Bow to Me by G. C. Julien

Author:G. C. Julien [Julien, G. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B00RC6KJ3I
Goodreads: 24018101
Publisher: Baico Publishing
Published: 2013-12-31T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

“H

ey,” I heard Sam say.

I opened my eyes. She was awake, just watching me.

“Hey,” I said back.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” I said and looked down.

“No, it’s my fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

I didn’t answer.

“When I was mad at you that day, you drank by yourself, which made me realize, that, well,” she paused, “it meant you actually cared about me. It scared me. I’m so sorry Kaity.”

“Why would it scare you? Isn’t care a good thing?” I asked.

“It is, I guess. But not when everyone you’ve ever cared about has left you,” she said.

I knew that the term everyone included her aunt, but surely, there was much more to Sam that I did not know about.

“My dad’s fat,” she said.

I smiled up at her, on the verge of laughter. Where was she going with this?

“Well, he used to be. He lives alone somewhere in Montreal. I’m not even sure where. Last I heard, he barely has any teeth left, and he’s addicted to crystal meth.”

Okay. So this had definitely not been a joke. I felt my smile turn into a frown, but I remained silent.

“My mom’s thin.”

I blinked.

“Well, the last time I saw her, anyway. I have no idea where she is. She left when I was seven. I saw her again at fourteen when I was visiting a friend in Ottawa. She was drunk and prostituting downtown.”

I was absolutely speechless. What was I supposed to say? I wanted to console her, but I didn’t feel that now was the time. I looked away and bit my tongue.

“My brother’s pale,” she said.

At this I looked up again. Was he sick? In the hospital?

“He rarely sees sunlight. He’s in jail. He’s twenty-four. Got busted for trafficking cocaine into the States.”

She looked away from me and closed her eyes. I detected something glossy sliding down her cheek, and realized it was a tear. A tear. Sam’s tear. I had never seen her cry before. She was tough—so brave and aggressive by nature. She wasn’t the type to shed a tear for anyone or anything. I placed an open palm against her face and kissed her forehead.

“I’m so sorry, Sam,” I said and meant it more than anything.

This girl, she was so damaged. All of my family issues suddenly seemed so minuscule in comparison to hers. In fact, I had a marvelous life—I had absolutely nothing to complain about. My parents were still together, I had a great home, a full-time job, and a healthy body. An unavoidable guilt crept into my conscience.

“It’s okay,” she said.

I squeezed her hard.

“I want to try,” she said.

“Try what?”

“To be your girlfriend.”

Did she mean it? Was she going to leave me again in a week? How could I be certain? But it didn’t matter, because she would try. And that was all I could really ask for.

“I’d like that,” I said. I wanted to scream. To sing.

“Kaity?”

“Yeah?”

“I know this is kind of sudden, and I hate to be a U-Hauler, but I want to move out with you.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.