A crease formed between her brows. “You owe him money?”
“Yes. He’s … helped my family out in the past.” He didn’t even want to get started on Hayden.
“If it was help, why does he want the money back?”
“Because I won’t join the Brotherhood—the charter.”
“Why?”
He frowned. “Because I thought I could do better.”
As she considered this, he took a step back. Maybe he’d said enough to scare her home. It was just a matter of time before she realized they were fighting on opposite sides of the same war.
“Could you?” she asked finally.
“Could I what?”
“Do better. Organize the factory workers. I heard you and your friends talking about it back there.”
He slung a hand around the back of his neck, confused. “Um. Yeah. Not me, though, everyone. I thought if we could all get together, they’d be forced to make some changes.”
“‘They’ being my family.”
“Right.” Something was working through her head, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what.
“How?” she asked after a moment. “What would you see done?”
He shrugged. “I have a few ideas.”
She watched his shoulders roll back, his mouth harden into a straight line, and suspected that he knew the faults of this place—and what should be improved—better than anyone.
“I don’t belong on the line,” she said. “I belong in the office.”
“Look.” He scratched a hand over his jaw. “I was mad. I didn’t mean—”
“I’m going home with you.” She pulled the hair back from her face.
“Lena.” He chuckled dryly, as if anything could possibly be funny. “I just told you I wanted to fight your family, and that a very dangerous man is going to come looking for me. Why aren’t you running?”
She pursed her lips, and met his gaze at last. The sadness in her eyes humbled him.
“Because I think I can help.”
* * *
By the time they’d passed the St. Anthony statue, he’d chewed his nails down to the quick. He’d lost his mind—why else would he have brought her here? Or walked away from the Brotherhood’s offer? Or told her he’d wanted to organize a press?
He was insane. That was all there was to it.
He watched her take in her surroundings, wondering again how she’d tricked him into telling her so much. The little greenback was full of surprises. An hour ago, he’d figured he would never see her again, but instead of taking off, she’d stuck. Despite what he’d said, she hadn’t done so bad on the line, either, aside from keeling over. Slow, but precise.
As they walked, an idea formed in his mind. If he had a Hampton in his corner, the others might actually listen. Josef Hampton himself might actually listen. He and Otto wouldn’t give the workers time to say their piece, but they couldn’t write off Lena. She could be the voice they needed to get the same rights as the Brotherhood.
If they hadn’t already cut her out of the family, which, by the look of her cheek, they might have.
The sign for Keeneland Apartments was covered with graffiti. After reading the string of curse words, Lena had snorted, and then blushed, and coughed delicately. She wasn’t used to the nitro fog from the chem plant. Colin hardly noticed it now, but from the way she kept pressing her thumb on her temple, he bet it was giving her a headache.
Outside the first building, a group of kids were playing kick-the-can while a couple guys chucked knives into a wooden sign. A few thin souls, sick with the flu, wandered around aimlessly. Beside the dirt path a man with a mangy dog smoked a hash pipe. The dog barked as they passed, and Lena jumped in the opposite direction.
Colin led her around the side of the building through the weeds. Jed and his men were nowhere to be seen—not yet, anyway. They needed to get inside. It would be dark soon.
“You live here?” She stared up at the boarded windows and the laundry hanging from the fire escape. A couple somewhere upstairs was fighting.
He hunched. “Just for a while.” Not forever. There were no old men in Metaltown—no one lived long enough.
“I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine.” He knew what it looked like. When they’d first moved here he’d thought the same thing—how could anyone live like this? But expectations changed over time. You made the best of what you had, or you ended up like Hayden. Forgetting yourself one fix at a time.
He opened the door to the building, remembering what his mom had told him once about ladies, and how it was polite to let them go first. That had been when he was little, in Bakerstown, before she stopped expecting him to bring a girl home. The metal creaked on the hinges, and the hallway stunk of rotten things.
