“Oh, I’m not supposed to leave the porch alone.”
The corner of my mouth tipped into a smirk. “Good thing you won’t be alone, Wren like the bird. I’ll protect you.” I puffed out my chest. “What do you say? Wanna come eat hot wings with me and Zane?”
She chewed on the end of her thumb, big eyes darting up and down the dirt road outside her trailer. “I don’t know, she might wake up.”
“Wake up?”
Her eyes widened with fear. “I-I mean… forget I said anything.”
“Why don’t we go ask her, your mom, I mean.” I stepped closer to her. “I’ll tell her I’ll look out for you and we can—”
“N-no.” She leaped up. “That’s okay. She’s sick, we probably shouldn’t disturb her. I’ll come with you. But only if you’re sure.”
“Wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t. Come on Wren like the bird, I’m starving.”
Harleigh Wren was quiet as we walked the short distance to Zane’s place. I watched her out of the corner of my eye. She was small for seven. A fragile little thing. Seemed right that she was called Wren, she reminded me of a bird. Tiny and helpless. Me, Zane, and our other friend Kye camped out once in Kye’s backyard and spent all night listening to the birds. I liked listening to them, watching them too.
Kye was lucky, his family had one of the modular prefabs. It was on a bigger plot on the other side of The Row. They had a driveway and a small yard. It was one of nicest homes in the whole of the trailer park.
“You okay over there?” I asked her.
She glanced up at me and nodded.
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
“Not unless I have something important to say.”
“I’ll have to remember that.” I chuckled, relieved that we’d reached Zane’s trailer. “So don’t worry about Zane, he… uh—”
“Who’s your new friend?” He appeared, eyes narrowed right at Harleigh Wren.
“This is Birdie.” The words tumbled out, but it sounded right. Harleigh Wren like the bird. “She lives in the trailer across from mine.”
“Okay.” He frowned. “But why is she here?”
“Because she needed a friend, and she looked sad and lonely on her porch.”
Birdie sucked in a sharp breath, flicking her eyes to mine as she hovered behind me. Zane’s eyes narrowed again. Zane didn’t like outsiders; he didn’t really like people. Sure, he liked me and Kye and his gran. But Birdie wasn’t a threat. She was too small and fragile for that. He only had to look at her, with those big green eyes and the way she stood huddled in on herself to see that she was scared.
And if she was scared, that meant she needed someone to protect her.
“I don’t know, Nix. You know my gran doesn’t like strangers.”
Code for: I don’t like strangers.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t leave her there, Z. She was so… sad.”
“Uh, fine. But remember she’s a girl, Nix. And my gran says you can’t never trust a girl.”
My dad said something similar.
I glanced back at Birdie, and she flashed me a small smile. Surely, she couldn’t cause that much trouble.
I decided right there and then. Birdie was sad and lonely, and something told me she didn’t have many friends.
But I could be her friend.
I could protect her.
Harleigh
“This was a good call,” Miles said as we headed toward the bench, ice cream cones in hand.
I’d gone for something classic. A simple mint choc chip. It reminded me of better days. Of being a kid and playing over at Mrs. Feeley’s house while my mom slept off another hangover. She always kept a pint of ice cream on hand for the days when I was sad about my mom. Me and Nix would easily get through half the tub before she pried it off us and made us eat something nutritional.
“Harleigh, you going to stand there all afternoon?”
“W-what?” I blinked and realized my mistake.
Miles and Celeste were already seated at the picnic bench. I’d obviously zoned out again.
“Sorry.” I slid in next to Miles and he grinned at me.
“Have you been here before?”
“No. It’s pretty.”
“Wait until the season changes, the leaves turn these amazing gold and red colors. It’s really something.” His eyes twinkled with excitement.
“You’re really into the trees, huh?” I said, fighting a smile.
“I-I… uh, I guess.” He stuttered out, rubbing the back of his neck, and Celeste smothered a laugh.
“Relax, Miles,” I added. “I’m teasing you.” My lips pulled into a thin smile.
“So how was your first day?”
“I survived. Guess that’s the best I could hope for.” Taking a bite of ice cream, I tried to ignore their heavy stares. “Nate tried to talk to me in fourth period, it was weird.”
“Ugh,” Celeste grumbled around her ice cream. “He is such an ass.”
“Miller’s pretty harmless. But if Marc Denby says anything again, Harleigh, I want you to tell me.”
“Why would I do that?”
Miles gave a small shrug. “So I can beat his ass, obviously.”
“I don’t want you to fight over me,” I said.
“It wouldn’t be fighting over you,” he corrected. “It would be helping you.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Marc has it in for me…”
“Because of Phoenix Wilder, right?”
Wow. Miles went straight for the jugular.
I threw him an incredulous look and he rolled his eyes. “Come on, Harleigh. People talk. The kids at school talk. And no one talks louder than Marc Denby and his guys. Rumor has it you and Wilder were—”
“Don’t,” I snapped, my appetite recoiling as much as my heart.
“Shit, sorry. It’s a sore subject, got it. I won’t mention him again.”
“Good, don’t.” I leaned over and dropped the remainder of my ice cream cone into the trash can.
Pulling my legs up onto the bench, I folded my arms around my knees and dropped my chin onto them. Miles was right, it was beautiful out here. The big idyllic oak trees gave it an ethereal atmosphere. The chime of a child’s laughter and the gentle whir of the generator from the ice cream stand only added to the ambience.
I focused on the sounds, losing myself in the caw of the birds; the rush of water as kids played at the small water table in the park, shrieking with delight every time it overflowed, soaking their bare little toes. The gentle ripple of the breeze whistling through the trees. That was the sound I loved the most. I could get lost in it, especially when I felt it brush the back of my neck.
Miles and Celeste chatted beside me, giving me space to just be in the moment. Miles probably thought I was meditating or something, but I didn’t care. It was hard work always being present. Always staying engaged and active. Sometimes it was like having a parasite living inside me, and at any moment, it could take my body hostage, forcing it with its will. Sometimes, like right now, that meant crashing, retreating into myself to the point of silence. Other times, it meant lashing out. Screaming and yelling and crying and destroying things. Hurting things.