Page 52 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
Phoenix lifted an eyebrow, and I tried to remember to breathe. The youngest Lent brother spoke again, his voice rough. “Why? Why have you been following us? I don’t like strangers, so talk faster.” I couldn’t help but remember Jeremy said the same thing. He continued, glancing at me. “And I like ones who hit women even less.”
He waved his arms again. “It was an accident. I’m just following her, and I got too close. You just happened to be around.”
Phoenix shouted in his face, not seeming any calmer. “You’re not helping yourself out here.”
People were staring, some stopping to pull out cell phones but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Were they taking pictures or calling for help? What would happen then?
“I’m a private investigator. Her family wants pictures of her, that’s it. They want to see what she’s doing, so they’ve been paying me to follow her.”
Phoenix moved his skateboard. “Don’t move. I mean not a fucking inch.” He grabbed his phone, pressed a button and held it to his ear.
“Dad?” he said quickly. “Yeah. No. I’m here with a friend of mine. Some PI asshole has been following her around, says her family hired him. He just hit her, and is that legal? She’s sixteen, so a minor orphan living with Tricia Samuels. Yes,thosepeople. But she’s nice and it’s … a long story.” He listened for a few seconds then nodded. “Could you please tell him what you just told me?”
Phoenix hit another button, setting the phone to video chat. “This is my father, Kit Lent, but you’ve probably heard of him. Yes,thatKit Lent. He would like to talk to you.”
He swiveled the phone so their father, the apparently well-known Kit Lent, appeared on the screen. As the two men considered one another across the connection, I wondered who in my family would have me followed. More importantly, why? It didn’t make sense.
“Listen up, there are rules about tailing minors. You’re prohibited from engaging in activities that could be considered harassment or stalking, for instance, such as excessive following intended to distress or intimidate the subject. From my son’s description, you hit her. Unless you want this girl to file every available charge against you, you’ll end your position immediately and never follow her again. Do I make myself abundantly clear?”
The man nodded, sweat dripping down his face as he practically quaked in terror. “Yes, sir.”
Kit raised a brow, reminding me of his sons. “I don’t need to quote the criminal code, do I?”
He shook his head quickly. “I’m very familiar.”
“Good. Get away from my kid. Now.”
The PI, still sweating, scrambled to his feet then ran from us in stumbling leaps. We didn’t chase him, and I touched my cheek again. It burned as the thump of the city pulsed around me in time with the pulse of pain. I glanced around and realized how near we were to the Park, only one street away.My family is having me followed.My thoughts kept circling back to it, wondering why again. My aunt insisted I go out and do things, or I wouldn’t even be out of the apartment in the first place. Did she want that man to find me? What could he have caught me doing that she would even want to know about? It made no sense, I thought again.
Phoenix pointed out the obvious, saying, “Sounds like your family is a little fucked up.”
I scowled at him. “More than a little.”
“Phoenix,” Kit said, drawing my attention back to him after I forgot he was with us via video. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t want you involved. You helped your friend, now get out of there. I want all four of you back heretonight. I mean it, tonight.” Finally, he looked at me. “I’m sorry about whatever is happening to you. I’m even more sorry we can’t help.”
He shook his head and disconnected.
I tried to ignore the ice skating down my spine, but I didn’t want them to leave. It made sense, though, especially when I saw it from their parents’ perspective. I was a problem, but not one their father had to deal with, since he had enough on his plate with Phoenix. I took a deep breath, ignoring the way it trembled out when I exhaled. I couldn’t blame their dad, much as I wanted to pretend he was the bad guy. The truth was, I didn’t want to deal with my own problems—so how could I fault someone else for walking away from theirs? More than anything, I just didn’t want to beanyoneelse’s burden.
Until I turned eighteen, though, I couldn’t think of another choice.
15
The city continued to thump around us as my face throbbed, but neither Phoenix nor I said a word for a few long moments. Maybe, like me, he was just feeling particularly hopeless and couldn’t be bothered to pretend?
Finally, though, he cleared his throat. “So far, I haven’t seen you drink or do any drugs. Despite the fact you could be prostituting yourself, I find it extremely unlikely. I’ve spent a lot of time with prostitutes, and to be honest, you don’t have what it takes. You haven’t stolen anything or committed any noticeable crimes that I’ve seen. Why on Earth would they be trailing you?”
“I don’t know.” My voice sounded small, even to my own ears. I couldn’t muster up the strength to pretend in that moment, though, so I admitted, “I’m just their poor relation, so I honestly don’t know why anyone would waste the money. They haven’t made any secret of their plans to send me to boarding school as soon as possible, and they guilt trip me over every bite I eat, so them spending money on a tail? I … I just don’t know. I can’t make it make sense.”
My head throbbed again, more insistent, so I placed my cool palm against it. I didn’t want to cry any more in front of Phoenix,not even from pain. He wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to trust with my weaknesses, despite them being bared to him regularly. He winced as he looked at me.
“Your poor face. You’re going to be black and blue. Stay here a second. Here, hold my board.” He didn’t wait for me to reply before he passed me his skateboard, one of the wheels still spinning.
The green crossing symbol had appeared on Fifth Avenue, so Phoenix rushed across the street. I sighed. Despite following him without hesitation to catch the PI, I wasn’t sure if I could keep up with him normally, since he was all over the place. I didn’t want anything more than to go home and ice my face, yet I would be forced to stand on the sidewalk holding a skateboard for who knew how long?
A few seconds passed, and a woman on her cell phone almost collided into me. I sighed, shifting the board to my other hand. I couldn’t just stand in the middle of the sidewalk, I would need to get out of the way. I backed up a little bit, toward the nearest building rather than the road. I forced myself to breathe, trying to remember the calming videos I looked up online one night for giggles. If I lost my self-control and cried, I would never get my shit figured out, and I was tired of being in the dark. Maybe the tail had to do with what happened in Chicago? Were they worried I might … what?Seduce my uncle?The only other possibility was that they might want to see if I told anyone about what happened, but I wasn’t even sure what difference that would make.
Just then Phoenix appeared across the street coming toward me, and I exhaled in relief. After the light turned, he jogged back to me, his hands filled.What is he holding?
