"I can't believe she would say some shit like that," David rants about Mary. They're cruising toward their neighborhood, and he's complained since they got in his car - mainly to himself.

She blankly watches images of John Lewis smiling behind his gun, firing blanks at her shivering and sobbing face. Her heart beats slower than usual, but she doesn't acknowledge it.

"That ring's been in my family for five fucking generations, and that bitch stole it!" Judith flinches into reality when he slams his right fist into the horn, unintentionally sending out a honk. She watches the woman in the Beetle reach her red-painted middle finger out of the window in response.

"David, maybe you should calm down. I know you're upset, but," she begins, and he interrupts her. He's resting his right arm on the armrest, leaning his weight on that side with his left hand on twelve.

"But what?" When she doesn't answer, he narrows his eyes. "Are you still pissy about me choosing her over you?"

"Here we go," she says under her breath. She rolls her eyes onto her window, folds her arms, and turns her knees to her door.

"No, answer my question." David veers the car against the side of the road, and she feels her heart skip a beat. Judith glances at her side mirror, seeing very few cars driving in their direction. "Is this about her?"

"I don't care who you date, David," she speaks with her hands, and he squints at her in thought. "I stopped caring a long time ago."

"Then why'd you help me at the Halloween party," he asks, and she scoffs. Cars speed past and rattle their vehicle.

"Because I'm a good person," she answers in the form of a question, and he chuckles. "What?"

"I call bullshit, that's what. You're the most selfish person I know." Judith turns to him and inhales sharply, with her response waiting to spill from her mouth. It pauses when he continues, "Well - next to your mom, you're the most selfish person I know."

Without thinking, she jerks her right hand toward him and her palm slams into his left cheek. The sting festers with the boiling rage turning his stomach as she retracts her trembling hand.

Fuck.

"I need to go home before I'm late for the date I have with," Judith stops, and she shuts her eyes. She doesn't have to look at him to know that his eyes are filled with venom, and he grinds his teeth to fight the urge to yell.

"Who're you going out with," David asks, making his voice appear calm. She parts her lips, then looks at her thighs, picking at the hem of her miniskirt. "Answer the fucking question!"

Judith jolts upright and stares at her reflection in her side mirror, licking her unsteady lips. Her hair falls in waves across her shoulders, framing her childlike face.

"It's that mandingo you can't stay away from, huh," he presses her for an answer, and as she takes a breath, she shuts her eyes. "I can't believe this. You're unbelievable, really."

"Oh, shut the fuck up. Out of everyone, you chose to be with my best friend behind my back, so you don't have any room to judge me." David's mouth turns into a faint smile, sending chills up her spine and goosebumps down her limbs.

"Wanna know something funny?" When she doesn't respond, he sits his hands on his lap and sinks into his seat. "She was never your best friend. Putting aside the fact that you two didn't know each other long, I was with her when you went to Red Cave."

"What," her voice is soft and uncertain, and she narrows her eyes in disbelief, but when his expression doesn't falter, she relaxes her face.

"I told her about you when you got out, told her we needed to break up because my girl's back in town," he confesses, and she turns her head to the window. "She threw a fit, as she does, and decided to figure out who you are. Next thing I know, she's joining your club and stirring up shit."

"Take me home," she mumbles, swallowing her broken heart. Her eyes burn like the base of a kettle, threatening to spill with mixed emotiond.

"I'm not taking you back if you're gonna go out with Goliath." Judith takes her lip into her mouth, biting down to suppress her anger. "Stay home - with me. We could watch this movie I bought today called The Amityville Horror. It came out this year."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she sharply tells him, and when he glares at her, she lowers her eyes onto his lap. "Just take me home."

"Maybe I'll just get Vera to come by." His statement draws her attention, and she takes ragged breaths that cause her nostrils to twitch. "I mean, she's head over heels for me, and it's cute how a child can be more submissive than a grown woman."

"Stay away from my sister, or I swear to God, I'll," she begins, but he jerks himself toward her, his hands clutching the armrest.

"You'll what? Tell me what you'll do, Judith!" She alternates her gaze between each of his dark browns. He smiles at her when the corners of her mouth fidget as she resists a frown from forming. A single tear rolls down her left cheek, and the other remains on her lashes.

"I'll call the police." His grin fades, and they silently stare into each other's eyes as he anticipates her changing her mind. When she doesn't, he scowls and lifts his hand toward her face.

"Say that shit again," David orders her while squeezing her jaw. She sits her hands over his and grunts with each weak tug of the webbing between his thumb and index. "You'll do what?"

"Let me go," she yells, and he shoves her head into the window. It bounces off, and her heart pulsates in her ears with a beep similar to a flat line. His threats are incoherent, but from the look on his face, she understands enough.

"Treating me like shit but, yet, you need me," he yells, causing her temples to throb. He turns to the road, sitting his hands on the wheel, and she lifts hers to the back of her head. "I'm always the one to fix everything wrong in your life, even though it's your fault, but who do you call?"

Judith's fingers tremble as they touch the sore David created and she winces. She brings her hand in front of her, checking for blood as he drives into the road and when she sees that her palm is dry, she exhales from relief.

