Borrowed Courage

Chapter Two

Brooke was right. School the following day was exactly how she'd imagined it to be. She left earlier than she needed to, dutifully avoiding getting on the same bus as Kaleb Finch. The last thing she needed was him knowing where her family had moved; that kind of gossip would spread like wildfire if it got out to the rest of the class. Honestly, it was still a mystery to her why Kaleb himself lived on this side of town, despite going to Westmount; one of the more prestigious high schools in the district. The way he carried himself practically screamed white-collar family.

Guess everyone's got their secrets. Brooke reasoned to herself. Her family's was well and truly out, available for everyone to see. As she snuck a glance at him over the spine of her chapter book, she wondered for a moment what would happen if his home life got brought out into the open. She knew enough about the area they'd moved to to know that his family probably didn't come from money. The fact that he was lugging a rusty bike home that looked like he'd pulled it out of landfill was enough of an indicator. What if the rest of the class could know what she did— that he was playing the act of a run-of-the-mill pompous rich kid? Was that what it would take for them to finally leave her alone?

Don't be an idiot. She sighed, burying herself behind the book. If anything, digging up dirt on her tormenter would make her seem even more desperate. It wasn't as if her freak level wasn't already maxed out in the eyes of her peers. No thanks to him.

In the end, knowing where the guy lived wouldn't keep her from listening to his snide remarks about her family, day in, day out. It was a constant cycle, and Brooke was kidding herself if she thought there was an easy way out.

"How was your day, honey?" Her mother called when she shouldered the apartment door open after school. By the time she'd gotten off the forty-minute bus ride home, it was almost five, and the sun was already creeping into the horizon. That, among other things, would take some time to get used to.

"Fine." Brooke lied, offloading her school bag by the door. Her mom was in the kitchen again, already starting on dinner preparations. It wasn't like she had anything better to do, after all. "Where's dad?"

Her mom hesitated, setting down a half-peeled potato. "He's been out for a few hours now. Said he wanted to put some traps around the apartment, in case..." Her voice trailed off. "Well, you know how he's like..."

"Traps." Brooke repeated slowly. "As in rat traps?"

She said 'rat', but both of them knew what was really at the top of her father's kill list. Sandra Tucker nodded, looking away.

"Jesus Christ." She muttered in disbelief.

"I thought it'd give him something to focus on." Her mom said quietly, wringing her hands at the sink. "He's just been so... distracted, lately."

Brooke barely refrained from laughing incredulously. "You're kidding, right? You're saying the only thing that'll help him sober up is going back to his roots? This type of shit's gonna get him thrown in jail, for real this time."

For a moment, she could've sworn her mom's gaze hardened. "Come on, honey. You know this move has been hard on him."

Brooke couldn't believe her ears. "You think it hasn't been hard on me?"

"That's not what I meant, Brooke. It's just, your father—"

"Why do you keep defending him?" She snapped in exasperation. "I know you feel the same as me, mom. It's his fault we're in this mess; you can't just let him keep walking all over you!"