After Me (8 page)

He took the paper and scanned it. “Want my suggestions?”

That’s not all I want.

“Sure.”

He took a pen from his pocket and put the list against the wall to write on it. I moved beside him as though I was looking to see which books he marked, but I really just wanted an excuse to stand close to him. He smelled so good—like a combination of soap, shampoo and ink.

“This one, this one and this one are good,” he said. “I hated this one and hated this one even more. And this one”—he drew a circle around
The Great Gatsby—
“is my all-time favorite book.”

“Okay, thanks for the insider tips,” I said, taking the list back.

“You’re welcome. Guess I’d better get back to work with Javi. Tell Annalee I said hi.” He smiled before he turned to go back into the study room, and once again I wasn’t sure if my knees would hold up. God, what a love-struck cliché I’d turned into.

I sneaked a look into the room and saw Javier shove Lew playfully before he sat down at the study desk, making me wish I could hear what they were saying about me. And that gave me an idea. I moved away from the window and pressed my ear against the wall in case I had super zombie hearing and didn’t know it yet.

“Hear anything interesting?” Annalee said from behind me.

I jumped and turned around with a laugh. “Nah. Guess I must’ve fallen asleep against the wall while I was waiting for you to finish making eyes at Mr. Christolicious.”

She gave me a patronizing look. “You’re not fooling anybody. I saw Lew go in that door a second ago.”

I linked her arm with mine and showed her the list. “Yep, and he gave me some book suggestions, so let’s go find ‘em.”

“Wait. What’s he doing here?” She tried to stop and go back, but I pulled on her arm.

“He’s helping some guy study for his GED, so we can’t bother him again. He said to tell you hi.”

“Really?” Her face lit up way too much over a little thing like that.

“Yeah, really. Now let’s get these books and get out of here. I told my foster mom I’d be home by five.”

When we left the library thirty minutes later, it took both of us to carry all the books since I got every one Lew had suggested. Luckily, Annalee only lived a few blocks away in a housing project that looked like it had been built back when Lincoln was president. When we walked up to the front door of the apartment, I could tell she was embarrassed for me to see where she lived.

“I wish you’d called your foster mom from the library and waited for her there,” she said as she fumbled in her purse for her keys. “You’re gonna be late getting home now. I told you I didn’t need an escort.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “Safety in numbers and all that crap. Take it from somebody who knows from experience.”

“I hope my mom’s home or you won’t have a way to call now. Our house phone got cut off six months ago. Mom’s been using a prepaid cell since then.”

“No problem,” I said. “If she’s not here, there’s probably a pay phone at that gas station across the street.” Since I had no intention of calling anybody, I wasn’t worried about a phone. No way was I having Karen or Brad drive to this neighborhood.

Annalee unlocked about a dozen locks on the door, then I followed her inside. The place was shabby but uncluttered and tidy—threadbare carpet, worn furniture, a window with a broken pane covered in duct tape. Nothing like Karen and Brad’s place, but way better than the vacant warehouse where Gwen was supposed to have been living.

“Mom?” Annalee called down the hall. “Mom, are you here?” She turned to me and shrugged. “I guess she had to work a double again.”

“Where does she work?”

“She’s a cashier at the Publix in Flagler Park. It’s a really nice store—a lot better than the Food Barn where she worked before.” She dropped her book bag on the couch and walked toward the kitchen on the other side of a small bar. “I’ll get a plastic bag for your books.”

I started to follow her until I heard a thump coming from somewhere in the apartment. “Hey, maybe your mom’s here after all.”

Annalee rushed around the bar to look down the hall, then she turned to me with eyes full of panic. “You need to go, Gwen. Now.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” I looked down the hall and noticed a pair of men’s work boots sitting outside the door at the end. “Who’s here?”

Annalee picked up the books she’d carried in for me and started toward the front door. “Come on. I’ll walk to the gas station with you.”

I wasn’t going anywhere until I found out who she was so afraid of. “What about the bag for my books?”

“We can get one from the station. I know the man who works the counter.” She opened the front door and motioned for me to follow.

“Well, well, well,” said a male voice behind us. “Who’s your little friend?”

Chapter Twelve

“N
one of your business, Rufus.” Annalee grabbed my arm and tried to keep me from turning around. “Let’s go, Gwen.
Please
.”