They crossed to the stairway, and each step up brought more tightness to his chest. He didn’t know when Jed would come, or what he would tell his family. He didn’t know what Lena would think once she saw where he lived.
She followed wordlessly to the second floor and down the hall to apartment 205. It wasn’t locked—thieves had broken the lock years before they’d moved in. He rested his hand on the handle for a moment, glancing down, wishing he could apologize. Hating that he wanted to.
She gave him a small smile and he pushed inside.
With one bedroom, one bathroom, and a living area, the Walters’ house was a tight squeeze. The carpet was pea-green and stained, a tightly woven mat that shredded at the base of the walls. A crate and a piece of plywood leaned against a futon couch, and a hot plate and assortment of dishes were stacked on a nightstand. Broth was heating in a large steel pot; the smell of synthetic beef stock made Colin’s stomach rumble.
A hacking cough emanated from the bedroom. A moment later a rail-thin woman in a pink bathrobe stepped out, a wastebasket under one arm. Her thin yellow hair was missing in patches.
“Oh good, I thought the foreman was going to hold you over…” When she saw that Colin wasn’t alone, the red blotches on her cheeks grew brighter. She dropped the basket and backed up quickly the way she’d come.
“Cherish…” Colin motioned for Lena to sit down and crossed into the bedroom. Cherish was coughing again, and searching frantically through a pile of laundry on the floor. He placed one sturdy hand on her shoulder, and with the other, gently pounded the corners of her back to break up the mucus in her lungs. Her breathing slowed to a rattling wheeze.
She stuffed a blue, handmade knit cap on her head to hide her hair.
“I didn’t know you had company,” she said, still breathing heavily. Her lips were redder than usual.
“Is it okay?”
“Yes! You just surprised me, that’s all. Where’s Ida?”
“Still at work, I guess.” Probably pulling another double.
“Okay, how do I look?” Frail hands with paper-thin skin pulled the hat down over her ears. She straightened her back.
Like you’re dying. “Fine. Pretty.”
She slapped him lightly on the cheek and smiled. He held her elbow to steady her as they walked out the bedroom door, and found Lena was still standing, staring over the couch at a framed certificate.
“You won the spelling bee?” she asked, humor in her voice. Colin pinched his eyes closed.
“This is Cherish. My mom.”
She wobbled forward, hands outstretched. Lena smiled warmly and took them, never faltering. Unafraid. “I’m Mary. It’s lovely to meet you, Cherish. Thank you for having me.”
“So polite!” Cherish grinned at Colin, just like she’d been doing since she’d married his mother fifteen years ago, and then wavered as the vertigo hit. He jumped forward, guiding her to the couch, then grabbed a clean rag off the shelf and passed it her way. The blood soaked through the cotton within seconds. She was getting worse.
“Mary, tell me all about yourself,” she said through labored breaths, tucking the rag into her sleeve.
Lena’s eyes flicked to Colin. “We
ll … I, um…”
“Mary’s tired,” cut in Colin.
Cherish smiled in a knowing way and patted Lena’s hand. “How about you take a bath and we’ll have some soup, and then I’ll tell you all about how Colin used to bring home stray cats and dress them up in his old baby clothes.”
Lena giggled. It distracted him until Cherish began to cough again.
A moment later a rattling came from the door’s broken lock, and before Colin could reach it, his ma entered. There were bags under her eyes, and her nose was red from the chill. She pulled off her scarf, hanging it beside the knife they kept near the exit. Colin braced himself for her disappointment; she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“Ma, this is Mary. Mary, this is Ida.”
“Oh,” said Ida, her brows lifting. She passed an unmistakable look of pleasure to Cherish. “Mary. Welcome. You’re Colin’s girlfriend then?”
“Ma.” Colin groaned.
“Ida,” whispered Cherish. “You’re embarrassing him.”
“What?” Ida crossed between them and pressed her hand against Cherish’s forehead. “Colin’s never brought a girlfriend home.”
