Page 88 of Even in the Dark

“Huh.” Her leg goes back to swinging.

“I don’t steal stuff anymore—since I moved here. Just… before. It’s kind of what you did if you wanted anything. Eli never held down a job too long, and wouldn’t let me get one, so…” My voice trails off. Not sure why I’m telling her this stuff.

She watches me for a moment and I don't look away. Push through the shame. Then she tilts her head back again. “What’s the favorite thing you’ve ever owned?”

Easy. “Those comics.”

Her laugh bubbles up, like it's something that used to come easily to her. “Okay, that was an easy one.”

It was.

“You?” I ask, expecting her to say some fancy pair of shoes or a purse or something, but she doesn’t.

“This Rainbow Dash snap bracelet my friend Jackie got for me in fifth grade… I was obsessed with My Little Pony, and they came out with these ‘mystery’ My Little Pony snap bracelets where you didn’t know which one you got until you opened the package. And I wanted Rainbow Dash so badly." Another exhaled laugh. "I bought three of them, but none of them were Rainbow Dash—she was the most rare one. Then for my birthday, Jackie used all her Christmas money and bought a bunch of them. She opened them all until she found Rainbow Dash, then wrapped it up for me.” Scarlett smiles at the memory.“It was the same year Jackie moved to Sandy Haven. We’d only known each other for a few months.”

“You still friends?”

The smile disappears. “Not really… We’re not enemies or anything. Just… things change, I guess. I kind of abandoned our friendship. It was shitty.” She sighs. “I still have the bracelet, though.”

I nudge her boot. “Never seen you wear it.”

She chuckles. “It’s more of a special occasion accessory.”

“Bet it’s badass.”

“It’s really not.”

“Still, think you should wear it sometime.”

She tilts her head and her eyes get this…look.Not sure what it is, but she leans in closer, bringing her left leg back up onto the low ledge of the giant letter we’re perched in. “Tell you what—I’ll wear my Rainbow Dash snap bracelet to school tomorrow,” she says in this low, conspiring voice. “If you tell me why you did those ads.”

I scoff. Mirror her tilted head. “Fuck off.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

She laughs. “Okay. Well, the offer’s ongoing. So anytime you feel like sharing, I’ll pull out Rainbow Dash and have her ready to snap on my wrist at a moment's notice.”

“Don’t believe you even still have it.”

“She's in my jewelry box. Swear on my sister’s life.”

My phone buzzes then with a message at the same time as Scarlett’s. A text from Phil.

Phil

Intermission finishing in 5 mins. You coming for the 2nd act?

“It’s sweet how he checks in,” Scarlett says at the same time as I say, “Fuck's sakes.”

“Okay, yeah.” She laughs. “It must be annoying as hell… But he just loves you so freakin’ much.”

Not sure what to say. Not even sure if she’s right. Seems weird… the idea of someone loving me. A guy who barely knows me. And I’m aware a lot of dads love their sons, but that’s when they’ve known them their whole lives. And like the kind of person their kid is.

Scarlett asks if I’m going back.

“Not a chance,” I say, and she laughs again.

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