I could tell she was desperate to get me out of there, but I had to know who this Rufus was and why she was so freaked out by him. I pulled my arm free and turned around to see a man wearing nothing but a pair of grimy boxers, his skinny body covered in tattoos featuring swastikas or women with huge breasts. His eyes moved up and down my body and he grinned at me with teeth that looked like the defective kernels in a cheap bag of microwave popcorn.

“Well, ain’t you a hot little piece o’ ass?” He scratched at his greasy ponytail. “Why the hell you running with Little Miss Nothing here?”

I mimicked his redneck accent. “Well, ain’t you a disgusting sack o’ shit? Why the hell ain’t you in the walls with the rest of the cockroaches?”

His grin disappeared and he took a step toward me, but Annalee ran to get between us.

“Get out of here, Rufus! Mom told you not to ever come back when she kicked you out.”

He sneered at her. “Yeah? Then why’s she passed out in the bed right now with a satisfied smile on her ugly face? Get the hell outta my way, you little bitch!”

He raised his hand to hit her, and I literally saw red—the same as when I’d sent Dougie flying into the tree. Before I could stop myself or even think about what I was doing, I had my hand around his throat and pinned him to the wall with his feet dangling ten inches from the floor like stinky wind chimes.

“Big mistake, Rufus,” I said. “Nobody talks to my friends like that, and you’re even stupider than you look if you think you’re gonna touch her. I’m gonna give you exactly thirty seconds after I put you down to get your shit and get out of here for good. If you’re not gone by then, I’m gonna break off two important body parts, the loss of which are gonna keep you from hitting anybody ever again and also from being able to pee without a catheter. You got that, douchebag?”

Even with the red filter over my vision, I could tell his face was turning a deep purple shade that meant he couldn’t breathe, let alone speak. But he managed to nod and signal his agreement. I released his throat and he fell to his knees on the floor, coughing and gasping for breath.

“One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…”

He looked up at me in terror and struggled to his feet, then he stumbled down the hall and disappeared into the room at the end. When he came out a few seconds later with his clothes clutched in his arms, he grabbed his boots and made it back to the living room just as I got to twenty Mississippi. Without saying a word or even looking at me or Annalee, he skittered out the door like one of the cockroaches I’d compared him to a few minutes earlier.

I went to the door and yelled after him. “And if Annalee tells me you showed up here again, you can bet I’ll be back to keep my promise!”

My vision gradually returned to normal as I watched him run down the street to a chorus of jeers and laughter from the people on the front stoops of the other apartments. If I’d had any doubt before about whether or not I could carry out my mission with BOSSMAN when the time came, I knew now I’d have no problem. In fact, I couldn’t wait.

I turned to find Annalee looking at me with her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed.

“You want to explain that?” she said. “I know he’s a scrawny excuse for a man, but he still outweighs you by at least fifty pounds. How did you lift him off the floor like that?”

“Oh, it was just…” I waited for my super lying power to kick in, but it was nowhere to be found. “You know, it was just… adrenaline. It happens when I get mad.”

She shook her head. “Uh-uh. Try again.”

“Would you believe… steroids?” I almost winced at the lameness of that one.

“Strike two.”

I looked around the room in desperation, as though I might find an answer hidden somewhere in the flowers on the faded wallpaper. “Okay, how ‘bout this? While I was living on the street, I got abducted by government goons who were using homeless people for military experiments, and they injected me with…” I stopped and looked disgusted. “Forget it. I got nothing.”

“Why don’t you try the truth?”

I sighed. “The truth makes that last story sound perfectly believable.”

“Try me.”

I knew I didn’t
have
to give her any kind of explanation at all, but I was too afraid our friendship would be at risk if I refused to tell her the truth. And the thought of losing Annalee as a friend was every bit as unthinkable as letting Rufus get away with hitting her. I opened my mouth to explain but shut it again quickly when I heard a woman’s moans coming from down the hall.

Annalee looked stricken. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

I thought about making a run for it before she got back, but I knew it would only postpone the inevitable until the next day, and I didn’t want to tell her my crazy story on the bus or at school where somebody might overhear. It was also better to tell her in private in case she totally freaked out over it. I tried to wait for her in the living room, but when I heard her mom yelling and demanding to know where Rufus was, I got pissed again and went down the hall.

I stopped in the doorway when I saw her mom—a haggard-looking version of Annalee with bleached blonde hair and raccoon eyes—puking into a plastic basin that Annalee held under her face. The odor of whiskey, sweat and something else I didn’t want to identify filled the room, making me wish my sense of smell didn’t work anymore.

