Read Silent for Free Online Page B

snickered. “That’s Seb. He’s a retard.”
    A retard named Seb? Shit, maybe I was in that kind of group home. Or maybe Brandon and this guy had some sort of issue with each other. I tried to get a better look at the sleeping figure, but I could only see a bit of ash-blond hair peeking out over the sheets, and the boy didn’t say anything. Not much to go on.
    “You gonna come out back or what?” Brandon huffed impatiently.
    “Mhm.” At least I made a sound that time as I turned and left the room.
     
    Out in the small backyard, I came upon another tenant—Dwayne, Brandon had said—tossing a basketball into a leaning hoop.
    Dwayne was black. Black black. Not that that was a problem for me—I probably had less of a beef with black people than most of my friends, ’cause of the time I’d spent in the projects. You either got along with your neighbors there, or you invited a shitload of drama into your life.
    “New kid,” Brandon said to him.
    Dwayne gave me the once over as he continued to dribble the ball. He was tall and muscular, with the cut off sleeves of his t-shirt nicely displaying his biceps. “He here to stay?”
    “Dunno.” Brandon shrugged.
    “I fuckin’ hate new kids.”
    I’d never been one to take insults lying down, and as confused as I still was, I knew that moment was Do or Die Time. If, God forbid, I actually did have to stay there, I really needed to get my act together and shake off this lost little boy thing I had going on.
    “Fuck no I ain’t stayin’,” I told Dwayne, glaring. “Who wants to stay in a shithole like this?”
    “Like you ain’t from a shithole. If you wasn’t, you wouldn’t be here.”
    “I’m here ’cause a bitch teacher couldn’t mind her own fucking business. There’s nothing wrong with my home, so I’ll be outta here in no time.”
    Dwayne passed the ball to Brandon, who made a run for the basket and dunked it neatly. His shirt rode up a little, and I would have liked to take some time to appreciate that, but I couldn’t really shift my attention from the current showdown.
    “Then what’s that bandage on your arm for, new kid? You tried to slit your wrists ’cause mommy and daddy don’t love you enough?”
    I took two steps forward and drew my arm back to punch, but suddenly found myself restrained.
    Brandon had snuck around behind me, and he now had both my arms locked in his. My back pressed up against his wide chest as he pulled me away. “Easy, new kid. There are worse places than this, and you gonna find yourself there if you piss off Ms. Loretta.”
    I threw him off and stepped away from both boys. “My name is Alex.”
    “All right , Alex .” Dwayne sneered, white teeth glowing against dark lips. “You play basketball? Or just soccer? ’Cause we don’t have no soccer ball.”
    “Shit, I don’t wanna play nothing right now.” I crossed my arms. “I just want to get the hell out of here.”
    “Good luck with that.” Dwayne shrugged, retrieving the ball and returning to his dribbling.
    Brandon laughed beside my ear. “Wow, you makin’ friends fast.”
    “And why would I want to make friends with you?”
    “You never know how long you gonna be here…and like I said, there are worse places.”
    A little of the fury Dwayne had worked up began to deflate. Brandon didn’t seem like such a bad guy, really. He was still grinning at me, and he had dimples. Small, round dimples in perfect caramel skin.
    I mentally recited the alphabet once and uncrossed my arms.
    “Yeah. So what’s your story, then? Why you here?”
    Brandon sat down on the steps by the backdoor. “My mom smokes crack. She’s gonna go to rehab, though, so I can go back and live with her. What about you?”
    I bit my lip. I wanted to tell him the truth all of the sudden, because I could tell he’d been honest with me, but I knew it wasn’t safe.
    “A mix up. A teacher reported this burn I got by accident.”
    Brandon nodded slowly. “So can’t they just talk