“Oh, I’m not…” Lena hesitated. “I think I’ll clean up now, if it’s all right.”
“This is great,” muttered Colin.
“Isn’t she pretty?” said Cherish.
Both his moms were grinning like they were posing for a damn picture.
“Come on.” Colin grabbed Lena’s arm and directed her to the bathroom. There wasn’t much to the shower besides a low spigot and a bucket, but there was lye soap, and at least it got her away from the women.
“Which side is hot?” she asked, staring at the knob.
“Keep turning, you’ll find it.” Did it look like they had hot water? He closed the door behind him, realizing suddenly that she was three feet away, taking off her clothes.
And that his ma and Cherish were also three feet away, staring at him.
“Try to hold yourselves together,” he told them.
“Put the table out,” said Cherish. “I’ll get the bowls.”
“You’ll sit down.” Ida kissed her knuckles and placed them in her lap.
Colin pushed the crate out in front of the futon, and laid the plywood on top. Ida set out four bowls and filled them with broth. He had to get this out fast, otherwise it would burn a hole through him.
“Ma, I have to tell you something.”
“Oh God,” said Cherish. “Mary’s pregnant. I knew it.”
“Cherish!”
The look on Ida’s face could have pinned him to the wall. “What? How many times have I told you—”
“Nobody’s pregnant,” interrupted Colin before she could launch into his favorite, not-at-all-awkward responsible-relationships speech. Quickly, he told them what had happened at the factory, carefully leaving out his thoughts of pressing at Small Parts or Hayden’s drug debts.
“Well, if you don’t want to join the Brotherhood, that’s up to you,” said Ida slowly, her brows knitted together.
Ty already tried that. “Jed didn’t like that answer. He … he says you’re out too, Ma.”
Ida’s face went ashen. She didn’t look over to Cherish, though Colin knew she wanted to. “I’m out. What’s that mean? I’ve still got my job, haven’t I?”
Colin wanted to disappear. “I don’t know. He’s not going to send by any more green. In fact…”
Cherish leaned forward. “What, honey?”
“He wants to collect.”
Ida placed her face in her hands.
“Ma, I’m sorry.”
She didn’t say anything for a while, then looked up sharply. “You stay out of his way, all right? I’ll take care of this. I don’t want you trying to cover for me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Colin lied.
“I mean it, Colin.” He nodded, the shame hot and heavy.
“Never liked him anyway,” said Cherish, placing one hand on her back. “All tail feathers and no bird, that one is.”
The seconds ticked by. Colin could barely swallow. Life was hard enough on his Ma already without him screwing it up.
“I’ve been thinking more about Charity House,” broached Cherish. “If I stayed there—”
“No.” Ida’s voice broke. “Don’t even say it. Don’t even think it.”
“Ida,” hushed Cherish. She reached for Ida’s cheek, cupping it in her hand.
Colin spun when he heard footsteps behind him on the rug. Lena was standing beside the bathroom door, shivering in Shima’s pants and one of Colin’s clean long-sleeved shirts. Her dirty gloves peeked out at the hem. What was it about those damn gloves?
Her wet hair was down. Her face clean.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said. Colin couldn’t immediately remember what they’d been talking about.
“Join us,” said Cherish. She was sweating. Sitting up this long had been a strain.
“I hope it’s all right I borrowed a shirt,” whispered Lena.
He nodded.
While they ate they talked about other things, life in Bakerstown, stories of Colin and Hayden growing up. His ma and Cherish settled into their rhythm of finishing each other’s sentences, making Lena laugh. He didn’t even mind their jibes after a while. For the first time in a long while, he didn’t wish he was somewhere else.
But when a knock came at the boarded window, it all came crashing back.
He rose quickly, reaching for the knife still in his boot. Ida joined him, grabbing a tire iron they kept at the door to tuck behind her back. She stood beside him, giving him one quick nod before he slid the board aside.
Ty was standing outside, hands on her hips.
“Where in the holy hell have you been?” she shouted. “I’ve been looking everywhere!”
