Page 13 of You’re Mine

I lift my hand to knock on the dilapidated wooden door. The wood is splintering around the edges and the paint’s peeling off. The whole house looks like it could use a total renovation, but it’s not my place to say. I shift my weight nervously from foot to foot, my heart beating like a drum in my chest.

Where are they? The sunlight bakes the hard concrete of the road outside, and I turn, squinting at the gleaming asphalt. Am I in the right place? The house number painted on the sidewalk was faded with age, so maybe I got the location wrong. But no, this is it. Number 385.

I turn back and knock again, this time with a bit more force before turning back to stare at the street. There are no trees in this neighborhood, and the yard is nothing more than a small patch of weeds surrounded by a chain link fence. In the distance, a dog barks forlornly, and then stops, the heat baking the sidewalks.

Finally, a shuffling sound reaches my ears, and the door cracks opens to reveal Kelley. She looks worse for the wear. Even though she’s only a few years older than me and Jace, the woman already looks thirty-five. Her eyes are smudged with mascara, and there are faint wrinkles bracketing her eyes and mouth. She’s wearing a hot pink Juicy Couture track outfit that molds her curves like a second skin, complete with a glittery diamante heart on the back left pocket, emphasizing her curvaceous ass.

“Hey,” she yawns, raising her arms over her head and stretching. “How can I help you? You woke me up from my nap,” she says in an accusing voice.

I clear my throat awkwardly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I apologize in a tentative voice. “I’m Haley? I don’t know if Jace has ever mentioned me, but –“

“Yeah, I know, I know,” Kelley drawls lazily, her eyes looking at me and then shifting to the sidewalk, as if seeing if there’s someone else there. “You’re my brother’s girlfriend right?”

Happiness suffuses my form.

“Yes, Jace and I dating,” I say in a quiet tone. “We’ve been going out for a while now. Almost a year.”

Kelley yawns again.

“Well, you tell him that the electric bill is here and that if he doesn’t pay it this week, then Corinna’s going to be pissed. They made a deal that Jace was going to take care of electric and utilities, and me and Corinna were going to contribute food and rent. It’s only fair,” she adds, looking bored again. “Everyone has to pitch in.”

I try to look calm and unperturbed.

“Well actually, I wanted to see if you knew where he was,” I say. “I haven’t seen him around recently, and I was wondering if maybe you had an idea?”

Kelly shoots at me a skeptical look.

“How would I know? You’re his girlfriend.”

I nod.

“Yes, but you’re his sister, and he lives here, doesn’t he?” I ask in a rushed voice, trying not to show my nervousness. “I mean, I’ve had to take some time off from school because I’ve been sick, and my dad’s been really strict, and I haven’t been able to have visitors and whatnot, so I was wondering if you know where he is?”

The blonde girl shoots me a suspicious look, cocking one hip out.

“What’d you say your name was again?”

“Haley,” I reply quickly. “Your brother and I have been dating a year.”

She eyes me again, licking her lips until they glow a glossy pink.

“Well, I don’t see that I have to tell you nuthin’,” she drawls. “If you don’t know where my brother is, then I’d say that Jace doesn’t want you to know where he is.”

I nod, trying to look amenable.

“That’s true, but like I said, I’ve been sick and I’m just trying to get a hold of him. Even if he’s not here, maybe a number, or an email address? I have all his old contact info, but it seems that he changed it all. If you could just put me in touch, or even tell him that I came by, I’d be so grateful.”

Kelley yawns again and is just about to say something when suddenly, a woman’s voice rings out from the dark.

“Who is that?” comes a croaky sound. “You got visitors, Kels?”

The blonde girl turns away for a moment, her extensions trailing like a ratty waterfall.

“Just some girl looking for Jace,” she calls. “Same as usual.”

I’m stumped. What? Are there other girls that have stopped by his home? How can that be? We were exclusive, and there’s no way Jace could have been dating other women.

But the door creaks open a little more, and this time Corinna peers out at me. Like her daughter, she’s got mascara caked in rings around her eyes, making her look like a raccoon. Not just that, but her skin is the tone of burnt sienna, and there are wrinkles that make me think she’s never heard of the word “sunblock.” Corinna too is wearing a Juicy Couture track suit, this one in purple velour that clings to her assets.

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