Reclaim - Aly Martinez Page 0,4

don’t care anymore.” Tipping his can by the end, he dumped half of them at my feet. He pinned me with an icy, blue glare that only minutes earlier had been heart-stopping. Now, it was downright murderous.

“I don’t want your stupid worms.” I kinda-sorta lied. I did want them. I just didn’t want him to give them to me.

“Well, you got ’em. Now, leave me alone. Tomorrow, I’ll take the other side of the creek.”

Was that where he’d gotten them from? Was there a mound of earthworms ripe for the picking over there? No way I was going to be the dummy who let him have them all.

“I want the other side,” I snapped.

“Fine!” he exclaimed.

Crap. He’d agreed to that way too easily. If his goldmine was over there, he would have at least argued. “No, wait. I want this side.”

“Whatever!” Shaking his head, he stomped away.

Double crap! Was this some kind of reverse psychology? Thea had told me all about it. It was how she’d gotten Ramsey to agree to wear the friendship bracelet she’d made him. Was I falling victim to Camden’s mind games?

“Never mind, I do want the other side!” I yelled at his retreating back.

He kept on trucking, calling over his shoulder, “Sure. See if I care!”

It was a hike from the creek to Mr. Leonard’s house, but it was mostly flat, so I could see him the whole way. I smiled when he tripped. Then I groaned when he managed to stay on his feet. Only after he’d disappeared around the side of the house did I look down at the pile of worms at my feet.

There had to have been at least ten dollars’ worth wiggling around. That would have been enough to feed me and Ramsey like kings. I could pick up burgers on the way home. Maybe even splurge on Cokes and fries. Heck, if I ordered off the dollar menu, I could afford to get some for Thea too. God knew she fed us enough to be owed a burger or fifty.

But as good as all of that sounded, it wouldn’t be my money.

I was a lot of things: Broken. Sad. Angry. Confused.

But a thief wasn’t one of them. Sure, he’d given me those worms, so it wasn’t like I’d stolen them or anything. No matter how much it sucked, they were his.

There was no way I was showing up the next day owing Camden Cole anything.

Sighing, I grabbed my bucket, laid it on its side, and used a stick to scrape up the pile. I couldn’t keep them, but there was no point in letting all his hard work go to waste. I’d cash them in and give him the money tomorrow—assuming he showed at all.

The rest of the afternoon was quiet. I found a few more worms in the dirt and then hit the jackpot around an old tree stump. I assumed it was somewhere similar to where Camden had gotten lucky earlier in the day.

I mean, not that I thought about Camden or anything. That would have been stupid. He was probably never going to speak to me again. Which was fine. I didn’t need friends. I had Ramsey and Thea—by default, but whatever. There was also a girl who occasionally wore mismatched shoes and always stared at me on the bus. I didn’t know her name, but we were practically BFFs.

Okay, so I could have used a few friends, but it was something I could worry about later. For the summer, I just needed a job, a paycheck, and not to lose my mind.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

“Camden Cole, get your ass back in here!” my grandpa shouted as I took off out the door.

The screen door slammed behind me, and even with as mad as I was, I flinched. I’d pay for that later.

Dear God, I’d only been there three days and my head was already about to explode.

Camden, sit up straight.

Camden, real men look you in the eye when you talk to them.

Camden, don’t forget to wash behind your ears.

I swear my grandma acted like I used my ears as a second set of feet. How my mom had survived her youth without throwing herself off the barn roof, I would never understand. The only thing that boggled my mind more was why my parents had thought it was a good idea for me to spend the summer with these people.

Oh, right. The fight.

The fight I hadn’t started. The fight I’d had no interest in having