Chapter 2

Julia had made dinner.

Pasta with butter. Frozen peas. She'd set two plates on the little table, turning the chipped one toward her chair.

“You ate?” she asked as I came in.

I shook my head.

She took a handful of folded bills from her hoodie pocket.

“I helped Mrs. Alvarez with the flyers again. It's thirty dollars. I can do Saturday, too.”

I'd told her we were short for the tutoring deposit. I hadn't meant to make the problem hers.

She pushed the money toward me.

“We can pay some now and the rest when Dad gets back.”

I took out the cash from my last few cleaning jobs and counted the full amount onto the table.

“You're going to your class. Keep that.”

“Mom. What about groceries?”

“Let me handle groceries.”

I ate food I couldn't taste while she told me about an English assignment. My mother's bracelet rested against the table. Julia noticed it and smiled.

“You found it.”

I nodded because I couldn't explain without falling apart.

Eric called while we were clearing the dishes.

“Hey. You guys eat?”

“Yes.”

“Lucky. I'm living on hotel noodles over here.”

From somewhere behind him, I heard laughter and water.

A transfer notification appeared on my screen. Twenty dollars.

“Get Julia something good for dinner tomorrow,” he said. “The tutoring'll have to wait. My bonus got cut again.”

Twenty dollars wouldn't cover the products I'd just scraped onto his other family's sheets.

“We need a divorce, Eric.”

Silence.

Then irritation.

“Over a class? You think money grows on trees? I work my ass off, and you can't even—”

“Babe!” a woman called. “Your bath's ready.”

His breathing changed.

“Client's calling. We'll talk when I'm home.”

He hung up.

Julia touched my sleeve.

“I can study on my own. Don't fight because of me.”

I held her so tightly she had to shift the plate out of the way.

“This isn't because of you,” I said into her hair. “Nothing about this is because of you.”