“Hey, Ty,” said Ida, rubbing the knot out of her chest. She retreated to the couch to help Cherish to bed.
“Hi, Ida,” Ty said, motioning Colin through the window. “Come on already! Outside. By the statue. You have to come!”
“Ty, I can’t,” he said. He couldn’t leave now, not when Jed still might be coming by. But she was already gone, sliding down the fire escape.
“Is that … Tell her to hold on!” Lena was standing, already reaching for her sweater to follow them. With everything that had happened, she still wanted to talk to Ty?
He dragged a hand over his face. “Ma, I’ll be right back. Don’t answer the door.”
“Don’t give me orders,” she retorted, hoisting a quiet Cherish over one arm. “I’m the mom, I give the orders.”
He shook his head. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Be careful.” Cherish wheezed, and Ida patted her back, no longer watching their son.
Colin helped Lena over the windowsill, wondering if it wouldn’t be better to leave her inside. It was dark now, and who knew what kind of trouble Ty had stirred up.
From the bottom of the fire escape, he could hear it—a crowd, over near the statue.
“Lena,” he said. “You should go back up.”
“I need to talk to that girl,” she insisted, pushing past him.
As they rounded the side of the building, he saw them. Ty and Martin and Agnes. Tall Matchstick and Zeke and his little sister with her poofy hair. Noneck and even some of the warehouse guys. Chip pushed to the front, ordering everyone to “shut up.”
“What’s all this about?” Colin asked.
“We didn’t sign,” said Zeke.
“Better make it worth our while,” grumbled Martin.
“They’re here to pledge to the code,” Chip said excitedly. “Like I did.”
Colin could hardly believe it. They weren’t joining Jed Schultz; they wanted their own Brotherhood. A new Brotherhood.
“What the hell is she doing here?” asked Ty, pointing an accusing finger at Lena.
23
TY
Ty’s glare tracked from Lena to Colin, every hair standing on end. What she saw di
dn’t make sense. A Hampton, wearing scrap clothes? Out in the slums? With Colin?
The only conceivable answer was that it wasn’t her. It was a look-alike. Just a girl, and it wasn’t like Ty hadn’t seen him with other girls before.
“Why didn’t you sign?” Colin asked Zeke and Martin after his shock passed.
“I told them not to,” said Chip, arms crossed over his chest. “That’s why.”
Ty grabbed Colin’s arm, angling him away from the Hampton imposter. “Last night I snuck into the Brotherhood office and overheard Jed having a little conversation.” With Hayden. She bit the inside of her cheek. Better not to mention that yet. “The bastard’s taking bribes from the Hamptons and dues from the workers. He’s playing both sides.”
“Why?” The yellow streetlight cast an ominous glow over his hard features.
“To pack his pockets with green. Because he’s a worthless pigface. You choose.”
Colin swore. All the times Jed had given them money, he’d said he was looking out for them. He told everyone that. That he was protecting them from the boss.
Ty motioned toward the others. “Chip and me, we told the guys. I looked all over but couldn’t find you.”
Colin glanced over her shoulder to the girl he’d come with. She was talking to Zeke and his sister. “I’ve been busy.”
A frustrated noise came from her throat. “Great, you found a Hampton replacement.”
Colin didn’t say anything, and in the silence Ty felt the smirk melt off her face.
“You’re kidding me,” she said.
Colin swiped his knuckles over his lips.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” In a surge of fury she shoved him, and he staggered back. He didn’t attempt to defend himself.
“Excuse me,” said the girl—Lena Hampton. “I’ve been meaning to speak with you.”
Ty ignored her. “Why is she with you, Colin?”
He took a deep breath. “It’s a long story.”
“I wanted to help you.” Lena’s voice had grown strident. Others had turned their way and were watching now.
“I think I’ve had about enough of your help,” snapped Ty, baring her teeth.
“Ty.” Colin stepped between them. “Keep it down.”