Free as a Jailbird

Chapter 23

I ask Shane to drop me off at Nick's place for the party. I am running seriously low on cash after the drop failing a few days ago and he has a day off work. He acts pretty smug about dropping me off at my 'boyfriend's house. I think it makes him feel sort of like a father. Maybe he's more ready for a child than he thinks.

"Look after yourself, Jessie," he says as he pulls up in front of the house and butterflies take flight in my stomach. "These cops, they're lethal."

"Haven't you noticed?" I smile as I step out of the car. "I'm a sucker for those types."

Shane drives off chuckling, his indie music blaring.

I turn to face a simple, two-story suburban house with a willow tree in the front yard and two cars in the driveway. There's a brick mailbox on the right and a fake flamingo amidst the bushes. As I follow the tiny gravel path to the door I feel suddenly out of place, as if I don't deserve to be in such a nice neighborhood. As if my scars and bruises will make me stand out like a sore thumb.

But Nick lives here. I am invited. I am a guest. And I will grit my teeth, bear their scowls and push through it.

Hitching my bag higher on my shoulder, I knock and watch an ant climb the frame until there are footsteps and a woman opens the door to me.

"You must be Jess!" she beams, her bright blue eyes lighting up like the Christmas. She has short, straggly brown hair and very hollow bones, reminding me of an anorexic girl I met in a homeless shelter once. And though she appears kind and welcoming just like those girls, there is a darkness around her too.

"Hi Mrs. Bronson," I mumble. "I hope I'm not too late."

"Please, call me Maria," she smiles and gestures down a small corridor. "And don't worry, the girls have been occupied otherwise."

I follow Maria into the house painted a soft mint green. Photo frames hang all through the corridor until I come to a wide room with a kitchen on my right and a living room on my left. The pastel-colored furniture and dark red floors are nothing special, but the house is clean and welcoming and decorated with everything pink for the birthday party.

A hand rests on my arm just above the cut from Sage's knife and I flinch away, pivoting to see Nick.

"Hey, sorry." His smile vanishes and turns into a frown the moment he sees the wounds on my skin. "Jess, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, nothing. How's the party going?"

Nick pauses, clearly wanting to argue more, but then his eyes flicker to the backyard behind me and I turn to see a group of girls sitting around a table dressed in beautiful princess gowns, drinking pretend tea and eating cupcakes. A grin spreads across my lips as I watch them, laughing and playing together without a care in the world. Sheltered and loved. It reminds me of my childhood, when I played games with my neighbors and the girls from my school. I had no idea what I'd turn into when I grew up.

"I was about to take out some grilled cheese for the girls, would you like to help me?" Maria asks from the kitchen.

"Sure," I say and catch a wink from Nick on my way out the door. I want to ask which one his sister is, but as we step outside into a small grassed area with a wooden house in the corner, I find I don't need to. His sister looks exactly like her mother. She sits at the head of the table of six girls, a big flashing 'birthday girl' badge on her chest.