Luke slid his arm around the back of my chair and nodded toward Kai. "You two know each other?"
"Kind of." There was no need to turn and see the contempt on Kai's face.
Luke's eyes narrowed. "He's into you."
"No." I shook my head even as shivers ran...
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"Happy birthday, Bailey!" My parents burst into my bedroom singing 'happy birthday' on Wednesday morning. Mom held a single serving of crème brûlée with a lit candle stuck in the middle of it. I sat up and pushed my hair out of my face.
The favorite dessert in bed on the birthday. A family tradition. Something I'd loved as a kid, but my stomach wasn't as into it as it used to be.
"Make a wish," Mom said as she kissed my forehead and handed the dish to me.
I stared into the flame, and wished with all my might that Kai would come back before his parole officer knew he was missing. If he was missing. Maybe he was just staying on the reservation. But why? To stay away from me?
Dad sat on the bed. "So, seventeen, huh? How did that happen?"
I shrugged and dipped the spoon into the crème brulee. I tried to smile and act cheerful, like they wanted me to, but my heart was so heavy.
"Okay you two," Mom said as she headed to the doorway. "Eggs will be ready in ten minutes."
When Dad was sure Mom was downstairs, he lowered his voice. "We got the autopsy and blood results back." Pride spread over his face. "They match exactly with your vision."
"Really?" I waited for relief to flood in, but there was something he wasn't telling me.
"Emma didn't give Mrs. Red Cloud a deadly hit. She had an aneurism ready to burst." Dad sighed. "She wasn't a well woman, which is why she acted so crazy."
"What do you mean?"
"There were antidepressant drugs in her system, but it's possible she was misdiagnosed, or given the wrong medication, which could have caused the severe violent episode."
"How awful. I mean everything. But does that mean Emma's free?"
"We still need to keep her guarded," Dad said. "For her protection."
There it was. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. "The tribe doesn't buy it."
"Nope."
Maybe that was why Kai stayed away. The tribe didn't believe my vision, and neither did he. Or even if he maybe, remotely believed me, it wouldn't look good for him to hang out with the lying white girl. Now I was more of an outsider to my beloved tribe than even my own skin color could achieve.
Dad rubbed my shoulder. "You're not the type to be this down because a few people doubt you. I haven't seen Luke in a while." He tilted his head. "Does someone have a broken heart?"
"Not going there, Dad." My heart ached for Kai and was broken for Luke. Things I wasn't going to discuss with my dad.
We went down to breakfast, and as I pushed eggs, toast and fruit around on my plate, I wondered if Dad knew what was going on with Kai.
