Page 120 of Releasing 10
“Did you not hear me, munchkin?”
Ignoring him completely, Lizzie picked up the dice for her turn, but her hand was shaking in a way that made me know she was stressed.
Beyond irritated by his presence, and angered further by that horrible fucking pet name, I climbed to my feet and stalked toward him. “Are you honestly this devoid of intellect?” I demanded, having had more than my regular quota of Mark Allen for one weekend. “If you’re too thick to take the hint, then let me spell it out for you. Liz doesn’t care about your girlfriend’s party. Not even a little bit, and neither do I. So why don’t you do all of us a favor and fuck right off.”
The asshole looked so taken aback that someone younger than him had the nerve to stand up to him that he was distracted when I made my next move.
Shoving at his chest as hard as I could, I felt a surge of satisfaction when he staggered backwards, giving me ample opportunity to close and lock the door.
“You cheeky, little shit,” he snarled from the other side of the door. “You’ll get yours, Biggs. Just you wait.”
“Looking forward to it,” I called back, rolling my eyes. “Dick brain.”
“That was epic!” Looking up at me with a wide-eyed expression, Liz beamed at me. “But aren’t you afraid of him retaliating?”
“No, because it’s all talk,” I replied, entirely unafraid of the bully I was quickly gaining on in the height department. Returning to her side, I snatched the dice up to roll my turn. “Bullies feed on fear.” Shrugging, I added, “And Mark can’t feed on me.”
“Why not?”
“Because Idon’tfear him.”
“You don’t?”
“No, Liz, and you shouldn’t either,” I replied. “Because I would kill him before Ieverlet him hurt you.”
“You would?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Why, though?”
I shrugged. “Because you’re my best friend, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect you.”
Her blue eyes softened when she whispered, “I love you so much, Hugh Biggs.” Reaching out, she covered my hand with hers and smiled. “I wish you could stay with me forever.”
BIRTHDAY WISHES AND HAND KISSES
Hugh
JUNE 9, 1998
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMILADY, happy birthday to you.” Crooning like a defective crow, I wandered through the tall grass in the Young family’s meadow after school on Tuesday, armed with birthday presents, a picnic blanket, and a cake in the shape of the number ten.
Releasing a hearty laugh, Lizzie jumped off one of the wooden swings attached to a tree and ran toward me. “Why thank you, brave knight.” When she reached me, she stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “My hero.”
As usual, she was rocking dungarees, but these ones stopped at the knee. Another staple item she wore was a flannel shirt and today was no different. She had the plaid fabric tied around her waist. Her grass-stained knees complemented her unbrushed, grass-specked hair, and the mud smeared across her cheek.
“Thanks for coming over,” she said, dragging me from my thoughts.
“Always, Liz.”
Grinning, she playfully tipped her imaginary hat at me before adopting a southern drawl to say, “Looks like you’re not the only ten-year-old in town, cowboy.”
“Now, slow down there, Miss Dolly,” I replied, feigning a southern drawl of my own. “I’ll be your elder again in four full moons.”
“You’re so weird,” she snickered, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Thank you for my cake.” A laugh escaped her when she eyed the bite-sized chunk taken out of the number one. “Gibsie?”
“Do you even need to ask?” Handing Liz the cake Sadhbh had baked her, I laid the picnic blanket out on the grass and sank down on it. “You’re lucky I caught him in the act, or you’d be celebrating with a zero instead of ten.”
