beauty.
“So?” His eyebrows dip in confusion.
“What do you like?” slips out before I can stop it. I grimace as my eyes glue to the tabletop, fearing to look at Wil. It sounds too much like I want to please him, when all I need to know is how to please anyone. I’m as innocent as you can get.
“Do I look like I have time to date? ” he incredulously says before his voice hardens in anger. “Here you are bitching that I want you to go to the movies and kiss on this little fucker, but I’m running around breaking kneecaps for shits and giggles. Oh, woe is me, my name is Fate Simpson ,” he mocks in my twang. “ I live a hard life. Boo-hoo ,” he faux-sobs, rubbing his eyes with his fists. “Get over yourself. Just go put on your three-hundred dollar mascara and bat your eyelashes at the little shit. How the hell should I know? You’re a girl, it’s inborn. Just shake your tits,” he nastily hisses as if tits offend him or women in general.
Maybe girls do offend Wil. Maybe, just maybe, Wil likes guys. I hadn’t thought of that.
I don’t shade my glare; I give him the full blast of my attitude. I bite my tongue, though. I’m hurting as it is. I don’t want no more poundings.
Ignoring my glare, Wil says, “I want you to know that you may ask real questions.” His voice is sincere, as if he’s sorry for his nastiness. “I will do everything I can to remove your ignorance. If you have a question, ask. Suggestion?” he politely asks, awaiting my confirmation.
I shake my head yes, wincing when pain radiates down my shoulder. “Don’t speak to Cortez. It will shrivel his dick,” Wil viciously hisses. “Next suggestion, read a book, or ten. Learn proper English. Listen to tapes. I don’t care what you do, just fix your dialect. I can tell you’re smart and your mind works really fast. But your speech will ruin you. Keep your mouth shut until you can use it the right way. Got it?”
I don’t verbally answer. I shake my head yes, ignoring the pain in my neck. He could haul off and punch my nose and it wouldn’t hurt half as bad as the humiliation I feel in this moment. I’ve been worthless since I was born, before that even. I’m just disposable. Fate’s the real prize, that’s why Daddy raised her to be a princess while he taught me to survive. He knew he’d never be here for me, not really.
“What’s wrong now?” Wil asks, breaking me out of my miserable thoughts.
I blink to see if I have tears betraying my feelings- dry as a bone. “Why do you think something’s wrong?”
“Everyone has tells, and you have a quite a few. When you’re upset your button-nose scrunches up and your eyes narrow. That’s how I know something is wrong. What is it?”
“I was just thinking of ho w different my sister and I are,” I say as softly as I can, since Wil’s being kind of nice right now and I don’t want to upset him. “How my father treats her differently than me.”
“Baby sisters should be cherished, that’s why,” he says without hesitation. I snort at the absurdity of it. Reading me wrong, he chastises me. “They are. It’s our job as the oldest to take care of them. My dad is gone and Gretchen has no mother, so it falls to me. The same goes for you. Dead or jail, it’s the same thing for those of us still living on the outside. I noticed you didn’t call him daddy.”
“I ain’t slow,” I grumble. Wil looks at me for a minute, checking for tells, or maybe he’s determining if I was being disrespectful and he’s picking a fresh spot on my face to strike.
“Really, I want you to read- n ew books, not the classics. I want you to practice your speech. I will give you two weeks to make contact with Cortez Abernathy. I will require proof after that. A public date that I will witness. They will require proof from me.”
“Yes, Wil,” I quietly mutter, trying Fate’s tone again.
“I won’t be here, so don’t come looking for me. Two weeks from tonight. Same time. Be
“So?” His eyebrows dip in confusion.
“What do you like?” slips out before I can stop it. I grimace as my eyes glue to the tabletop, fearing to look at Wil. It sounds too much like I want to please him, when all I need to know is how to please anyone. I’m as innocent as you can get.
“Do I look like I have time to date? ” he incredulously says before his voice hardens in anger. “Here you are bitching that I want you to go to the movies and kiss on this little fucker, but I’m running around breaking kneecaps for shits and giggles. Oh, woe is me, my name is Fate Simpson ,” he mocks in my twang. “ I live a hard life. Boo-hoo ,” he faux-sobs, rubbing his eyes with his fists. “Get over yourself. Just go put on your three-hundred dollar mascara and bat your eyelashes at the little shit. How the hell should I know? You’re a girl, it’s inborn. Just shake your tits,” he nastily hisses as if tits offend him or women in general.
Maybe girls do offend Wil. Maybe, just maybe, Wil likes guys. I hadn’t thought of that.
I don’t shade my glare; I give him the full blast of my attitude. I bite my tongue, though. I’m hurting as it is. I don’t want no more poundings.
Ignoring my glare, Wil says, “I want you to know that you may ask real questions.” His voice is sincere, as if he’s sorry for his nastiness. “I will do everything I can to remove your ignorance. If you have a question, ask. Suggestion?” he politely asks, awaiting my confirmation.
I shake my head yes, wincing when pain radiates down my shoulder. “Don’t speak to Cortez. It will shrivel his dick,” Wil viciously hisses. “Next suggestion, read a book, or ten. Learn proper English. Listen to tapes. I don’t care what you do, just fix your dialect. I can tell you’re smart and your mind works really fast. But your speech will ruin you. Keep your mouth shut until you can use it the right way. Got it?”
I don’t verbally answer. I shake my head yes, ignoring the pain in my neck. He could haul off and punch my nose and it wouldn’t hurt half as bad as the humiliation I feel in this moment. I’ve been worthless since I was born, before that even. I’m just disposable. Fate’s the real prize, that’s why Daddy raised her to be a princess while he taught me to survive. He knew he’d never be here for me, not really.
“What’s wrong now?” Wil asks, breaking me out of my miserable thoughts.
I blink to see if I have tears betraying my feelings- dry as a bone. “Why do you think something’s wrong?”
“Everyone has tells, and you have a quite a few. When you’re upset your button-nose scrunches up and your eyes narrow. That’s how I know something is wrong. What is it?”
“I was just thinking of ho w different my sister and I are,” I say as softly as I can, since Wil’s being kind of nice right now and I don’t want to upset him. “How my father treats her differently than me.”
“Baby sisters should be cherished, that’s why,” he says without hesitation. I snort at the absurdity of it. Reading me wrong, he chastises me. “They are. It’s our job as the oldest to take care of them. My dad is gone and Gretchen has no mother, so it falls to me. The same goes for you. Dead or jail, it’s the same thing for those of us still living on the outside. I noticed you didn’t call him daddy.”
“I ain’t slow,” I grumble. Wil looks at me for a minute, checking for tells, or maybe he’s determining if I was being disrespectful and he’s picking a fresh spot on my face to strike.
“Really, I want you to read- n ew books, not the classics. I want you to practice your speech. I will give you two weeks to make contact with Cortez Abernathy. I will require proof after that. A public date that I will witness. They will require proof from me.”
“Yes, Wil,” I quietly mutter, trying Fate’s tone again.
“I won’t be here, so don’t come looking for me. Two weeks from tonight. Same time. Be
Similar Books
