“Yeah?” he asks, his eyes darting from my face to the booty in my arms. He does a double take at the gaming relic in my hands. “Whoa, is that a PlayStation 2?”
The room we broke into way back when was a kid’s room. But not this kid’s room. He would have been in nursery school. The room we’d robbed had been covered with Nickelback posters and smelled like jiz.
Adrenaline and euphoria make you remember shit like that.
I clear my throat. “It’s a 3,” I say, answering his question. “Hey, uh, do you have an older brother?”
The kid frowns. “Zack? He doesn’t live here anymore,” he says. “You know him?”
I consider just pushing the stuff into his arms and taking off, but I don’t think that would make Evie very proud.
I scan the hallway behind the kid, but no one else is in sight. I make up my mind.
“Look, uh, I don’t know your brother, but a long time ago, I did some pretty stupid shit—” His eyes widen. “I-I mean stuff, and one of them was breaking into your house.”
The kid takes a step back, his lips going white.
I shake my head. “I don’t mean to scare you.” I shrug my shoulders to indicate what I carry. “I just want to return this.”
The kid blinks at me. “I-I’m not letting you in.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head again. “I don’t want to come in.” Awkwardly, I lower the TV to the ground before handing him the gaming device and remote.
He eyes the bundle with interest. “I think there’s still some games for this in Zack’s old room,” he says almost to himself.
I take a step back, ready to get the hell out of there. “Great. Tell your brother — tell Zack I’m sorry.”
The kid doesn’t look up. “I wonder if the batteries still work.” I turn toward the car and hear a plasticclick. “Hey, what’s this?”
I keep walking. It’s done. He’ll tell his brother. He’ll tell his parents. End of story.
“Who’s Victoria?”
I halt. Turn around.“What?”The word comes out a croak.
Something gold glints from his fingers. “Is that your girlfriend?”
I can’t blame the kid for nearly bolting when I charge back up the porch like a bull. I only just stop myself from grabbing his wrist. But instead, I throw my hands up like someone’s pointed a gun in my face.
“Please… Could you j-just please show that to me?” I ask, my voice shaking. My whole body is shaking.
The kid looks at me like I’m Pennywise the Clown, and without taking his eyes off me, he stretches out his hand. Pooled in his palm is a gold chain and a locket in the shape of a heart bearing a name.
Victoria.
It takes a good five seconds before I can fill my lungs and another three before my voice works. “Could I… Could I please have that back?”
The kid stares at me for a minute, confused disgust shaping his brow. “Man, you arewack.”
But he drops the locket in my hand, and without another word, he steps back inside and slams the door in my face. The TV is still at my feet.
I don’t care. I sprint back to the car, but I’m pretty sure my feet don’t touch the ground.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
EVIE
The knock at the door makes my stomach drop. It’s him. I know it’s him.