Mick
I stand outside Jade’s apartment building. It’s almost midnight. I know it’s too late to be here. I key in the security code and open the door to the lobby.
It would be better to talk to her about this tomorrow, when we’re both rested and can talk reasonably.
But we’re never going to be able to speak reasonably about this. I’ve got to do it now. I push the elevator button. By tomorrow, she may have done it again.
Done what? I don’t even know exactly.
I stare at the numbers above the elevator doors. They’re not moving. It’s broken again.
I should go home. I never would have thought anything like this if Quinn hadn’t planted the idea in my brain. Can I really picture Jade poisoning her little brother?
I take the stairs two at a time.
There’s light coming out from under the apartment door. Someone’s awake.
I knock.
“Jade.” I say it not much louder than a whisper—I don’t want to wake the neighbors—but I know she heard me.
“Jade,” I say again. “I need to talk to you about something.” It hits me that those are the exact words I used to break up with her.
She opens the door a tiny bit and whispers back at me. “It’s too late, Mick.” Too late for what? My heart is thumping like a punching bag. I picture Gavin lying on the floor.
“No, please,” I say. I push past her and into the apartment. I’m like a crazy person.
She grabs my arm. “We’re over. You can’t come in here in the middle of the night thinking I’ll take you back. Now go.”
“Where’s Gavin?” I say.
“In bed. Where do you think he is?”
“Let me see him.”
“No.”
“I want to see him.” I’m making no attempt to keep my voice down anymore. I walk behind the couch and toward his room.
She beetles around until she’s standing in front of me. She’s tiny and blond and pretty, and she’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.
Her eyes are squinted up, and her lips are pulled together. “You’ll give him a migraine,” she says.
I look past her and see the kitchen. All the contents of the cupboards have been dumped out on the floor. She goes stiff when she sees me looking. She’s too small to block my view.
“I’m not the one giving him the migraines, am I, Jade?”
She’s suddenly more alert, as if she’s about to give a presentation. She clearly knows what I’m getting at.
“Yes, you are. You upset him. You come and you go. You dump him when he needs you the most. Poor little GooGoo. I don’t know how you could be so cruel.” She’s put on this little-girly tone, and I realize something.
Magic sprinkles aren’t Gavin’s words. GooGoo. Put on your jimmyjams. Jade’s the one who talks like that, not him.
Is that what she told him they were called? Did he catch her doing it? Or did she make it into a game? All part of the fun?
“You’ve been putting MSG in his food, haven’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Magic sprinkles.”
“Why would I do that?” She should look more surprised than she does. “He’s just making that up. He’s little. He makes things up all the time.”
“No I don’t, Jade.”
We turn around. Gavin is standing in the door to his room. His mouth is turned down into a pout, and he’s clutching Kanga.
“I don’t make things up. I saw you. You give me magic sprinkles. MS stands for magic sprinkles and G for Gavin.”
Jade scurries over and gets down on her knees in front of him.
“Don’t tell stories, Gumpy-bear. People may believe you. You’ll get Jadie in trouble.”
She looks right into his eyes and rubs her hands down either side of his head. She won’t hurt him with me here.
“I know my letters, Jade,” he says.
She smiles. “Yes, you do, little man. You’re very smart. But even smart people make things up sometimes.”
“I didn’t make it up,” he says. He reaches into Kanga’s pouch and pulls out a small glass bottle. “See?” He points at the label. “MSG. Just like on the list.”
Jade jumps. “Give that to me.”
He won’t. “I’m sorry I took it, Jadie! I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to mess up the kitchen.” He lies on the bottle like it’s a hand grenade.
I’m trying to pull them apart when the door opens and Angie walks in.