Annalee looked up, her eyes pleading with me to go back to the living room without saying anything. I didn’t want to make things any worse than they already were, so I went back and sat on the couch until she returned.

“Please don’t judge her,” she said, sitting beside me on the couch. “I know it looks bad, but it’s not her fault. She does pretty good when she stays on her meds.”

“What does she have?”

“Borderline Personality Disorder. It’s a mental illness that keeps her emotions out of control and makes her do rash things and make terrible decisions. Like taking Rufus back for the millionth time.” She stared at her hands in her lap. “When she drinks or does drugs, it makes everything worse.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

She shook her head then looked up at me. “You already got rid of Rufus. And I still want that explanation from you.”

“Okay, look,” I said. “It’s too long of a story to tell right now since I’m already late getting home, but I promise to tell you everything tomorrow after school. You can come home with me and we’ll have a nice long talk in my new, unfrilly bedroom. Okay?”

“Annalee, baby… I
need
you!” Her mom’s whiny, tearful voice came from down the hall.

“Coming, Mom!” To me she said, “Okay, tomorrow after school. Do you want to use my mom’s cell phone to call home?”

“No, I’ll walk back to the bus stop we passed on the way here. I’m sure I don’t have to convince you now that I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, see you in the morning.” She started to get up but stopped. “Thanks for standing up to Rufus for me. It’s great to finally have a friend I don’t have to hide anything from.” She leaned over and hugged me until her mother’s pleas made her hurry down the hall.

With my eyes full of tears, I had a hard time gathering all my library books from the floor where I’d dropped them before I went off on Rufus. When I got outside, I walked the two blocks back to the bus stop and sat down on the bench, still sniffling because of what Annalee had said.

But all my sappy emotions vanished when I saw a red Corvette coming down the street.

“Get in,” Lew said through the passenger window when he pulled up to the bus stop. “I’ll drive you home. It’s not safe for you out here.”

He was wrong, of course. But I wouldn’t have disagreed with him for all the heavenly brownie points in the world.

Chapter Thirteen

U
sing incredible restraint, I managed to walk over casually and get into Lew’s car instead of running to it and jumping in like a moron.

“What’re you still doing over this way?” I asked.

“I drove Javi to work so he wouldn’t be late. Why are you out here by yourself? This isn’t the Grove, you know.”

I shrugged. “Pretty tame compared to my old neighborhood. Besides, I didn’t think anybody would proposition a girl with an armful of books.”

“I see you took my recommendations.” He picked up the copy of
The Great Gatsby
from the stack on my lap. “Think you can read all these in two weeks?”

“Speed reader, remember? Street skills.”

“Oh, yeah.” He smiled and put the car in gear. “Tell me how to get to your house.”

I gave him the address and he pulled out into traffic. “You and Javier are pretty tight, huh? Did he go to Bay Harbor before he dropped out?”

“No, he went to school in Little Havana.”

“So how do you know him?”

“His mother’s been our housekeeper since before I was born. Javi’s just a few months older than me, and Yelina used to bring him to work with her before we started school. We pretty much grew up together. He’s like a brother to me.”

I took a break from hoping we’d hit all the lights red and debated with myself about whether or not to mention the big differences between the two of them. Lew saved me the trouble of deciding.

“I know he looks like a gangbanger, but he’s done with all that. He went through a rough time right after—” He broke off and glanced sideways at me. “He got mixed up with the wrong people for a while and messed up pretty bad, but he’s back on track now. I’m helping him get his GED so he can go to college.”

Uh-huh. More secrets added to my investigation list.

“That’s great,” I said. “Everybody deserves a second chance. Sometimes a third or fourth.”

He nodded. “He wants to surprise his mom by getting his GED. That’s why we study at the library instead of my house.”

“I knew you weren’t really creeping on me,” I said. “But why’d you pick a library in this neighborhood?”

“It’s close to Javi’s job. He works at a Cuban sandwich shop two streets over—the Medianoche Mezzanine. Food to die for, by the way.”

Cardboard Cuban cuisine. Yum-yum.

“Oh, yeah?” I said. “I’ve never had one of those whatayoucallem sandwiches before.” I’d also never had to drop hints to guys before.

“Medianoche,” he said. “It means midnight sandwich.”

“Are you supposed to sneak out at night to eat them?”

He laughed. “No, they’re a lighter fare than regular Cuban sandwiches. Easier to eat after a night of partying.”

“Sounds great,” I said. “Maybe you can take me to get one the next time I run into you at the library.” Forget hinting. Subtlety was overrated anyway. And we were almost to Karen and Brad’s house, so I was running out of time. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind my brazen hussy-ness.

