Page 32 of Steel & Jenna
Jack shook his head. “I keep the window in our bedroom unlocked for an easy escape. I should be able to get in and out without him knowing we’re here.”
“And if he does?”
Jack’s stomach sank, his breakfast a log in his gut. “Fifteen minutes,” he pleaded without answering Mr. Zarin’s question. “If he doesn’t see you then he won’t know where we are.”
Though Mr. Zarin didn’t look happy about it, he nodded. “Ten,” he countered. “Then I’m coming in whether your dad’s aware of you or not.”
Jack believed him. He got out of the truck and moved around the side of the trailer as quickly as he could. He didn’t need to grab much because they didn’t have much. He needed to get everything they kept behind the loose board, including the books Jenna had given Lilly and his stash of money. No way he was risking leaving that behind. Their cardboard box of clothing should fit everything. Anything else could easily be replaced. It wasn’t like he had pictures or knickknacks that he wanted to take with them.
As he told Mr. Zarin in the diner, he was fairly certain he knew what his decision was going to be. The offer was too good to be true. And even if it took some time before he trusted the Zarins fully, they were a safer bet than remaining in this trailer with his father.
Jack’s hesitation had nothing to do with Lilly and everything to do with him. He was almost sixteen, just over two years away from being legal. He’d been on his own for so long that he wasn’t sure how he would handle having an authority figure over him.
Jack slid the window of his bedroom up. It was nearly frozen, butthankfully the thin sheen of ice over the hinges broke with some pressure.
He should keep his jobs. Or maybe look for a different, better paying one. He didn’t want to be a freeloader. Even if the Zarins didn’t ask for rent, he needed to give back to them somehow. If Lilly was able to be looked after by Mr. and Mrs. Zarin, Jack could find a different job. No more four in the morning paper runs.
He could take Jenna on aproperdate.
Slipping inside his and Lilly’s room, he navigated the dark space carefully. All the while keeping an ear out for his old man.
How much time did he have left? When was Mr. Zarin going to come barging inside?
Jack worked as quickly and quietly as he could. Would his dad even notice they were missing? Would he even care? As much as Jack didn’t want him to, a part of him also did. How twisted was that?
A noise outside his room made him pause. His heart hammered like a thief caught in the night. Was his dad awake? Moving around? He needed to hurry.
No matter his decision, he needed to talk to Jenna. The library opened in a half hour, which meant she was probably getting ready to meet him and Lilly.
As Jack packed up the cardboard box, he wondered what it would be like to be packing up for a different reason. Maybe going to college or getting his own apartment. Even on a less permanent basis like going to a relative’s or on vacation.
If Jack was lucky enough to ever have kids, he knew down to the marrow of his bones he’d spoil them. In that, he understood Mr. Zarin.
At the last minute, he caught sight of the lion Jenna had given Lilly with her books. Since they’d gone straight to the Zarins’ after school the day before, both their book bags were already at the house. With the cardboard box under his arm and his hand around the stuffed lion, Jack climbed back out the window without a backward glance.
Christ, was it wrong of him to hope he never saw his bedroom again?
Mr. Zarin didn’t commentabout the cardboard box. Nor did he ask Jack if he had more to go back and get if they chose to stay.
As they headed towards the heart of town, Jack asked, “Do you mind dropping me off at the library? Jenna usually meets us there on Saturday mornings.”
“Do you want to go back and pick up Lilly first?”
Jack hesitated. After he dropped Jack off at the library, he would most likely be heading back to his house. Jack wanted to be alone with Jenna, to talk with her and to simplybe, but did he trust the Zarins enough to leave Lilly alone with them? He was deeply considering moving his sister and himself into their house. If he didn’t trust them, then obviously he shouldn’t be. But it still went against the grain to leave Lilly behind.
But it wasn’t like he was leaving her on the side of the road somewhere. He wouldn’t be gone long. A few hours at most.
“Do you mind if she stays with you for a bit?” he asked, needing to get a feel for what Mr. Zarin expected of them. After all, he couldn’t just drop sole responsibility of Lilly onto the couple, even if that was their end intention.
“Not at all,” Mr. Zarin replied sincerely. “We’re probably headed to the grocery store at some point. Do you want anything specific for the week?”
He said it so casually, like he wasn’t offering to feed two additional mouths. Jack shook his head, not wanting to push his luck. “Lilly likes pizza. Can you get her fresh veggies? She hasn’t had fresh veggies in a long time. Well, except last night. Milk too. She hates the powdered stuff but that’s usually all I can afford.”
Mr. Zarin took the road towards the library. “Lilly will come with us, so she can pick out what she wants. I’m askingyou, Jack, if there’s anything specific you want.”
Jack was quiet as Mr. Zarin pulled over on the side of the road in front of the library. “No, I’m good. I—” he paused. “I’ll eat anything.”
Because he knew what it was like to feel hungry and any food was better than no food.
