Chapter 20: Earth

“Take yesterday for instance," Jesse says. "I haven't thought about the car accident in years. Maybe because I sort of block that whole thing—losing Mom and Dad—then being abandoned by Aunt Trina. It was terrible. But you had that near miss with the car, and you asked me about it.”

“What about it?”

He swivels his laptop around on our wooden spool table, and points at the screen. “I got bored after you went to bed early with your wrist.”

I'm about to put a bite of eggs in my mouth, but the fork slips from my fingers and clatters against my plate. “You did it.” I glance at the document on the screen. It's the file on our parent's death. The police did investigate the car accident.

He shakes his head. “It doesn't say much. I imagine they do reports on all motor vehicle accidents with a resulting death as a matter of course.”

“Then what did I stumble on, exactly?”

He points down at the bottom of a form. “The interesting part is here.”

“Where it says, 'Case Closed: vehicle accident resulting in two deaths'?”

“No, dummy, right above that.”

I lift my eyes. The last sentence of the report says, “Forensic evidence shows seatbelts were sliced high on spool prior to accident.” My jaw drops. “Why would they close the case if there was evidence the seatbelts were tampered with?”

He shrugs. “Obviously I don’t know, but our parents never should have gone through that windshield. It sure looks like the cops dropped the ball.” He sighs. “Or someone paid them to look the other way.”

“We need to call that detective.” I glance at the name on the form. Officer Gregory Stanton.

Jesse shakes his head. “They closed out the investigation years ago. They either couldn't turn up anything else and the case went cold, or they closed it for a reason. I doubt calling him will do anything but stir up more trouble for us. But that got me thinking. I still doubt anyone in Washington is looking for us, but if we call them and start poking around. . .”

“Why'd you show it to me, then?”

“I knew if I didn't, you'd badger me about it over and over, and knowing you, you’d find this report yourself. You were right. Mom and Dad's seatbelts were cut. That happened ten years ago, though. I agree we should look into it, but at this point, I think we should wait until we’re both adults to do it, when the court has no power to shuttle you around and call it ‘your best interest.’ Any clues are so cold now, it's not like waiting another six or eight months will hurt.”

“I'll still be a felon in a year.”

He tosses his hands up. “True. So if you want me to poke around at more files, let me know. But I think it's a mistake, and it's only going to turn up more bad stuff that ruins our lives.”

“Your suggestion is that we should stick our heads in the sand? That’s worked super well for us before.”

“When have you ever left anything alone for five minutes together?” Jesse smirks. “Ostriches always seem pretty happy to me.”

I roll my eyes. “We can talk more about it after your interview. How's that?”

Jesse smiles. “It's as good as I'm going to get, I'm sure.”

I head to Krav Maga at the YMCA while Jesse does our laundry. He's a pretty decent brother. When I get back, Jesse’s still downstairs in the laundry room. When I reach our room, his laptop is open on the table. I reach to close it as I walk past, and then an idea occurs to me.

Before I can stop myself, I pull up a web browser and search ‘Duncan Sterling.’ If I can pull up a photo of him, and he looks just like Duncan Sterling on Terra. . .I don’t know what it would prove, but it would be bizarre. I’m gripped with a desperate desire to know.

Unfortunately, it’s a popular name. A very proud real estate agent, a school teacher, a minor league baseball player, the list goes on and on. I log in to Jesse’s fake fb account that he uses to research people and things and poke around more. I’m not sure how long I scroll through images—none of which even somewhat resemble Duncan Sterling in Terra—before Jesse walks in the door, his arms full of a stuffed basket.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” I close out the browser and shut the laptop. “I just need to shower and we can go.” By the time I’ve dried my hair, it's almost time to head to Katy for Jesse’s interview.

“Whoa,” Jesse says. “Look who put on her nicest outfit.”

Heat rises in my cheeks. “I’m interviewing.” Besides. It’s not like my Wal-Mart special sun dress is that nice.

“You’re also meeting the Future Mr. Alice Walker.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“Shut up.”

When we reach La Centerra, I send Jesse off with a hug and a smile and watch him walk into the office building where he's interviewing. I really hope this goes okay for him. It would be nice to have some good luck for a change. I text Henry the second Jesse goes inside.

-CAN YOU MEET ME IN KATY?

He texts back.

-SURE, WHICH PART?

-LA CENTERRA.

-ABSOLUTELY. WHERE DID YOU WANT TO EAT?

-ANYTHING IS FINE WITH ME.

-I HEAR THERE'S A PERRY’S. . .

-HILARIOUS, BUT DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. I'm surrounded by comedians, but I'm occasionally funny myself.

-THAT STINGS. HOW ABOUT PELI PELI?

I text back.

-WHAT KIND OF FOOD IS THAT?

-AFRICAN. IT’S GOOD THOUGH, I PROMISE.

It sounds weird, honestly, but what do I know? SURE.

I spend the next two hours walking from restaurant to restaurant in La Centerra. I carefully avoid the Perry's Steakhouse—I didn't even realize the local chain had a location here until Henry made his joke. They're looking for dishwashers at Peli Peli, and I make the mistake of glancing at the menu when I apply.

