Hoax (25 page)

My first night at Remy’s I had stared at that picture. Me, the misfit of the group with my wild hair, chubby cheeks, smattering of freckles and a mouthful of metal. Olivia was the tallest with golden blond hair and sapphire eyes. She was serious and smart and undoubtedly the pretty one, even at eleven. Hailey was the quirky one. She was always so cute in her own goofy way. Her hair was a whiter blond than Olivia’s and her eyes a much lighter blue. She had been silly and fun, always the one to make us laugh. Like me, she was shorter than most of the other girls in our grade.

I hadn’t called them since moving back. I had meant to but the last few weeks had just slipped away, as time often does. These girls were strangers to me now. I didn’t know how to talk to them. I was unsure of what to say. The school year would be starting next week. I didn’t feel like answering anyone’s questions any sooner than I had to. Besides, despite the hurried and unexpected move back to the town I’d spent my first eleven years in, I was enjoying my time alone with Remy. It was peaceful and relaxing to not have to look out for anyone but myself for a change.

My headache was subsiding so I decided to get started on dinner. As far as I was concerned, Remy’s eating was all messed up. She’d eat left over enchiladas when she got home around seven thirty in the morning but was hungry for breakfast when she got up around my dinner time, a side-effect of having no seniority and being stuck on the nightshift at the hospital.

I pulled out a loaf of French bread and the other ingredients needed to prepare some blueberry stuffed French toast.

Remy had come to get me at a moment’s notice, signing the papers to be my legal guardian as soon as they were written up. Best of all, she seemed genuinely happy to have me living with her. But I still felt I owed her a lot and I was more than willing to do my share to help her out. She was only twenty-four and taking in her teenage sister had to be a burden, even if she would never admit it. At the very least, I was wrinkling up her neatly ordered life a bit.

She was trying to take her new role as my guardian seriously. She hadn’t had her boyfriend, Jeff, spend the night once since my arrival. Granted, she worked the nightshift five nights a week but that still left some nights free. I was pretty sure this was a new development because while putting away her laundry I discovered he had his own dresser drawer. Yet, I’d only ever met him over a handful of dinners. I was hoping that would change soon, for her sake. I didn’t want to cause problems or change her life too drastically. I was happy just to have some sister time and a safe place to stay.

As I pulled out a mixing bowl I noticed the book on the counter. I pulled out the makeshift bookmark and held the place with my finger. The receipt was from Speedy Joe’s. It was a gas station close to the park. I had passed it on my bike ride. He had purchased two deli sandwiches, a small bag of Doritos, a Snickers
and
Butterfinger, a bottle of lemon flavored iced tea and a bottle of water. The date was from two days ago. All it told me was that the boy could eat. Not exactly compelling information and utterly useless in solving the mystery of who he was.

The book, on the other hand, I hoped was the key. It was a library book and therefore it had to be checked out. By him. I was feeling stiff and sore and venturing out of the house right then held no appeal. I would do it in the morning.

I pictured his face again. He knew my last name. I must have known him at one time. Realizing this only made me want to find out who he was even more.  I wondered if he had been intentionally distant or if I had just left him flustered by our unfortunate meeting. I supposed it had to be a bit unsettling to see someone hit by a car and then practically peeling them off the road only to find out it was someone you knew from years ago.

It had been six years since Mom packed us up and made me move for the first time. It was only months after the accident. The first accident. The one that changed our lives forever.