“She’s a devout Catholic. So is the rest of his enormous family. Well, Catholic, anyway. Who knows how devout some of them are? Anyway, they all watched Spin’s every move to see if he was going to turn into a violent thug like his biological father.”
“So he knew from the beginning he was a product of violence?”
“Oh, yeah. They made sure to paint him with his father’s sins, and his half-brothers tormented him all the time.”
“They’re the ones who should have been painted with sins.” Her tone was sharp. “Didn’t his warden intervene?”
“The summer his brothers broke both his arms, his warden rolled up in the guise of a CPS worker, gave the whole family a good lecture, and got Spin out of there.”
“So you and Rome took him under your wing?”
“Rome took usbothunder his wing. I arrived only a day before Spin, but Rome had been there a week already. The three of us went through orientation together, then the same newbieclasses. As you can imagine, Spin and I were not in the best mental health. August helped, but it was Rome who saved us.”
“He strikes me as a protector.” She nodded.
That first day, Rome took one look at Spin and me and saw we needed someone. I sometimes wondered why he decided that ‘someone’ was going to behim, but I was grateful he did.
“He made us play catch and flag football and dragged us along on hikes and camping trips. He’s athletic and outdoorsy like that. I grew up doing those things, too, but Spin was a city boy.” I laughed. “I’ll never forget him fishing for the first time. He had that hook cast everywhere but in the water, including his hair.”
“Rome was smart to pull you out of yourselves with distractions that turned into interests. I’d guess your depression started to lift as that happened.”
“You’d be right. He gave us no time to brood. We had some tense moments, mostly because of Spin, but I don’t think you could find three tighter friends than we ended up becoming.”
“I never met Spin. Why did you say he was the cause of tense moments?”
“He’s a jerk.” I rolled my eyes. “Not all the time, of course, but he has a special talent for pushing buttons, saying the wrong thing, and being obnoxious. His one saving grace is that he can get you to laugh no matter how irritated or angry he’s made you.”
“Again, I never met him, but I’m pretty sure he is the way he is because of how he was raised. When everyone expects the worst from you, sometimes you feel compelled to live down to their expectations. Being a jerk can be a shield, too, you know.”
No, I didnotknow, but thinking about it, I realized she was right. The more vulnerable Spin felt, the more insufferable he became.
Six years I’d been friends with the guy and I hadn’t seen it, hadn’t even considered it.
Shame on me.
“I like talking to you, Chessie. You have interesting insights, and I enjoy hearing your perspective.”
I took my eyes off the road long enough to glance over at her and got to see her pretty blush spread from her cheeks to her whole face.
Chuckling to myself, I turned my attention back to driving.
She was quiet for a few minutes, then surprised me.
“I like talking to you, too.”
25. Peri
Kerry
The peris’ atelier is pretty, I suppose. In warm months, flowers and vines grow all over the building, which takes up a whole short block. Even in the dead of winter, plants and trees make a green frame around it. You can smell roses from the sidewalk and hear the peris singing, their voices like a balm to the weary soul.
Or so they say.
Iwouldn’t know.
Every time I got near the place, I only ever felt agony. That’s why I stopped walking as soon as I felt the heat. I wasn’t a coward and I could take pain, but why be tortured if I could avoid it?
Life was torture enough most days.
