Page 32 of You'll Never Know
“Sit down, Reed,” his dad said.
Reed never felt smaller than at that moment, and never more scared. He sat with his cheeks flaming.
“Why do you suppose you’re here, Mr. Aldridge?” Principal Sparks asked.
Reed knewexactlywhy he was here. But he didn’t answer. He only shrugged and played it off like he had no clue. Maybe if he ignored this, it would go away.
It didn’t work. His dad gave his shoulder a painful squeeze.Go on. Speak.
“The science test?” he said.
“Yes,” Principal Sparks replied. “The science test. And what, exactly, about the science test got you sent down here?”
Reed squirmed in his seat.
Ten minutes later, Reed left Principal Sparks’ office with a three-day suspension. His dad didn’t say anything as they walked outside, never looked at Reed once. When they reached their car—an old Buick sedan with an engine that burped—Reed’s father shoved him in so hard, his head nearly slapped the dash. Then they drove in silence.
Reed kept his eyes on the road. He didn’t dare look at his dad. He didn’t need to. He knew what the man was thinking. He’d have to take time off from work to watch Reed or pay someone to do it. And he’d make sure Reed knew just how inconvenient that was with a few swings of his belt. So, Reed sat there, sweating in the unconditioned air until his father pulled into a parking lot.
“Who did you tell about the answers?” his dad asked, turning his way.
“Only a couple of kids,” Reed lied.
His father’s eyes hardened to steel-gray orbs. “Did you tell any girls?”
“No,” Reed lied again. He’d told Amy Richardson because she gave him Hot Tamales sometimes, and Reed was pretty sure she’d told Laura Freeling and Tara Smith. They smiled at him more after that. They gave him candy, too.
“The truth, Reed.”
“A few,” he mumbled, hanging his head.
“Even one is too many,” his dad replied.
Reed frowned. “I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told anyone.”
“Not anyone. I’m talking about the girls. You shouldn’t have told them.” The corner of his father’s mouth twitched downward ongirls,and for a second, Reed was certain he was about to reach over the console and smack him. “Who is Ashley Parker?”
Ashley Parker was the prettiest girl in school. And the most popular. She hadn’t even asked for the answers, but Reed had shared them with her anyway. She didn’t seem impressed though, had simply shrugged her shoulders and skipped off.
Reed rubbed his jeans. “She’s a friend.”
“A friend, huh? She’s the one who sold you out. Women will betray you, Reed. You can’t trust them.”
Reed wasn’t sure how his dad knew this or why they were sitting here in the half-empty mall parking lot instead of going home. But as long as his dad wasn’t yelling at him, it was fine by Reed.
“You remember what your mother did to us, right?”
Reed nodded. He still thought about that day, still wondered most nights how his mom had been able to walk right past him without giving him a hug or saying goodbye. He hated her for that. So much. But he also missed her sometimes. Not that he should. She was long gone, and Reed knew she’d never come back.
After she’d left, he’d waited at the window every night for months, watching for her car. He wanted to run outside and leap into her arms and tell her how much he’d missed her, even if she didn’t say it back. Which she wouldn’t. Reed had long ago realized you don’t walk away from something you love. The only thing you walk away from is trash. And that’s exactly what Reed was to his mom. Trash.
His dad gazed at him. “I think it’s time we have us a man to man, Reed. I think you’re ready for that. How about you?”
Reed straightened in his seat, paying attention now. They’d never had a man to man before. This sounded serious. “Okay.”
“Your mother didn’t just leave us,” his dad said. “She stole from us. She took everything we had.”
Reed rubbed the back of his head. He thought he knew a lot about his mother, but he didn’t know this. “How?”
