will erase his suggestion from the air. “I barely know her.”
“Marnye,” Dad says, uncurling my palm and taking the bracelet. He puts it on my wrist as I sit there, staring at him like he’s grown a second head. “I’m not saying your mother hasn’t made mistakes in the past, but she’s really trying here. She wants to get to know you.”
“The feeling is not mutual,” I reply, pulling my arm to my chest and playing with the bracelet. “I’m not giving up my scholarship because of some bullying.”
“That was more than just bullying, Marnye. Those boys—” My eyes close and Dad stops talking, like he can see how pained just the mention of that day makes me. “Look, you’re a smart girl, always have been. You’re more driven than I ever was, smarter, too. If you want to go back there, I won’t question it, but know that you have other options.” Dad sighs and rises to his feet, pausing at a knock on the door. “That should be Zack,” he says, and my eyes go wide.
I rise from the couch, but I’m not fast enough to get past before Zack Brooks steps into the trailer, dressed in a tight black tee that pulls across his muscles, dark denim jeans, and brown boots. He stares at me from those dark brown eyes of his, gaze flickering over my black leggings, tight black tank, and total lack of bra, before he returns his attention to my face.
“Happy birthday,” he says, but it’s hard to take him seriously when he made it his mission to see that I would never have another birthday again.
“Excuse me.” I push past the two men, being careful not to even brush against Zack, and get dressed in one of my new outfits from yesterday. May as well test it out on him before heading back to that den of wolves.
If Dad notices that I’m wearing a new pink jumpsuit and black wedges, he doesn’t say anything. If he asks, I’ll … well, I won’t lie about it. But he doesn’t. Zack takes me in carefully, my new hairdo, the bit of makeup I managed to put on with a YouTube tutorial, and my eyelash extensions. Didn’t even know that was a thing until I Googled it.
“You look beautiful,” Zack says, holding out a package wrapped in opalescent paper. It’s very pretty, but I’m loath to take it. Dad is watching though, and I don’t want him to know anything about the Zack situation. It’d just stress him out on top of everything else, and I can tell he’s already pushed to the limit. He looks thinner, paler, and he sleeps a lot more than usual. I’m honestly worried about him, but he seems to like Zack; they’re sort of buddies now. I may as well let Dad keep that relationship. “Just something small. You can open it later, if you want.”
“Later is good,” I tell him, putting the package on the stove. Zack nods and steps back, leaving room for Charlie and me to step out of the train car. The sky is gray, but the rain hasn’t started yet. Zack has his orange McLaren, but it’s only a two-seater, so we take Dad’s Ford instead.
Charlie does his best to make conversation on the drive, but it’s not easy, not with the tangible tension between me and Zack.
When we get to the Railroad Station restaurant—this funky little twenty-four hour diner that’s been here forever—Dad excuses himself to the restroom, and I’m left alone with Zack.
“You’re crashing my daddy-daughter time,” I whisper, and his narrowed eyes soften slightly.
“You want me to leave?” he asks, and I nod.
A long silence follows.
“Only you’re not going to because your wants and needs are more important than mine,” I whisper, and Zack stiffens up, like I’ve slapped him.
“Marnye, I want to help,” he says, but I’m already shaking my head.
“You’ve helped enough, Zack.” I look him straight in the face, and memories flicker across my vision: the bathroom door opening, Zack pulling me into his arms, putting his fingers down my throat. He saved me, but he also pushed me to that point for a bet. How can I ever forgive that? One time, he cornered me outside my math classroom and told me he knew all about my mother, how she didn’t love me enough, how she doted on her other daughter in way she’d never dote on me. My mouth flattens into a thin line. “I don’t know