***

The sun and clouds dropped from the sky, and the moon and stars took their place. David's room is smaller than Judith's, with shag carpeting and navy-blue wallpaper. He's embracing her to his chest on his bed, and the slow rhythm of his heart lulls her.

Vera's lying between them, but while her knee-high socks are beside their legs, she's resting her chin on her palms and staring at the box television.

Amy, a character from the movie, sings a hymn, and as Vera hums along, David looks down at Judith. His right arm is around her, and he caresses her forearm just below her elbow. Her closed hand rests against his bare stomach.

"I'm sorry for hitting you in the car," he tells her in a low voice, and she takes a deep breath. "You know how I get so worked up over nothing. I'll work on that. Do you forgive me?"

Vera yelps and buries her face in her palms. They turn their attention to the screen. Red eyes stare at Kathleen — another character — through the window, while The Murder by Bernard Herrmann blares.

"I gotta go to the bathroom." Vera scrambles off the bed and steps over the ottoman. She sprints out of the room, and David takes a breath.

"Are you really leaving for that school in Morehead," he asks in a normal tone, and she lifts her chin to look into his eyes. When she nods, he turns to the television and bites his inner cheek.

"I think we'd be better apart. I mean, I wanna stay and look after Stevie and Vera, but," she stops and sighs. Judith leans upward, and sitting mermaid style, she soul gazes with him. "We tried to make this work, but we're not made for each other. I have a lot I need to fix with myself, and so do you."

"Here we go with this shit," David mumbles, snatching his arm from around her and back to his side.

"I'm serious." He watches her look at her hands and lick her lips. With her head hung, she says, "I think I wanna get a job there so I can pay to see a shrink. Maybe even get a place and work on getting my license."

"You've been thinking about this a lot, I see." After a moment, he brings his hand toward her, and when she flinches, he stops.

With his fingers inches from her chin, they stare at each other. She watches his eyes fill with sorrow from what she assumes is her reaction.

"See? We're not good together." He licks his lips then rests his palm against her cheek. The warmth of his hand on her skin comforts her despite her inner turmoil.

Staring into his eyes, to her, is like walking through the woods at night, and it's a quality about him that's become nostalgic.

"I want us to try. We have history, like Mary said. Well - she didn't say it, but she knows it just like you do." He sits his other hand on hers, and she glances at them. When their eyes meet again, he leans in, and her eyes grow wide when his lips touch hers.

His breath is fresh with the smell of the cherry-flavored candy he and Vera ate: Wax lips. His lips are pillowy against hers, and when he pulls away, she's left with hers agape and her heart fluttering like it did when they first kissed.

"I hope I wasn't too forward," he begins to say, but she slams her lips into his and suffocates his apology. She guides him on top of her with the blanket covering their midsections and wraps her arms around his neck.

"Um, ew." They flinch off each other, and as Judith squirms upward with her back to the headboard, David scoots onto his side of the bed. Vera's standing under the arch with her eyebrows drawn together, watching them. "I need to go home."

"I'll walk you," Judith says after wiping her mouth, and David shoots her a dark look that sends her heart crashing to her stomach. Vera steps into her white chucks beside his door.

"No, I'll walk her. You stay here." She would insist, but the sternness in his voice leaves her response trapped on her tongue. He watches her look at her socks before he stands up and follows Vera out of the room.

Judith slides onto her back with her hands over her navel and stares at the ceiling.

Fuck, what do I tell Jerome? Is he waiting for me right now? What time is it?

She turns her head to the analog clock ticking on his nightstand.

Nine-thirty. I gotta get out of here.

Judith pushes herself up and off his bed. She walks around the foot toward his bedroom door and steps into her clogs. She peaks through the crack into the dark hallway, and the thought of him lingering in the shadows makes her heart skip a beat.

She steps over the threshold, and the feeling of a weight on her shoulders renders her legs unstable. She shuffles through the darkness with her arms extended in front of her, expecting to touch something or someone.

To her surprise, she reaches the end of the hall and stops at the top of the stairs. She takes a deep, shaky breath, then descends to the first floor and sprints toward the living room.

Judith exits the house, the door slamming behind her, and she continues off the porch, heading toward the sidewalk. The night air strikes her face and clouds her vision with tears.

She reaches her yard and slows down when she sees Jerome's blurry silhouette standing at the bottom of her porch. David's at the top, and Vera's beside him.

"Look, niggah, I don't give a fuck what plans you made with her. She's done with you," David shouts, flailing his hands for emphasis.

"Don't yell in my face, and don't curse at me," Jerome calmly tells him, and Judith strolls toward them. "Where is she? I'm not leaving until she comes out here and tells me she's done."

"Jerome?" He whips his head to her and smiles. David narrows his eyes, then rolls them.

"Hey," he cheerfully greets her, and she stops beside him, folding her arms for warmth and comfort.

"Hey," she responds with sadness in her tone and expression. Looking at Jerome's shoes, she says, "I'm sorry, I didn't show up. I was - busy."

"Busy doing what?" David sniggers and Jerome shoots him a glance. Jerome watches her body tense, and her eyes refuse to meet his, and when Judith bites the inner part of her lip, he scoffs with disbelief. "Wait - no. You've gotta be kidding me."