He trails off. After a minute, his body relaxes. It’s a calculated move; he’s not asleep, but he wants me to think he is.
I lie down on my side and stare at his back.
Sleep doesn’t come. I stay frozen like that for a very long time.
In the morning, I wake as the sun is starting to stream in through cracks in the boards over the windows. I’m on my side, curled in a ball, and I slowly unfurl, stretching out my legs and arms.
And then I remember.
I glance over the side of the couch. Wes is lying on his stomach on the floor next to me, his left arm stretched to the side.
“He keeps moving around, like he’s dreaming or something.” I turn to see Nikki sitting at the table. She’s dressed for the day, in a black dress and neon pink leggings. Her hair is up, blue streaks mixing with the brown in a messy ponytail.
“What time is it?” My voice is rough.
“Early. Just past dawn.”
My stomach makes a gurgling noise and I press my hand to it. “Is there anything to eat?”
She shakes her head. “This isn’t a hotel, Princess. There’s no breakfast unless I can scrounge something together before the boys wake up.”
I should have realized, after how dinner arrived last night. “Are you going out to get food, then?”
She nods.
I think of the story Tag told Wes. Nikki might not be Little J’s mom, but it’s been her job to feed and clothe him for the past few years. While I was worrying about what to wear to my freshman formal, she was trying to keep her family together.
“I could come . . . help you. If you want.” My voice is soft as I brace myself for her rejection.
She purses her lips. After a long minute, she shrugs. “I could care less.” She gets up and walks over to the door. It opens with a low creaking sound. She pauses with her back to me. “So are you coming, or what?”
I look back down at Wes. It’s probably not dangerous to be out in the city without him and after last night I think we both need some distance. Still, what will he think when he wakes to find me gone?
“Well?”
I get up from the couch, carefully stepping over Wes’s prone form. “Yeah, I’m coming.”
Even though it’s early morning, the air is muggy, like a wet blanket that settles thick and heavy on our skin. Nikki and I turn onto Avenue C. The East Village is quiet and empty, with few cars passing and even fewer people on the street. I suppose even drug dealers have to sleep sometime.
Nikki walks quickly, her short legs swallowing up the sidewalk as fast as they can. I’m taller than her by a few inches, but I struggle to keep up. We’re both quiet, and I try to think of something to say.
“I heard Tag talking about your brother Chris last night,” I blurt out. “I’m sorry.”
I wince as soon as the words leave my mouth, but Nikki just scowls and lifts one shoulder. “It is what it is.”
I glance over at her. “Does that kind of thing happen a lot around here?”
“Kids disappearing? Yeah.”
“Have you known others?”
She stops walking and puts one hand on her hip. “Why are you so interested in this?”
“I—”
“This is the ghetto, Princess. Kids disappear all the time. Most people don’t care. Just let it go.”
But I can’t. “I care, and you do too. That counts for something.”
“So what? It doesn’t change anything.”
I meet her eyes. “I guess I’m just curious why no one else notices or does anything about it.”
“Some people notice.” She starts walking again.
“What does that mean?”
She doesn’t answer.
“I’m not the bad guy,” I tell her. “I’m just trying to help.”
She laughs. It’s a cruel sound. “Are you going to swoop in and fix everything? The little white girl princess come to rescue the poor street kids? Spare me.”
My mouth falls open. “No. I—forget it.”
We walk in silence for a minute. The worst part is that she’s right—she has no reason to trust me. No reason to tell me anything.
I can’t stop those kids from disappearing. No one can.
“I’m sorry,” I say stiffly. “You’re right, I should mind my own business.”
She rolls her eyes. “Calm down, Princess. No offense, but I can tell that’s not one of your strengths.”
“Yeah, I guess not.”
She grabs my arm and we both stop. Her voice is softer as she says, “Look, if you want to know more about this, you should talk to LJ, okay? He has a list.”
“A list?”
“Of the kids who disappeared. He’s been working on it for years.”
“Why—”
But her fingers suddenly dig into my arm, and her brown eyes light up. “He’s here. Come on.” She tugs me down the sidewalk.
An hour later, we arrive back at the apartment carrying a bag of slightly bruised fruit.
“You found breakfast?” Tag comes out of his room. He stretches his arm over his head, and his shirt rises a little, showing the dark skin of his stomach. I was wrong before; he is attractive, even if he wouldn’t be considered classically handsome. But his eyes are almost as dark as Wes’s, and he has a strong, square jaw. “What’d you girls find out there?”
Nikki dumps the bag on the table and walks over to him. “Some fruit.” Her words are muffled as she buries her face against his chest.
“Viktor again?”
Nikki nods, and her blue ponytail bobs up and down. “Princess here helped.”
Tag catches my eye over her head. He looks surprised. “You the decoy?”
“I guess. Nikki just told me to go talk to some pervy guy selling fruit, and the next thing I knew she’d unloaded half his cart.”
Tag laughs. “I would have liked to see that.” He lets go of