“Javi takes his test this Saturday. You think you’ll be going back before then?”

Nuclear war couldn’t have kept me away, but I played it cool.

“Sure, I’ll have a couple of these read by Friday that I can swap for more.” He pulled into our driveway, and I managed not to whoop when he turned off the engine.

“Okay, it’s a date then.” He turned to look at me. “You think Annalee can go too?”

Really?
Really?
Talk about getting your bubble busted. My first impulse was to tell him Annalee was a vegetarian or an Orthodox Jew or she was allergic to Cuban food. I even opened my mouth to say one of them, but that’s not what came out.

“Yeah, she’d probably love the chance to get away and have some fun for a change.”

Wait, what? Damn friendship.

“You must’ve met her mom,” he said.

I nodded. “How do you know about her?”

He looked at his hands on the steering wheel. “I don’t really know anything but what I saw when I took Annalee home after a chess match once. Her mom was on her way out with some guy who looked like he’d just escaped from the drunk tank. Both of them were so wasted they could barely walk.”

“Yeah, her mom’s pretty messed up,” I said. “I don’t know if it’s because we’ve got crappy families in common or what, but Annalee talks to me. I’m working on getting her over that shyness stuff too.”

He turned sideways in the seat. “I’m glad she’s got you for a friend. You definitely don’t have a problem standing up to anybody, and she needs somebody on her side.”

“You mean like you’re on Javier’s side?”

He smiled again. “Guess we’ve got more in common than just Matt. Wonder what else there might be.”

“Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing.” I was glad it was too dark for him to see me blush like a sixth grader.

“Sorry for misjudging you at first,” he said. “I guess I’m too wary about people from getting burned in the past. You know, because of my family.”

“You make it sound like you’re in the mafia.” I arched an eyebrow at him. “Funny, you don’t look Italian.”

He laughed. “Sometimes it feels like a mafia family, but I meant because of our money.”

“Yeah, about that,” I said. “I didn’t know anything about your family until Matt said that stuff in the hall today, but it wouldn’t have made any difference to me if I had. Money doesn’t impress me.” I realized that probably sounded strange coming from a street kid, so I added, “Never had any and don’t expect to get any, so why waste my time thinking about it?”

“Smart girl,” he said. “I don’t care about it either.”

I ran my hand over the car’s dash. “Whatever you say, Mr. Corvette.”

He laughed again. “Okay, other than the car I don’t care about it. At least I didn’t get a Ferrari like my granddad wanted me to.”

Flashing back to the last time I was in a Ferrari, I couldn’t suppress a shudder.

“Yeah, I really hate those. Glad you stuck with something domestic.”

He picked up the copy of
The Great Gatsby
on my lap. “My family’s the reason I love this book so much. Fitzgerald does a great job of exposing the shallowness and pretense of the wealthy.”

Sounded like a trip down memory lane. I’d definitely be reading that one first.

“Okay, I’ll give it a shot,” I said. “So is money the reason Matt’s got such a problem with you?”

All trace of humor left his face. “No, it doesn’t have anything to do with why he hates me. But that’s a long story, and you probably need to get inside.”

I really wanted to know what the deal was with Matt, but he was right. “Yeah, guess I’d better go in before Karen and Brad think I ran away.”

“Hold on and I’ll carry your books for you.” He got out and came around to open my door and take the stack of books from my lap. We walked to the front door together, and Brad opened it as soon as we reached the porch.

“Thank God you’re all right, Gwen.” His face was a mixture of worry, anger and relief. “Karen said you told her you’d call when you got to your friend’s house.” His gaze shifted to Lew. “And we thought you went to the library with a
girl
friend.”

“Sorry I didn’t call,” I said. “Annalee’s phone wasn’t working. Lew saw me at the bus stop and gave me a ride home.”

Nathan and Karen appeared behind him in the foyer. “For goodness sake, Brad,” Karen said. “Let the boy come in and put those books down before he gets a hernia.”

“Oh, sorry.” Brad opened the door wider and motioned toward the foyer table. “You can put them over there.”

“You’re Lew Stanton, huh?” Nathan’s face glowed with hero worship. “I saw you beat that guy from Riverside last month with St. Andrew’s Cross. You really suckered him.”

Lew put the books on the table and turned to smile at Nathan. “Thanks. Gwen told me you play chess too. Maybe we can have a match sometime and I’ll show you an easy way to bait somebody.”

