The Slum Heirs

Three

Three

Dai and his band of misfits were all I could think about for the next few days. Every time I took a step and my knees stung, I thought of Vince's gentle hands, wiping my blood away. Every time I saw my father's still-furious face, I wondered what his face would look like if Nick hadn't shown up when he did. And then there was D

Three

Dai and his band of misfits stayed on my mind constantly for the next few days. Every time I took a step and my knees stung, I thought of Vince's gentle hands, wiping my blood away. Every time I saw my father's still-furious face, I wondered what his face would look like if Nick hadn't shown up when he did. And then there was Dai. He popped into my head in random moments. Sitting in class. Doing homework. Even eating lunch with Tanner.

"Earth to Kay!"

I jumped in my seat, nearly dropping the apple I'd been holding but not really eating. Tanner sat across from me, blue eyes narrow and annoyed. "Sorry. What?"

"Quit spacing out on me. If you're not going to tell me what happened Friday night, fine. I don't care." Her eyes met the table at her words, and I knew she was lying. She always looked down when she lied. "But at least talk to me about something. Anything."

I let my apple drop back onto my tray, pushing it away from me. "Sorry, Tanner. I didn't mean to space."

"You never mean to space." She smiled lightly, and I hoped I was forgiven.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Do you wanna do something after school? They opened a new store in the mall I've been wanting to check out." I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, hoping I looked as apologetic as I felt.

Tanner sighed, taking another bite of her sandwich. She chewed slowly and swallowed before finally nodding. "Okay. The mall after school. You can drive." She winked, blew me a kiss, and then left with her tray as the first warning bell rang, signaling us to go back to class.

I couldn't focus in the rest of my classes. I'd never meant to cut Tanner out, or to keep things from her. But I still didn't know what to think about everything that had happened in the Slums. Cold chills ran up my arms as I thought about Rodgers. His hands on my body, his face so close to mine. I didn't have to stretch my mind to figure out what he'd planned to do to me.

What I really needed to do was talk to my dad about everything. He'd been furious when I got home at three in the morning, with a ruined $200 dress and blood on my new jacket. I'd told him I'd needed some air and lost track of time, that I'd fallen in the park but that it was no big deal. He was more worried about my ruined clothes and my "lack of responsibility" than he was about my skinned knees, and I was okay with that. The less questions he asked about the wheres and hows, the better off I'd be.

But now I sort of wanted to tell him, if only so he'd hold off on his new project. I'd been all for him tearing down the Slums, but now, I wasn't so sure. Where would everyone go? Not only Dai and Vince and Nick and their gang, but all the people I'd seen on the lantern street. The people in the alleys. Even people like Rodgers.

All I knew was that I wanted to go back. I wanted to talk to Dai again, to figure out who he was and why he was in the Slums. Why all of them were there. That was something my father would never allow me to do.

I sighed as the final bell rang, shoving my unused notebook back into my bag, digging my keys out of the bottom. Tanner met me at my car, leaning against the side with one foot pressed against the tire. She grinned when she saw me, waving. Smiling, I jogged the rest of the way to the car and unlocked our doors, climbing into the driver's seat.