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"Who’s Skinny and why does he want fifty bucks fro?"
"No" She looked fro watched then her eyes darted back to me "He’s my piotten yourself into now?" I yell I pause and wait for signs that anyone in the house has woken up and when I don’t hear anything I lower ry whisper "Why on earth do you have a pimp?"
"I don’t know" Her voice cracks "I don’t knohere I went so wrong, Ray I don’t knohen I s I do But I do the to kill ht" Her head shoots up "And that’s very judgey co from you, Ray, Miss Teen Mo, Ray Remember, she’s a master manipulator She needs help, notto play onwhat the articles said that I’d Googled over the last several months
"I talked to your parents today They said that if you go back to rehab and stay for the six-ram, you can come home when you’re done Why don’t you just do that?" I ask her, hoping she’ll agree to go back again But I sense that this time is different than the other ti back
"I know, Ray I just ca I just have to get Skinny off ive me any money" Just when I’m about to break, she sniffles and I spot a dash of white powder clinging to the inside of one of her nostrils It reain that every word out of her , not her I know she hasn’t been ho area where both her ht until they turned off the lights only an hour ago
"I’her hand against the tree trunk "But can I at least borrow your flashlight? It’s pitch fucking black out here and I can’t see shit I lefthouseboat"
I walk over toone to the package of two that we’d bought at a dollar store ere in the fifth grade We had hts sending light to one another across our yards, to one another’s s It wasn’t until another neighbor called the police and reported a possible proe were forced to stop
"Here," I say, handing her the flashlight She takes it and flips on the switch When it doesn’t immediately turn on she pounds on the bottom with her palm until it co, Ray You won’t ever have to deal with o back into rehab Why wouldn’t I see you again?" I throat tightens I made a mistake It doesn’t matter what she’s done I can’t lose my best friend She’s sick She needs help
She needs me
"Because I told you, if I don’t have histo kill me" She pulls her dark hoodie froht upwards until her face is illuasp Dark purple bruises are smattered across her obviously broken nose, both of her eyes are swollen, and one has a halo of yellow around it The whites of her eyes are blood shot The corners of her cracked lips are dried with blood Her jaw is off-center
She hadn’t been lying Or maybe she had been but someone had obviously beaten her pretty badly I ae my mind and open my mouth to tell her that she can have the money when she holds up her hand "Never ht and startsinto the black backyard until her shadow eht on the front walk She turns and waves "Bye, Ray," I hear her say quietly, cutting through the silence of the night There is a finality in her good-bye that makes the hair on the back of ain and turns around
"And Ray? Whatever you do, don’t trust the tyrant"
Then I watch as ain and walks away