“Oh, man, that would be
awesome
.”

I put my arm around Nathan. “Okay, kid. I did my part and brought him here. You owe me a hundred bucks.”

“Huh?” Nathan looked confused.

“Inside joke.” Lew laughed and nudged me with his elbow. “Introduce me to your family, Gwen.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “This is Karen and Brad Sherman, my foster parents, and your number one fan here is Nathan. Lew is my chemistry partner.” Let’s see how
he
liked that description.

Brad held out his hand. “Your last name is Stanton? Any relation to the Stantons who own half of Florida?” He laughed as if there was no likelihood of that, and I cracked up.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Lew said, laughing a little himself. “But please don’t hold that against me.”

Brad looked as if he hoped one of Florida’s famous sinkholes would suddenly appear under his feet. “I, uh… didn’t mean any offense by that.” He shrugged helplessly under Karen’s glare. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” Lew said. “It was nice meeting all of you, but I’d better get home.” He started toward the door then turned to look at me. “I can bring you and Annalee home Friday night too.”

“Sounds great,” I said, then I remembered that I needed to ask permission. “Lew offered to take us to eat after we go to the library on Friday. Is that okay?”

“Oh, yes. Certainly.” Karen gave him a big smile. “Thank you so much for bringing Gwen home. Come back anytime.”

As soon as the front door closed behind him, everyone began talking at once.

“Brad, how could you have said such a thing about his family?” Karen demanded.

“I didn’t know who he was!” He gave me a scornful look. “Gwen, why didn’t you tell us he was a Stanton at dinner the other night?”

Nathan was pulling on my arm. “You think he’ll come in with you when he brings you home on Friday? Can I ask him to play chess with me then?”

Karen crossed her arms and gave me a smile. “You were right about how cute he is. I don’t know why I didn’t notice it before when I took the boys to the chess tournament.”

Brad put an arm across my shoulders and pulled me toward the living room. “Never mind that. Do you have any idea how rich his family is? I read in the paper the other day about a billion-dollar deal their company just made with a Brazilian firm.”

I stopped and pulled away from him. “I didn’t know anything about his family until today, and I don’t give a crap about their money. Please don’t bring it up when he’s here. I don’t want him to think that’s why I like him.”

“Don’t worry, Gwen.” Karen glared at Brad again. “He won’t say anything about money
or
business deals when Lew’s here. In fact, he’ll be lucky if I let him talk at all.”

Brad sighed. “Maybe I should submit a list of topics for approval.”

“Not a bad idea,” Karen said, linking her arm with his. “Get it to me by tomorrow night.”

I laughed and turned to Nathan. “I’m sure he won’t mind playing chess with you if he’s got time to come in when he brings me home Friday night.” Anything to keep him here longer was okay with me. “Oh, I need to ask you something else, Karen.”

“Sure, what?”

“Can my friend Annalee come home with me tomorrow and sleep over?”

“On a school night? Couldn’t you wait until Friday?”

For all my friendship loyalty to Annalee, I had no intention of sharing Lew with her after our “date” Friday night if I could help it. Lucky for me my super lying powers had returned.

“We’ve got a project due on Friday that we need to work on tomorrow night.”

“Oh, then I guess it’s okay,” Karen said. “Now let’s go eat before my chicken marsala is beyond rescue.”

I couldn’t enjoy the food, but I still ate with a dopey smile on my face the whole time while I thought about Friday night. When I got to my room, I logged in to the Transdead Trustee blog and got my journal caught up about everything that had happened over the past few days. I finished with a couple of reflective paragraphs.

I guess all this friends and family stuff doesn’t suck as much as I thought it would. (Stop gloating, Flo!) In fact, I probably wouldn’t have minded it when I was alive if I hadn’t been cursed with Vanessa Vanity and David-the-Drunk as parents. But if you expect me to end up thinking they weren’t so bad after seeing Annalee’s mom, you can forget it. The only difference between them and her is they had money.

And speaking of money, I don’t know if that’s why you made me fall for Lew or not, but I think it’s gonna backfire on you. We might feel the same way about money, but I can’t exactly talk to him about it, now can I?

Of course, I didn’t plan to let that stop me from getting to know him better. I was pretty sure I could find some other things we could talk about, but there was no sense giving Flo and her buddies more reason to gloat. I could just picture them hovering around one of the monitors in Afterlife Admissions, reading the blog like it was an episode of
The Dead and the Restless.
No way was I giving them anything juicy.