One Day Soon (9 page)

“But all of this will be easier to deal with once we have something in our stomachs.” Yoss started walking again and I followed him. I felt like an idiot for losing my cool like that in front of him.

I had known him for less than a day and all he knew of me was that I was an absolute mess.

Neither of us mentioned my freak out again, which I was glad for. We slipped around the back of the coffee shop. Yoss led me to the large trash bin that was overflowing with garbage.

Without hesitating, he hopped up on an overturned milk crate and started rooting through the black trash bags.

“What are you doing?” I asked him, completely revolted.

“Finding breakfast,” he explained, looking over his shoulder at me as though I were slow functioning.

“From there? Why don’t we just go buy a bagel or something?” I asked lamely.

Yoss pulled out a clear plastic bag full of uneaten rolls. The bag was still sealed with a twist tie and obviously hadn’t been opened. “You’ve got some extra bucks lying around? Because I used what I had on the stuff we ate last night,” he said.

Of course I didn’t have any money. It had been a dumb thing to say.

“Then day old rolls it is. They’re not bad. It’s not like they’re moldy or anything. Every morning the bakery throws out everything they didn’t sell from the day before. If you get here early enough you can score some great stuff. There were cinnamon twists yesterday and the day before that I was able to grab some herb focaccia bread.” He ripped open the bag and handed me two white crusty rolls.

My stomach growled and I took a big bite. It was a stale but tasty. I finished both before Yoss had eaten one.

“Damn, you
were
hungry. Feeling better?” he asked, smirking.

“Yeah. I guess,” I said, taking another roll from the bag.

Yoss pulled another plastic bag from the dumpster. This one was full of what looked to be chocolate chip cookies. “We’ll take these back for everyone.”

“Wait. Can’t we keep them for us?” I asked, reaching for the bag of cookies. I knew that I sounded selfish, but I was hungry. And worried that this was the last food I’d have for a while.

Yoss frowned, but let me take a few cookies. “Imi, one of the first things you’ll learn out here is that we’ve got to look out for each other. We stick together because it’s easier to survive if someone else has your back.”

I felt like an asshole. It wasn’t the first time since I had met Yossarian that I felt that way.

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize. It’s cool. You’ll figure it out. Or you won’t. I kind of hope you don’t.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why would you say that?”

Yoss shrugged, looking at me through thick, black lashes. “Because that means you’ll go back home. A girl like you is too good for a life like this,” he said softly and I couldn’t breathe around the lump in my throat.

“Come on, let’s head over to the bridge. Everyone meets up there in the morning,” he said, taking a bite of cookie.

“Okay.” I grabbed one of the plastic bags he was holding and put the cookies back. Yoss watched me, but didn’t say anything. “More to share. I’m full anyway,” I explained sheepishly.

We walked the five blocks to the Seventh Street Bridge, the same place I had met Yoss the evening before. Unlike The Pit, underneath the bridge was less intimidating in the light of day. The fires were all dead and it was mostly deserted except for a small group of teenagers hanging out on by a pile of crumbled brick and asphalt.

“Hey guys, breakfast is served,” Yoss called out, tossing the bag of cookies to a small girl with a shaved head and tattoos up and down her thin arms.

“It’s about time. I was just getting ready to head off for my day at the office writing reports and shit,” a kid with short blond hair and a crooked nose laughed.

“More like getting ready to find some old lady’s wallet to pinch,” an older boy with long brown hair muttered, grabbing a roll and taking a bite.

All of the kids looked to be about my age or a little older. And all of them were way too skinny. I stood just behind Yoss, not sure what to say. I felt incredibly out of place.

A girl with uneven red hair and a lip ring glanced my way. “Who’s the fresh meat?” she asked, nodding her head in my direction.

Yoss pulled me from behind his back. He glanced at his friends then at me. “Guys, this is Imogen. Imogen, these are the guys,” he said by way of introduction. He pointed at the girl with the buzzed head. “That’s Di. The lovely vixen to my left is Karla.” Yoss grinned at the red-haired girl and she blushed. She gave him the sort of dewy-eyed look that I recognized. She liked him. A lot. Not that I blamed her.

“The ugly fucker over there with the shitty sense of humor is Bug.” Yoss pointed to the blond boy who joked about going to the office. He was flicking a silver lighter over and over again.

“Bug?” I asked.

“Because we all want to crush him under our shoe. He’s really annoying,” Di snickered, grabbing another cookie.

“Whatever. You assholes just don’t get how awesome I am,” Bug quipped, rolling his eyes.

“I’m Shane. Nice to meet you,” the longhaired boy said, holding out his hand for me to shake, which surprised me.

Yoss snorted. “Is this a freaking job interview? You’re such a tool, man.”

“There’s a lot to be said for good manners. Isn’t that right, Imogen?” Shane gave me a smile.

“Sure,” I agreed, not knowing what else to say.

“Is this the chick Tag was bitching about? The one you snatched away from him before he could get his predatory hands on her?” Di asked, talking with her mouth full.

“Yuck, chew with your mouth closed. You’re getting food all over me,” Karla griped.

Di ignored her. Bug gave Yoss a wide-eyed look that definitely gave him an insect appearance. I understood the nickname now. “He was pissed as hell about that, man. I’d watch your back.”

