“Are you sure?” Jim asked.
“Oh my God, Uncle Jim!” Kennedy yelled at the door. “We need a minute alone!”
He laughed and I heard his footsteps walking away from the door.
“So after he erotically bathed you…”
“My hand. He washed my hand. But his hands were so warm and soothing.”
Kennedy giggled and flopped backward onto the bed. “It’s a classic Cinderella story. He’s your prince. You’re going to live happily ever after surrounded by wealth and luxury and so many housekeepers.”
I swallowed hard. Happily ever after? A happily ever after would have involved my mother.
“What’s with the look? I was just messing around.”
“Nothing.” I stood up and started unpacking more stuff.
“But what happened after he raped your hand?” She knew just what to say to make my smile return.
“Stop saying weird things or Jim will come busting in here to save me.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “It’s so weird that you call your uncle Jim instead of Uncle Jim. I realize that’s confusing now that I said it.”
I laughed. “I think he prefers it.” I didn’t know that. I’d never asked.
“Whatever you say. Back to Matthew, stop changing the subject. So after the hand thing…”
“He gave me a paper towel and said Isabella was a disease. To not let her get to me. And then he said, ‘See you around school, Brooklyn,’ and walked out the door.”
Kennedy put her hands to her chest. “Wow, he knew your name? And he stalked you into the ladies’ room. That’s big.”
“It’s not that big of a deal that he knew my name. We have a class together.”
“Yeah, where you said Mr. Hill calls everyone by their last names. He knew yourfirstname. And he’s all like carefree and happy and shit.”
I laughed.
“Do you think he’ll talk to you in class on Monday? Stupid question. Of course he will. He’s your knight in shining armor.”
If that was true, I’d met him three weeks too late. I’d already lost the one thing I needed help saving.
“These pictures are really cute.” Kennedy lifted the stack of photos off my nightstand. “Do you have any pushpins? We need to put these all over your walls.”
“Let me ask Jim.”
She shook her head like whenever I called him Jim it physically pained her.
I walked back to the kitchen.
“Having fun?” Jim asked without looking up from his crossword puzzle.
“Mhm.”
“Kennedy’s a good kid. I’m glad you two are hitting it off.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. He and her mother had basically set us up. It’s not like anyone else had even said helloto me at school. Well, except Matthew. I shook the thought away. “Do you have any pushpins?”
“Top drawer, left side of the sink.”
