As soon as the night swallows up Spencer Savage, Ren exhales and buries her face in Oscar’s chest.  His arms circle her body and he imagines himself creating a protective cage where she’ll be safe.  Safe from Lita, safe from the judgment of strangers, safe from the world.

“It’ll be okay, baby.”  He hears his own confidence, tries to make it real.

“Will it?” she asks in a small voice.  It’s the first time she’s ever hinted at doubt.

“Of course,” Oscar whispers.  He kisses her mouth, her cheeks, her forehead.

She pulls back a few inches and tilts her head back, peering up at him defiantly.  “I meant what I said.  I love you.  Not like a silly, giggly kind of crush that my sisters fall into every other week.  I love you and it doesn’t matter what time or anything else does to us.  Even if the worst happens and we’re ripped apart it will change nothing.  I’ll still love you, Oscar.”

Ren is suddenly crying and he rubs her back, whispers nice things, tries to soothe her.  Something about her desperate tone alarms him.  Ren isn’t like this; she doesn’t dissolve into hysterics.  The words she choked out were so strange, impassioned.

“I know,” he assures her.  “I know.  I’ll still love you too.  Anyone who wants to whine about how we’re too young or too reckless doesn’t understand a fucking thing about us.  It’ll be okay,” he says once again, her face cupped between his palms.  “I swear it.”

There’s no way to know how much time passes as they stand at the fenced edge of the cemetery in the moonlight and hold one another.  It’s late but the hour is irrelevant.   Oscar breathes her in, kisses her occasionally, and wonders what on earth in his history of casual conquests led him to deserve a girl like this.

Finally she pulls away from him, murmuring that she’d better get back to her room before anyone decides to make a stink about her absence.

The porch light is on at the big house.  They hear voices, female voices, talking quietly so they circle around to the back.  Ren has permanently disabled the lock on her window so that she can climb back inside without alerting anyone.  Slowly, she raises the small, square window and cautiously ducks her head inside.  She looks back with a smile of relief and Oscar gives her a small boost to help her through the window.  Once she’s inside, she leans through the window, kisses him quickly, and then is gone without saying anything else.  No more good nights, no more I love yous.  Oscar likes how she knows they’ve already said all the words they need to say tonight.

As he walks away and heads in the direction of the brothel, he cups his hand around his pocket, the pocket he’d stuffed the rock into.  On one hand it seems like a childish thing to do, scavenging for a souvenir.   Hell, two months ago he would have howled with laughter over the idea of doing such a mushy, pussified thing because of a girl.  That was a long time ago though.  Everything is different now.

There’s music coming from the little house.  It’s the kind of music with screeching lyrics about violent things.  It’s Monty’s music.  Oscar isn’t going to worry about running into the eldest Savage brother though.  Chances are Monty is still balls deep inside that squirrel-faced snatch who’d followed him home.  He’ll probably pass out at some point.  With any luck he already has.

Oscar lingers in the darkness, thinking about the promises he made to Ren, about how everything would be okay.  It will be okay.   Nothing on earth could make him let go of her as long as she wants him.  Whenever Mina gets herself cleaned up and returns he’ll have a talk with his flighty mother.  She has her flaws and they are substantial but Mina Savage is nothing if not romantic.  The idea of clandestine lovers will appeal to her.   Mina will help them until he and Ren are old enough to be free from everyone else’s temper tantrums.   They can’t stay in Atlantis of course but Oscar’s had enough of the scorching desert anyway.   He wants to show Ren what the rest of the world looks like.  He wants to show her everything.

A pinprick of light catches his eye.  It’s a few yards to his left, very close to the old fake brothel.  Oscar waits for a few seconds and it returns.  A tiny orange light that flares and disappears, the light of a cigarette.  He tenses, getting ready for a showdown with Monty.

But the owner of the cigarette shifts and Oscar can make out a female profile.  “You’re running around pretty late, young man.”

Before he clearly sees her face he recognizes the voice, even though she hasn’t spoken directly to him since the day Mina deposited him here.  Annoyance pricks at him.  What the hell is it with this family that they’re always skulking around in the darkness waiting for someone to talk to?   First there was Spencer accosting them in the cemetery and now Lita prowling around the sagging front porch of the brothel.  It creaks under her heels as walks across the rotting floorboards.

“It is late,” he agrees.  “Past my bedtime in fact so you have yourself a good night.  I’m turning in.”

Lita Savage chuckles.   It’s a gravelly, unpleasant sound, probably because her throat muscles aren’t used to laughter.  “Come here for a minute.”

“Why?”

“Why not, Oscar?” She sounds too happy.  Either she’s high or she’s fucking with him.  He doesn’t feel like talking to her.  He just wants to get back to his bed and jerk off for a while to thoughts of Ren.

“Fine,” she sighs when he still hesitates.  “I’ll come to you.”

The closer she gets the more the air smells like decaying flowers.   Oscar has to force himself to stand his ground.  All he knows about Lita Savage is what Ren has told him.  It would be enough to make anyone with some common sense a little wary, but Oscar detects something even worse than the gold-digging bitch that Ren has described.  This woman is pure poison.

She takes a drag on her cigarette and looks him up and down.  He can’t quite read her expression in the dark but he’s not sure he wants to.

“How have you been, Oscar?” she inquires sweetly.  “I’ve been meaning to check in with you to see how things are going.”

“Fine,” he answers slowly.  “No complaints.  Hey, I never thanked you for opening your home to me. So, thank you.”

“Hmm, yes.  Wasn’t my decision at all.”

“I get it.  Well, thanks anyway.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll leave you to your night.”

“Wait a minute,” she murmurs, and suddenly she’s right there, running a palm over his chest.  It’s a seductive gesture and Oscar recoils instinctively.

“Are you out of your mind?” he growls.

“No, not tonight.”

“Don’t fucking touch me again.”

“You know, you really shouldn’t address your aunt with such profanity.”

“You’re not my aunt.”

“Technically I am.”

“Lita, what in the hell do you want?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

She can’t be serious.  She just can’t be fucking serious.  She’s not laughing though.  He looks around to make sure they are alone.  If anyone else is around, he doesn’t see them.  Telling her to piss off might not be effective.  Oscar glares at her and decides to remind her of the way things are.  “In case you don’t realize it, what you’re proposing is illegal.”

“Illegal?” She tries out the word.  “Illegal.  Now why do you think so?”

“Because I know damn well that there are laws protecting kids here.  And by American standards, I’m still a kid.”

“No, you’re not,” she answers matter-of-factly.

That takes him back a step.  She’s goddamn crazy.  Has to be.

“You look confused, Oscar.  Let me explain.  I called in a favor from an old friend of the family who happens to be a private investigator.  Now, there wasn’t much record of you, but there was enough to conclude you’d been in the New York State system for six years when Mina scooped you up.”

He feels like he’s missing a crucial deduction.  “So?”