The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne Page A

to steady myself. It wasn’t working; I was crying.
    I turned away and wiped my tears with my sleeve. “I’m going to take a bath.”
    “Help me with this stuff,” she said, as she buzzed around the kitchen, wiping the counters and scraping the plates from breakfast. “Willard is going to make a big Italian feast for our last dinner together. We also got staples for you.” She handed me stuff from the bags to put away. “No caffeine or nicotine, though. You’re on your own there.”
    “Sounds like you and Jared have everything figured out. Remind me not to fall asleep on you again,” I said.
    “You didn’t fall asleep. You passed out. All you have to do is get the bills and stuff in order. We have to wait to see what happens to Dad. I’m sure Mom took care of most of it ahead of time.” Wendy shoved cans and boxes into all the right places. She had Mom’s arms and had taken to wearing her apron. From behind, it was like watching Mom return from the store. “Besides, we figured you could use a break.” She stopped to think about what she thought I needed to get away from.
    “For all you know I could have a fabulous life in New York,” I said, heading toward the stairs.
    Wendy grabbed my arm and turned me toward her. “Do you?” she asked, with a tenderness that caught me off guard.

E IGHT
    I WENT TO SCHOOL the next day with a black eye. No one suspected anything was wrong; cuts and bruises were a regular part of being a Rucker kid. People assumed we played hard.
    I told Nell that I would walk home. I wanted to be by myself and wasn’t in a big hurry to get back. I thought a lot about leaving for good that day and I toyed with the idea of getting a bus ticket for New York and just taking off. The more I thought about it, the happier it made me. There was no reason to stay. Going home would mean facing my father, who would act like it was my fault for getting between him and his pie, and Addison, who would … God, what was I thinking?
    Addison was weeding my mother’s flower beds when I came up the drive. He had made good on his warning to get up early. His truck was gone by the time I woke up. On the days he worked at his grandma’s he was usually home by late afternoon.
    “Where’s the fire?” He sat back on his heels and waved his small garden shovel at me as I hurried past.
    I went through the side door and up the stairs to my room. The house was empty. There was a note on my bed from my mother.
    Cat
,
    Went to supper with Dad and Wendy. Jared is at football
practice. There’s leftover macaroni in the fridge
.
    Mom xxxooo

    So I get a black eye and Wendy and Mom get steak? Great. As if things weren’t bad enough she leaves me with him. I started thinking about my plan again. I opened my backpack and pulled out some sketches I had been doing for Kitty’s big fight with the Hand.
    Addison rapped on the doorway. I ignored him.
    “How about I take you to dinner?” Addison took a bandanna out of his back pocket and wiped his hands. He wore a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball hat and baggy overalls.
    “I have homework,” I said, putting away my sketchbook.
    “Is something wrong?”
    “I’m busy.” I gave him a fake smile. His cheeks were flush, like they were after he finished fucking her.
    “What happened to your eye?” I touched my face. I had forgotten.
    “Nothing.”
    “It’s black and blue,” he said, coming toward me.
    I put my hand up to stop him.
    He stepped back into the doorway.
    “There’s macaroni in the fridge; help yourself.”
    “Was it an accident?”
    I ignored him.
    “Did you put some ice on it?”
    I pulled out my homework and laid it on the bed.
    “Are you angry with me?”
    I opened my
World Cultures
book and found the chapter I was supposed to review for the test tomorrow and pretended to study. But no matter how hard I tried to concentrate on reading, I could feel him in the doorway.
    Outside the wind made the screen door bang open and closed. The room was filled