She needed to unload it. In fact, she’d met with her fence twice since the night she’d stolen it, more than ready to collect her cash. But at the last minute she’d changed her mind, unwilling to part with the only thing she had of him. It was certifiably crazy. Especially when she needed the cash. And yet here she was, sleeping with the damned thing. Sick.
The cool morning air kissed her skin, helping Claire to come more fully awake. She’d been far too tempted to stay in bed lately, yearning to return to a dream that she had no right to lay claim to. What happened at Diablo three nights ago proved that Claire had lost her edge. That it was time to pack up the con game once and for all. Too bad she was still short on cash. If she wasn’t going to fence the damned watch, she was going to have to go out. Tonight. Her rent was already five days past due, and if she didn’t pay her landlord by tomorrow she was as good as evicted. One more hustle, she promised herself. After tonight she was calling it quits. Finito. Donezo. No more.
“Claire? Are you home?” Vanessa’s tiny voice came on the heels of a knock at Claire’s door.
“Hang on, sweetie. Just give me a second!”
Claire rolled out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats as she padded for the door. Today was the first day of school and no doubt Carlene was too hungover or already too high to help her daughter get ready. Crap. Had Vanessa even eaten breakfast? Claire didn’t have much, but maybe she could whip the kid up some scrambled eggs and toast.#p#分页标题#e#
“Hey, kiddo,” Claire greeted as she opened the door. Vanessa was beaming, her long blond hair pulled up in a haphazard ponytail with a bit of pink ribbon. She was wearing a ruffled pink skirt and a matching blouse, white with pink polka dots. Claire’s heart constricted in her chest. There was so much pride in Vanessa’s young face. And still she was much too young to shoulder so much responsibility.
“Check you out!” Claire stepped back to let Vanessa inside and smoothed a hand over the frilly fabric of her skirt.
“Do you like it? I went down to Tina’s store like you said. Did you know she’s got designer clothes and stuff? I got this outfit and three others. Plus a backpack!” Vanessa turned to show off the pastel pink bag that hung from her shoulders.
Claire smiled. It wasn’t hard to tell what Vanessa’s favorite color was. “Awesome,” she replied. “You look so pretty. All of the kids are going to love your outfit.” Claire had not-so-fond memories of her own first days of school, wearing ratty, dirty clothes and being made fun of by girls whose parents cared enough to buy them new pretty outfits. Or, you know, wash a load of laundry once in a while. “Hey, why don’t you turn around and let me fix your ponytail?” Vanessa whirled around and Claire untied the ribbon and removed the elastic band, smoothing out the ridges and bumps as she combed through her hair with her fingers and gathered it back up. “Did you get some supplies? You’re going to need pencils and notebooks and stuff, too.”
“Yep,” Vanessa said with a smile. She pulled a folded-up piece of paper from her skirt pocket and waved it in the air. “I got everything on the school supply list.”
“I’m glad,” Claire said with affection. She wound the elastic back over the ponytail and retied the ribbon. There were days that she considered suggesting that Vanessa move in with her. But she knew that without going through the proper channels that wouldn’t be a good idea. Nothing like effectively kidnapping someone’s kid to complicate your life. “Have you eaten anything yet today? I can make you some eggs and toast before you catch the bus.”
“I’m okay,” Vanessa said. “I had some money left over, so I bought a box of granola bars and some fruit cups. We get to eat snacks before lunch, so I’m saving them to eat at school.”
Claire’s stomach knotted up so tight she thought she might just throw up. Despite her shitty life, Vanessa was so positive, so oblivious to her circumstances. Either that or she was simply a good pretender. Something Claire knew far too much about.
“Well, I guess I better go to the bus stop. I don’t want to miss it. I just wanted to show you my outfit.”
Vanessa headed for the door and Claire followed. “Have a great first day,” she said as she opened the door. “I want to hear all about it, okay?”
“Okay,” Vanessa replied. “Bye, Claire!”
“See you, kiddo.”
Angry tears stung at Claire’s eyes as she closed the door. On the flip side of wanting to adopt Vanessa, there were days that she wished she lived as far away from Vanessa as humanly possible. The residual hurt Claire felt was just too damned much and it dredged up memories that she had spent years trying to bury.