“Don’t touch that,” the woman said brusquely, stuffing the bag closest to Noah into the open trunk, as if fearful he’d try to swipe it. She gave him a quick once-over, her eyes taking in his tight black curls, neatly tucked-in shirt, and wire-rimmed glasses, before coming to rest on the coffee can. “Maybe if you got a job, you wouldn’t have to beg for my money,” she sniffed.
Rose’s chest tightened, the air in her lungs as thick as soot. Beside her, she felt Shawn stiffen, but she grabbed his arm before he could make things worse. Just walk away, her stepmother always said about people like this woman. They’re looking for a fight, but you don’t have to let them find one.
But now, Rose wanted to fight. She wanted to tell the woman how wrong she was about Noah, how smart and kind and hardworking he was, how special he was. She wanted the woman to know she was small, and that she would always be small because her mind was small, but that Noah would be big because his heart was big.
Instead, she stayed where she was, her hand on Shawn’s arm, and said nothing. Like she was supposed to.
For a second, Noah stood completely still, his hand still pointing to her cart. Slowly, he dropped his arm to his side, his smile gone. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am.”
He walked back with his jaw clenched as the woman hurried to load her groceries into her car, her eyes tracking Noah as if she were afraid he’d come running back to steal her boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese and Lean Cuisine.
“Dude, I’m sorry,” Shawn said once Noah reached them. “I didn’t think—”
“It’s fine, man,” Noah said quietly. “Just leave it alone.” He kept his back to the parking lot, hands shoved deep in his pockets. No one spoke as they waited for the woman to leave, Shawn stealing glances toward her car while Noah kept his eyes on the ground and Rose kept hers on Noah. When the woman finally pulled out of her space, it seemed to Rose as though she drove by them at a laborious crawl, maybe to gawk at them one last time. Rose didn’t give her the satisfaction of looking.
Once she was gone, Noah surveyed the lawn chairs and posters, then sighed. “I’m gonna call it a day, guys. Thanks for trying.”
“Noah,” Rose started to say, but he patted her shoulder, causing gooseflesh to prickle up her arms.
“It was a nice thought, Rosie. Thank you.” He looked at the coffee can and smiled slightly. “I’m going to take this over to Gran. Brighten her day a bit.”
Rose doubted that their paltry efforts would be all that day-brightening, but she didn’t bother to point that out. She knew the can contained exactly forty-three dollars and twenty-nine cents, including the five dollars in ones and change she’d put in at the beginning of the afternoon so that the can wouldn’t be empty. She’d been adding it up in her head every time someone dropped a few coins or bills into the can.
Five fundraisers in the past two months, and all they had to show for it was a little more than $300. At this rate, Noah would have kids of his own before they raised enough to replace what his grandmother had lost.
“Wait.” Shawn’s wallet was still in his hand. He took out the five-dollar bill and stuffed it through the slit in the lid of the can, giving Noah a small smile. “Fair’s fair, right?”
“Sure. Thanks, man.”
“You want me to come with you?” Rose offered.
“Nah,” Noah said. “I’ll see you later, Rosie. Bye, Shawn.”
Shawn and Rose stood side by side as Noah walked off, the can dangling limply from his hand. Once he was out of earshot, Shawn muttered, “I should’ve said something.”
“He didn’t want you to.”
“But maybe if I—”
“Shawn. Let it go,” Rose said firmly. Shawn was a smart guy, but he didn’t seem to get that some things couldn’t be fixed with a winning smile and a clever joke. Some things were bigger than that.
Shawn sighed, looking down at the posters and chairs. “I guess we should pack up.”
After loading everything into her car—or rather, her dad’s car, a brown Ford Escort that coughed and wheezed like a lifelong chain smoker—Rose offered Shawn a ride home. His house wasn’t far, only a few streets over from hers, and they spent most of the drive in silence.
“You okay?” Shawn asked as she pulled into his driveway.
Sure is what she meant to say, but what came out was, “I don’t know.”
He paused, his fingers on the door handle. “You know they’re not going to be together forever, right?”
“What?” Rose blinked, unsure what he was talking about.
“Noah and Steph. I mean, she’s a nice girl, but . . . he’s going to figure it out eventually.”
“Figure what out?”
He gestured vaguely toward her. “That there’s . . . a better . . . option,” he trailed off weakly.
“Oh. Oh. Shawn, I wasn’t—I mean, that’s not what I was thinking about.” Rose’s cheeks grew warm, and she sank down into the driver’s seat, wishing she could disappear.
“Oh.” Shawn’s face flushed, too, rapidly approaching the color of his hair. “Sorry, it’s just, I thought—anyway, what did you mean?”
Rose made a mental note to have a serious talk with Lisa about which topics were and were absolutely not okay to discuss with her boyfriend. “I just hate that I can’t do anything to help Mrs. Hanley,” she said, determined to change the subject.
“You did do something!” Shawn protested, but Rose made a face at him.
“Forty dollars isn’t going to get her garage repaired, Shawn. It’s not going to make the police care about figuring out who did it, or replace any of the stuff she lost.” She sighed. “I just feel so useless sometimes, you know? Like everything I do is just like . . .” She flicked her fingers wide and blew a raspberry, pantomiming an explosion.
“That’s not true,” Shawn said.
She glanced sideways at him. “Shawn, I can’t even get my own sister to make time for me anymore. And I’m pretty sure Noah was only there because he felt sorry for me, even though Mrs. Hanley is his grandmother. Everyone has somewhere they’d rather be than with me.”
“Not me.” Shawn flashed her one of his kilowatt grins.
“You’re telling me you wouldn’t rather be with Lisa right now than with me?”
He shrugged, his smile flickering. “I like being with you,” he said. “You’re my friend.”
She noticed he hadn’t answered the question, but he didn’t have to. She knew what she was to him, to everyone. A footnote in other people’s stories.
“Anyway, I better get inside,” Shawn said, jolting her out of the awkward silence that had arisen between them. “Thanks for the ride,” he said, unfolding himself from the passenger seat and climbing out of the car. “And hang in there, okay? I’m sure next time will be better.”
Rose gave him a tight smile as he closed the door. “Sure. Next time.”
Chapter Three
LISA
Lisa shut the fridge, a Tupperware container of last night’s leftovers in her hand, to find Rose gaping at her from the garage doorway.