“Well, he knows where to find me,” Yoss replied dismissively. I wasn’t sure he should be so cavalier about this Tag guy. He had scared me plenty last night. He seemed like a man you didn’t want to mess with.

Karla was giving me the ubiquitous once over I was used to from other females. She moved closer to Yoss who seemed oblivious to her possessiveness.

“Manny was looking for you,” Shane said, shoving the last of the roll into his mouth.

Yoss immediately tensed up. “Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know.” He drew his shoulders up and moved away from me. “We’re going to head down to The Pavilion, see if there’s anything going on. We’ll catch up with you later.”

He started to walk away from his friends and I guessed I was expected to follow. Karla gave me a nasty look, which I returned blankly. I didn’t think we were going to be best friends any time soon.

“Don’t forget to find Manny. He’s got some stuff for you to do later,” Shane called out as we were leaving.

Yoss put his hand on my back and steered me away from the group. His eyes had gone hard and he worked his teeth back and forth across his lower lip.

“Who’s Manny?” I asked once we were out of everyone’s earshot. Yoss’ entire demeanor had changed. I wanted to understand why.

“He’s just a guy we all know. He, uh, well, he kind of looks out for all the kids around here,” Yoss answered dismissively, as though it were nothing. As if Manny were nothing.

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Yeah,” he said shortly.

We walked along the old railroad tracks. I didn’t really know where we were going. This wasn’t a part of the city I had ever spent much time in, apart from the handful of times I had been here with Amanda.

“So Manny looks out for you and in turn you do stuff for him,” I deduced.

Yoss glanced down at me in surprise. “Uh, yeah, I guess so.” He seemed uncomfortable with my perceptiveness. He didn’t want to talk about Manny or whatever he had to do for him.

“Are you into drugs, Yoss? Because I don’t do drugs,” I said in a rush.

Yoss stopped walking and turned to look down at me, his face guarded but his eyes clear. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down so our faces were close together. “I don’t do drugs, Imi. That’s not my scene. I want to have a clear head, all the time. No matter how bad or ugly things are.”

I let out a sigh of relief. I knew drugs were the norm with kids my age. Especially ones that lived out here. I had seen enough of my own classmates strung out on one thing or another. I wasn’t some pure white Pollyanna either. I had smoked weed a few times and even ate ’shrooms once.

But I had also seen my mother high on more than a few occasions and it had always freaked me out.

In a short amount of time I was coming to rely on Yoss. I didn’t want to depend on a drug addict.

“Okay. Good.” I smiled up at him and he smiled back.

His eyes were soft as he looked at me and there was something about his expression that made my stomach flip. “When you smile, Imogen, it lights up your whole face. Did you know that?”

I ducked my head, feeling embarrassed by the compliment. I didn’t take them well, I never had.

I heard Yoss chuckle and he dropped his hands from my shoulders. “Let’s go see what we can do with the day. It looks like it’s going to be a hot one. I hope you know how to swim.”

“Yeah, I can swim.”

“Good, because I know just the place to go,” he said.

For now we were only two teenagers hanging out.

My day had seemed bleak when I woke up.

Now…not so much.

Present Day

H
e looked at me like I was a ghost. And to him, maybe I was.

A part of a past he had let go of.

Because he had purposefully kept his distance. He had decided that I had no part in his life.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He winced and I knew it hurt for him to speak.

Of the hundreds of things he could have asked me, what I was doing there seemed woefully insufficient.

No,
hey, how’s it going?

Or,
whatcha been up to the last fifteen years?

His question was almost accusatory.

“I work here,” I said, sitting back in my chair. I realized I was still holding his hand and dropped it quickly.

His green eyes flared to life and then died. It was the saddest thing I had ever seen.

He tried to turn his head away from me, but his injuries made movement difficult. Yoss sucked in a breath and closed his eyes.

“Oh,” was all he said. The tears that had been falling down his face dried and disappeared. Like they never existed. As though I had imagined them.

I hadn’t known what to expect when he opened his eyes.

I did know that I hadn’t prepared myself for the frosty greeting he was giving me.

At one time I had been able to read Yoss clearly. He never hid his emotions from me. He loved openly. He despaired loudly. He raged forcefully.

He had fed me his dreams and I had given him mine. There wasn’t a piece of his soul that I didn’t recognize and claim as my own.

At one time we had been two pieces of the same messed up puzzle. He learned my secrets and I discovered the ones he had guarded so fiercely.

But this man—I didn’t know him. His green eyes were cold. Resentful.

His jaw was tense and his hands were fists.

“Yoss, what happened?” I asked.

He ignored me, staring past me. Through me. I might as well not have been there at all.

“Yoss!” I said a little louder. I gripped my pen, the cold metal bit into my skin. “Please. I just want to know who did this to you.”

Yoss glanced at me again. His eyes roaming over my face. Then he looked away again. “I’m tired,” he responded shortly.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be pestering you.” I gathered the paperwork I had been filling out and got to my feet. I didn’t want to leave. But it was obvious Yoss didn’t want me to stay.

This was a bad idea. I couldn’t work his case. I’d never be able to help him when through a handful of words he let me know that he wanted
nothing
from me.