone. He’s driving me nuts with his pining and whining.”
“And
you’re
driving
me
nuts,” I counter, grabbing my binoculars from the nightstand as I climb back off the bed and proceed to the window, more for the distraction it provides than because I am interested in anything I might see. I locate the apartment Claire and Jade were looking at, three floors from the top, four windows from the left. The light is still on, although the room appears to be empty.
“He just wants to apologize, make things right,” Heath is saying.
“It’s too late.”
“What happened with you guys anyway? He won’t tell me, you won’t tell me.”
I ignore the question. To say that things didn’t end well with Travis would be a colossal understatement.
“So, what have you been up to all week?” I ask without turning around. “Besides smoking copious amounts of weed.”
“Working on my screenplay,” he says, and I sigh. Heath has been working on his screenplay for years. “And I had an audition for Whiskas cat food. It’s a national spot.”
“Did you get it?”
“Who knows? They had me rolling around on the floor, making a total ass of myself over some stupid cat. Is it any wonder I do drugs?”
I smile in spite of myself. “When will you find out?”
“Probably next week. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care one way or the other,” he says, and I hear the shrug in his voice. Heath claims to be used to rejection, but I wonder if that’s something any of us ever really gets used to.
That’s when I see the man.
He first appears as a smudge on the lens of my binoculars, a blur that quickly morphs into a shape. He
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