Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
At least that’s what I’m hoping she’ll think.
Rouge is smart. Smarter than I am. I’ll be the first to admit it.
But she underestimates my intelligence. She couldn’t possibly think I’d uncover her deepest, darkest secret.
God willing that’s the case.
I look at my watch.
Thirty minutes until closing.
One more set and I’m home free.
4
HARRISON
“Every time Harry doesn’t come home from school, the first place I check is the ravine behind our neighborhood.”
My mom’s said that countless times. And it’s true.
This is my place to hang out by myself. It’s a half mile or so away from my parents’ trailer park. The school bus drops me off nearby, and I’ll usually hang out here for an hour or two before finally going home.
There’s not a whole lot there waiting for me after school lets out anyway. Mom and Dad both work at least until five, sometimes later if they need overtime. My older brothers Harold, Harrow, Harvey, and Harker usually hang with their own friends. My one younger sibling, Harlan, thinks he’s my best friend and will glom onto me the second I get home. He’s two years younger than I am, just started first grade. He’s having a hard time adjusting and I’m like a security blanket to him.
My time in the ravine is the only time I have to myself. The only time I’m not in school or packed with my family like a bunch of sardines in our tiny mobile home.
Sometimes I’ll catch bugs while I’m down here—one time I got a praying mantis—and sometimes I’ll throw rocks into the little creek. Sometimes I can make one skip across the water. Harold is really good at it, but he’s good at most things.
But mostly what I just do here is think. I think about a lot of things. What I want to be when I grow up. What kind of girl I’m going to marry. What kind of house I’d like to build.
One thing is for sure. I’m going to get out of this part of Des Plaines. I want to live in downtown Chicago. Maybe I’ll be a doctor at a big hospital or something.
I get off the bus and head down to the ravine. But today, for the first time, another boy is there. He looks about my age, and he’s dressed in a fancy striped sweater with a white dress-shirt collar sticking out. Pressed khaki pants and fancy-looking brown shoes—the kind Dad saves for special occasions, like Nana O’Rourke’s funeral.
This kid’s going to mess up his fancy shoes. It can get muddy in the ravine.
I approach him. “Be careful. Those clothes look expensive.”
He looks up at me. His eyes and hair are both dark. He looks a lot like me, come to think of it, except cleaner. More put together.
He rolls his eyes. “I don’t care if I mess up my clothes. I don’t care about anything.”
“You don’t? Not even your mom and dad?”
He huffs. “Especially not them. My dad only cares about one thing. His job. And Mom just cares about her ladies’ clubs and stuff.” He kicks at a nearby pebble. “They don’t care about me at all.”
“That can’t be true.” I take a few steps toward him. “Moms and dads care a lot about their kids. Maybe they’re just super busy with life.”
My mom and dad aren’t perfect, but they do love all six of their children with their whole hearts. They give us everything they can. It’s just not a lot.
The boy shakes his head. “My parents could care. They just choose not to.” He sits on the edge of the ravine, stares into the rushing water. We had a big rainstorm last night, so it’s flowing faster than usual.
I sit down next to him. “Well, that sucks. I’m sorry about that.” I extend a hand. “My name is Harrison. Harry for short. What’s yours?”
He looks me up and down and gives me a small smile. “Maddox.”
“Nice to meet you, Maddox.”
He looks around. “Do you live around here?”
“Yep. My family and I live in the trailer park just a few blocks from here.”
“A trailer park?” He wrinkles his forehead. “I’m sorry.”
I cock my head. “What’s there to be sorry about?”
He swallows, blinks a few times. “Sorry. I mean… I’m sorry that I said I was sorry.”
I chuckle. “You’re not from this area, are you?”
He bites his lip. “Not exactly. My family’s driver picked me up from school on the way to the airport. He’s picking up Dad from a business trip. I… I pretended I was going to be sick, made him pull over as he was getting off the highway. And then I just…ran.”
I drop my jaw. “You ran away?”
He smirks. “I guess so.”
“Where are you going to live?”
He shrugs. “I’ll figure it out.”
I decide to change the subject. “What do you like to do for fun?”