Hide and Seek

The car squealed to a sudden stop outside the front door and I walked swiftly to the door, almost too swiftly.
I threw my backpack on the floor and slumped onto a wooden chair that used to be my father's. My mother glanced up from the book she was reading — she aspired to be a qualified nurse someday.
"How nice of you to come visit."
I closed my eyes and breathed through my mouth and asked, "How have you been, mother?"
"Good." She put a marker on the book and placed it beside her. "How's life?"
"Peaches."
"What's wrong?" Jennie asked and worry lines lined her forehead. She looked ten years older than she was.
"Nothing." I threw my hands up and then them fall heavily on my lap. "Can't I just miss my mother?"
Jennie frowned up at me. "It's been lonely without you biting down my neck."
"I miss you too, Jennie."
"How's living with a billionaire?" Jennie asked, eyes wide with curiosity. "Got any info for Bill, yet?"
Oh no. I'd completely forgotten why Bill had allowed me to stay with Roman in the first place. But I couldn't betray Roman like that. Not after what had happened Friday.
"He's a billionaire?" I sidetracked her.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"He's famous, baby." My mother rummaged through her pile of old magazines and pulled four that featured him on the cover. "That's all under six months."
"Wow!" I said. I hoped Jennie couldn't see the sudden heat under my cheekbones or the stutter of my heartbeat. Roman in the magazine was just as beautiful as I'd last seen him this morning. Magically so.
"Wanna know what he does?"
I shook my head. I already had an idea and I knew that Jennie wouldn't have the privilege to that sort of information.
"How is school?"
"It's been great."
"You worry me."
"That's a first," I frowned and met my mother's stare, searching for signs of deception. "What lead this on?"
"Despite what you might think." She hesitated. "I care."
I shrugged, biting my lip to stop myself from scoffing.
"You haven't told anyone about your father have you?" Her tone held a hint of hysterical panic that made my stomach clench with apprehension.
I stared at Jennie, stunned and then I looked away guiltily to stare out of the window. "Jennie, seriously?"
We stared in opposite directions as she deliberated whether to trust me. She sighed and I turned back to look at her.
I sighed. "I'm not stupid, okay?"
She watched me with intent.
"Stop creeping me out," I said, not able to bear more.
"Sorry," she whispered, eyes untrusting.
I was beginning to regret coming here and I was about to get up to leave when I noticed Jennie eyeing me carefully. "That's not yours." Her voice was accusing.
I knew my mother was talking about the shirt I was wearing. "Oh?" I blushed.
Jennie pulled my arm roughly. "Are you stupid?" she hissed, glaring over her shoulder to make sure Bill was not somehow in the house, I guessed. "You know what Bill would do to you if you started dating?"
"I know." Ow. I pulled my arm back and massaged it. "I'm not dating, relax. Geez."
"And you best believe that he'll find out the identity of whoever you're screwing," Jennie continued. "Then you'll have blood on your hands. Is that what you want?"
"No," I choked "Of course... not."
"Good." She locked her jaw and I could see she didn't believe me. "Keep it that way."
I grimaced and stared out of the window.
She grumbled her frustration. "So about this Roman guy..."
"I'm still working on it," I lied. "He's super private."
"Just ride him good and then once he's sleeping go through his things." Typical motherly advice, utterly useless.
I thinned my lips into an angry line. What was wrong with Jennie? Didn't she see anything wrong with what she'd just said. When I spoke my voice was grim. "He's got cameras all over the place."
"Want some tea?" Jennie asked instead, hating the direction the atmosphere was taking.
"No, I'm good," I said. "Just ate with my friends."
Jennie's eyes widened in disbelief. Her voice was innocently curious enough but I knew my mother well enough to catch the menace in it. "You have friends now?"
"Yes."
Jennie was shaking her head. "No!" she snarled. I heard the chair hit the floor. I doubted Jennie knew she'd knocked the chair down or that she was on her feet.
"Jennie, please, sit back down." I got up and made her sit on her chair. She shrugged my hand away from her shoulder.
I tried not to feel the rejection. I dropped to my seat heavily.
"That's dangerous, Nuru." This time the panic was clear in her voice.
The panic and concern — a great swell of them — drifting from my mother was bewildering. The panic I could understand but the concern? That I couldn't fathom.
"Jennie, please," I said in a gasp. "Can't I just be normal? Just this once? You know how lonely it gets."
"And you'll know how painful it is when Bill, kills them."
"Be reasonable. "
"I am reasonable!" she shouted.
Finally her concern began to make sense. "I won't tell anyone your secret, Jennie." Not even my new friends. Well... Roman on the other hand wasn't just anyone.
My assurance did absolutely nothing to calm her dread.
I looked her in the eye then. "Jennie, I've kept the secret for years. Why would I rat you out now?"
She considered this for a second.
"Nobody knows you killed dad—"
"Stop!" she demanded, the guilt rolling of her in a staggering wave only to crash into me. She childishly covered her ears and shook her head mechanically as if that would get rid of the memories.
"I'm sorry," I whispered my guilt on telling Roman. The subject was forbidden.
I did the laundry and busied myself with the dishes, when I was done, I mopped the floors and made the bed upstairs and threw away the trash. It was sparkling clean by the time my mother told me to sneak out of the front door and leave because Bill was already in the back yard. Thankfully, the car had a silent purr to it and I drove up the street unnoticed.
The next day, I woke up to the glare of the sun as it peeked at me through the white curtains of my bedroom. I took a bath and escaped before Roman woke up. At campus I went straight to my locker, to leave some books I didn't need for the next hour.
"Hey, stop," Melissa said, placing a hand on my back before I could step on her toes.
"Sorry," I mumbled. "I wasn't paying attention."
"You haven't been paying attention the last few days," She said following me out of the building. "I would've died and you wouldn't even have noticed."
I cringed hating the assessment. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind, Nuru." Melissa smiled shyly. "It must be my imagination."
"Where are you headed?" I skidded to a stop at the entrance and asked.
"We...actually...what I mean is I was, um, looking for you."
"Er... okay." It came out sounding like a question.
"I wanted to talk to you about something... away from the others."
Melissa was nervous and that made me tense.
I frowned, pondering this for a second. "Yeah?" I looked expectantly at Melissa.
"I heard Kyle and Zoe talking," Melissa said nervously.
"And." Although my voice was calm I felt nerves settle in the pit of my stomach.
"And Zoe said you're a..." She leaned toward my face without breaking eye contact. "Prostitute."
I picked up on the distaste in her voice.
"So?" I emphasized, holding my ground even though my world collapsed around me. My legs were hollow and so was my stomach.
She took a breath. "I was wondering if it's true?"
The mental image of them huddled together talking about me made my tone sharper than necessary. "What do you think?"
"Geez," She said, her voice sulky. "I was just asking."
I shook my head, a little frustrated.
"And to answer your question..." Melissa said after a minute of silence. "I think it's a lie."
"That's your answer then." The lie came more naturally than usual, I noted with surprise. What was happening to me?
Melissa sighed in relief. "Thank God. Wanna take a walk with me?"
It was a tense moment for me when a frightening thought crossed my mind. I exhaled and then my breathing accelerated. "To?"
Melissa gestured to the woods. "We'll be back before your first class starts."