"Mi′," Jay said, commanding my attention as I stepped from the candy apple red low rider to head inside the house. "I know what May eighth means to you." I cringed at the thought of facing the three-year anniversary of my mother's disappearance. "I'll be back to help you through it." He waggled his eyebrows, added his smile then leaned his chin against the edge of his open window. "We'll celebrate our anniversary in style that night, okay?" I wished the most horrific day of my life wasn't also the most wonderful. In an attempt to overcome the negative, I blew him a kiss before I hurried to the house. From the porch, I watched him sneak away without headlights. Once I was inside, my heart sank. A slurred scoff vibrated in my ear. "Whore! Just like your mother. You're a whore!" I didn't make it to school that day. Merlin had been on an all-night binger with Aunt Carol, Jack Daniels, and the drug called coke. Both had watched as I came in. Both participated in bloodying me. No one took me to the hospital.