It's far nicer than I expected. I'm actually worried about whether Henry can afford it. I know I can't.

Maybe he’s on scholarship for school and washes dishes for extra money. The thought of ultra-jock, ultra-flaky Henry being on scholarship makes me laugh. The woman bringing me a job application looks at me funny, but she hands it to me all the same.

Unfortunately, the application has a huge section for references, with four distinct lines. After a moment’s deliberation, I write down Henry’s name, with an illegible scrawl as his last name, since I don’t know it. Torchy's, Bernie’s, and Baker Street Pub and Grill are all hiring for dishwashers, busboys, and hostesses respectively. I use Henry as my reference for each one. I decide I should warn him.

-WROTE YOU DOWN AS A REFERENCE FOR MY WORK AT PERRY’S. HOPE THAT’S OKAY.

He doesn’t reply, but I figure he’s either still working or he’s headed home to shower, so I don’t fret.

When I finish, I find a bench at the base of the building where Jesse's interviewing. It's hot, but I don't figure I can hang inside any stores without spending at least a little money, and I'm as broke as I've ever been. I put in headphones, even though my crappy burner phone doesn't play music, because passersby are less likely to try talking to me.

I glance at my watch. I've been sitting in the shade for almost an hour in the late afternoon. Every part of my body is sweaty, in spite of the breeziness of my Wal-Mart sundress. But when the fountain in the shopping square begins to look like an inviting wading pool, I glance at my watch. Five-thirty-four p.m. Maybe I could just dip my toes. . .

My phone buzzes.

-DONE. HEADED DOWN.

Jesse emerges a moment later. I pull out my headphones and stand, trying to tell from Jesse's face whether he got the job. I beeline toward him, pulling up short when John shoots out of the building behind him.

John’s handsome face lights up when he sees me. “Alice, how nice that you came to support your brother.”

“Uh, well, I’m looking for a job, too. Remember?”

Jesse beams at me. “I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of one another. Alice and I are kind of a package deal. She follows me around like a puppy dog.”

I cock one eyebrow. “Pretty sure it’s the other way around.”

Jesse fakes panting and makes a slobbering sound. “I do smell worse. Maybe that does make me the dog. Dang it.”

“Congratulations,” I say. “Now you can quit your landscaping gig, and your smell might finally improve.”

“I can’t believe this brain was being wasted on mind-numbing yard work. What started as an interview turned into a strategy session.” John chuckles. “Remind me to tack a few hours onto your first paycheck.”

“You’re not about to descend into techno-babble are you?” I ask. “Because I’m meeting Henry in like twenty minutes, so I don’t have time to politely feign interest for very long.”

John perks up. “Ah, the boyfriend.”

Crap. I forgot I told him Henry was my boyfriend when he asked me out.

Jesse laughs. “Be careful teasing her. She’s snippy enough with me and we’re related.”

But. . . I didn’t warn Jesse that I used Henry as an excuse. Probably because I didn’t want to have to explain that John asked me out in the first place. . .because I didn’t want him to blame me if he didn’t get the job.

“Where are you two eating?” Jesse asks.

“Peli Peli.” I scrunch my nose.

“You’ve never been,” John says.

I want to like Jesse’s new boss, truly. But he’s insufferable. “I haven’t, no.”

John smiles. “After tonight, you won’t make that face. Peli Peli’s amazing.”

Of course Richy McMoneyBags has been. He probably has a regular table.

“So, tell us more about Henry.” John’s dark eyebrows wiggle up and down, which only draws attention to the surprising, almost honey color of his eyes. “What does he do to set your heart aflutter?”

“Yes, do tell,” Jesse says. “Because last night, I could hardly get you to call him. And now you’re going on a date at a nice place.”

“Whoa, trouble in paradise?” John asks.

Jesse turns toward him with as confuzzled a look as I’ve ever seen.

“He’s a soccer player,” I say quickly.

“You said that already,” John says. “But in my experience, soccer players develop unfashionably large calves. What else you got?”

Jesse snickers. “Maybe Alice likes big calves.”

I scowl at him. “I do not like large calves.”

“And how are Henry's?” Jesse asks. “Maybe I should walk you over to your date so I can meet him.”

John’s mouth drops open slightly. He clicks it closed. “Wait, your brother hasn’t met your boyfriend?”

Oh, good grief. “He’s not my boyfriend, okay? This is our first date. Actually, it’s not even a date. I told you I lost my job.” I cross my arms and huff. “He’s bringing me my last paycheck.”

“You found me so detestable that you made up a boyfriend.” John closes his eyes and shakes his head slowly. “Wow, I knew I didn’t have much game, but this is a new low.”

Didn’t have much game? In the last five minutes, ten different girls have practically tripped over their own feet while trying to get his attention.

“Don’t take it personally,” Jesse says. “Alice shoots everyone down. Sometimes she even resorts to physical violence.”

My jaw drops. I can’t believe he’s poking fun at me using Terra. Actually, I totally can. Freaking Jesse.