And hewasn'tfond of sharing them.
Chapter 55
Jack
We were in some hotel in Arizona when she said, "Hey, can I ask you something?"
We were naked in a king-size bed, and I pulled her close. As I nuzzled her hair, I asked, "Can I stop you?"
"Probably not," she said with a laugh. But then her laughter faded. "Those scars on your legs, you remember how you said you fell through a window?"
I stiffened. "I remember."
She pulled back and gave me a worried frown. "You weren't pushed or anything, were you?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
"Because I care about you. And you were so young."
"Ten?" I might've laughed if it were funny. "It's notthatyoung." Or it least it hadn't been for me.
But Becka wasn't done. "I just mean…I know you were in a bunch of foster homes."
"Forget it."
"Why?"
I didn't want to lie, not toher."Because it's not true."
"What?" She gave me a perplexed look. "Are you sure?"
"I think I'd know."
"I know. I just meant…" She paused. "Why does your bio say that if it's not true?"
There was the long answer, and then there was the short answer. I went for the short one. "Because my dad's a dick."
"So?"
"So if I give his name, they'll go looking for him. And it's better if they don't."
"So wait…youweren'tan orphan?"
"I'm an orphannow."
"What do you mean?"
"My mom, she died when I was a baby. And my dad…" I made a sound of disgust. "He's dead too, except he's still walking around."
"Where?"
"No place you'd want to visit."
"But how can he be dead if he's still alive?"
"He's dead tome," I said. "End of story."
"So you don't want to talk about it?"
