Shine - Lauren Myracle [64]
Robert was in his own head. “I figured he was playing,” he said, “so I was like, ‘Uh-huh, I hear ya. You’re not gonna smack Bailee-Ann if you find her being humped by some other guy?’”
“Robert”.
“But Beef was serious. He said he’d drop her sorry ass, but he wouldn’t hit her, ’cause it ain’t right to hit a girl.”
“Good for him. And anyway, would you want him to hit your sister?”
He dragged his tongue around his ice cream. “So then I said, ‘Lemme see if I got this straight. It ain’t right to hit a homo. It ain’t right to hit a girl. Who am I allowed to hit?’”
I put my elbow on the table and propped my cheek on my fist. I was glad Beef was teaching him not to hit homos and girls, but Jesus, this conversation was just plain depressing me.
“He said I ain’t allowed to hit no one,” Robert replied, his voice hiking up in disbelief. “Said it ain’t right to hit, period. So I’m like, ‘Not even guy-on-guy?’ And he’s all, ‘Not even guyon-guy.’”
I closed my eyes and pressed the heel of my palm against my forehead. “Maybe he wants to set a good example for you,” I said at last.
“Whatever,” Robert muttered. “Still think Beef should knock Bailee-Ann around for being such a slut.”
I recalled how Bailee-Ann had described herself using that word, and I felt a pang, because now I got it. She’d acted mad at Beef for not making nice with her, but really, she’d been mad at herself for cheating on him.
“Robert, I know you don’t believe that,” I said. “Bailee-Ann isn’t a . . . what you said she is.”
“Is too, the way she wears those halter tops and lets her boobs hang out. And she’s stepping out on Beef! With Tommy!”
I didn’t understand how Bailee-Ann could cheat on Beef, either. Still, Robert was being disrespectful. He was supposed to look up to his big sister, not call her names and talk about here boobs.
Christian wasn’t much as far as brothers went, but he didn’t do that.
“Have you told Beef about Tommy and your sister?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he said. He looked troubled. “But that’s how I know Bailee-Ann was lying that night you came over. She said she was in for the night by one forty-five, but she weren’t.”
It took a moment for the implication of what he said to sink in. Then came the adrenaline. If Bailee-Ann wasn’t in for the night by one forty-five, then neither was Tommy.
“Hey, Cat,” Robert said as if he’d just had a new thought. “You think Tommy’s the one who beat up Patrick?”
My heart hammered. “Do you?”
“I don’t know. He sure told lots of fag jokes. Wanna hear one?”
“No thanks.”
“How does a fag change a lightbulb?”
“I said no,” I snapped.
Robert peered at me with concern. “I didn’t understand it anyway,” he said. “I hardly ever do.”
“Did Tommy tell jokes like that around Patrick?”
“Sure.” Robert pulled his eyebrows together. “So maybe he did beat up Patrick, huh?”
I felt sick, hearing it out loud. But I didn’t deny it.
“Only if he did, Bailee-Ann wouldn’t have been part of it,” Robert said firmly. “She ain’t that messed up, and anyway, she can’t fight for shit.” His face broke into a smile. “She hits like a damn girl. Ha. That’s funny.”
“What if Tommy did it and Bailee-Ann just watched?” I asked. I curled my toes within my flip-flops. “Would she stop him, or would she just . . . ?”
Robert licked his ice cream, considering. “Nah,” he said at last. “She don’t like seeing things get hurt. She helps baby birds and stuff, like if they fall out of their nest. She found one outside our house once, and she kept it alive in a shoebox for a week. Then it got better and tried to fly through the window, so it got dead all over again.”
Sadness made him scowl. “Stupid baby bird.”
“Okay, let’s just think for a second,” I said, talking to myself more than to Robert. “If Tommy did do it, he wouldn’t have done it when Bailee-Ann was around.” I pushed my fingers against my temples. “But she left y’all’s house with Tommy, which means they were together, which means she was with him the whole time.”
I slumped against the back of the booth. “Which means Tommy didn’t beat up Patrick, not if you’re right and