Nine

Iris Miller

James had to campaign with his father. He was usually gone from campus because of it. When he left, I felt naked, and vulnerable somehow. Like at any moment Malaki Crescent was going to come out of the shadows and tear me to pieces. It didn’t help that I lived with his sister, who I occasionally felt giving me knowing little looks. Exactly like the ones she was giving me now, as we sat in the school dining hall.

“Okay, would you stop?” I demanded. ...