“How many people know we’re here?”
“Three, at least.”
“We have to go.”
“They don’t know who we are.”
“They know I’m American.”
“No. I said you were from Argentina, and we got lost hiking.”
He felt dizzy, so he sat down on the bed.
“You need to rest. Thecuranderasaid so.”
“I can’t stay here all day.”
She stood, placing a cool hand on his forehead. “You can stay for breakfast, yes?”
His stomach growled at the suggestion. He was hungry, and weak, and he had a headache. But he still wanted to dive under her nightgown and bury his face between her thighs. He lay back on the mattress and tucked his hands behind his head. “Whatever.”
She left the room and returned with some items from the kitchen. Soda, crackers, and beef jerky. He filled his empty belly, grateful.
“Does this lady have a phone?”
“I didn’t see one.”
“How did we get here?”
“A farmworker gave us a ride. You don’t remember?”
“No.”
“Do you remember your bad dreams?”
His chest tightened with unease. “No, why?”
“You almost hit me in your sleep.”
“You’re kidding.”
She shook her head.
“I haven’t done that since I was a kid,” he said, chagrined. “I gave Adam a black eye once when he tried to wake me up from a nightmare.”
“What was the nightmare about?”
He paused, reluctant to go into detail.
“Maybe if you tell me, you won’t have that dream anymore.”
His mouth twisted with cynicism. It was a disturbing story, and he doubted talking about it would help, but he felt guilty for taking a swing at her. Maybe she deserved an explanation. “I’ll have to give you some background first.”
She hugged her knees to her chest. “I’m listening.”
“My mom wasn’t always a drug addict. She was sober for almost five years after I was born. When I was about nine, she hit a rough patch and started using meth again. She partied with strange men a lot. One of her friends took an interest in me. He’d play video games, toss me the football, stuff like that. I was really into sports, and my mom wasn’t. This guy noticed that I was a good athlete. He paid attention to me.”
Her eyes filled with tears, as if this was the saddest thing she’d ever heard.
