Free Queen of Broken Hearts by Jennifer Recchio Page B

time for a stranger whose name I don’t even know.”
    I opened my mouth, then snapped it closed.
    “Good-bye, Birdie.” He got back in his car and threw it into reverse. I should have thought of that.
    I stood there, the utter fool. “Wait,” I finally called as he drove away. “I’ll— Wait .”
    He didn’t. I ran after him until the heel of my shoe snapped, then fell down and watched him leave me again.

    My feet wanted to die by the time I staggered through the front door of Cheesey’s. I collapsed at the table and buried my head in my arms.
    “He’s not scheduled today,” Chad said, like I showed up sweating through expensive dresses all the time. Actually… I kind of did.
    “I’ll wait,” I mumbled against the table.
    “It’s two dollars an hour to sit at the table,” he said. I lifted my head enough to glare at him then dug through my purse. My phone had five missed calls. I was supposed to be catching a plane. I was supposed to have changed Sam’s mind. I was supposed to…
    It didn’t matter. I turned my phone off.
    “You realize this place closes, right?” Chad said.
    “I’ll figure it out,” I snapped.
    Chad shrugged before going back to texting on his phone.
    I watched the time tick by, cataloguing my faults.
    Fifteen minutes: If I’d only think first, I wouldn’t be here now.
    Thirty minutes: If I were kinder and more considerate, I wouldn’t be here now.
    Forty-five minutes: If I didn’t want all the wrong things, I wouldn’t be here now.
    Fifty minutes: My mother pulled up to Cheesey’s.
    “Honey!” She half-sobbed as she threw open the door. “I’ve looked everywhere for you. Are you out of your mind?”
    I tried to say yes, but she muffled it with a hug.
    “I was so worried they’d taken you. Don’t you know how dangerous it is?” She took a step back, keeping my shoulders in her rigor mortis-like grip.
    I closed my eyes. “They must not have been looking very hard.”
    “Would you stop acting like this is some silly game? It’s serious. We need to leave right this minute.”
    “I can’t, Mother, I…” There are a few things I know with absolute certainty about my mother, the most important at the moment being that if the FBI was really after her, she wouldn’t be tramping around as herself in broad daylight. “How did you say they found out about us again?”
    “I told you, it was your high school. They raised a red flag.”
    “By investigating a single robbery charge?”
    Mother pursed her lips. I knew the look in her eyes. She was recalculating.
    I pulled away from her. “You lied to me.”
    “No,” she said, too quickly.
    I couldn’t think past the headache growing behind my eyes. “Get out.”
    “Sweetie, I—”
    “ No . I trusted you, and you thought you could just lead me around because it was convenient for you .” My voice caught. I knew a thing or two about betraying trusts. “Just leave me alone.”
    Mother pulled herself straight. “The plane leaves at ten. Your ticket is still waiting for you.”

    Chad shifted his feet as he stood awkwardly over my table. “I need to clean the table.”
    I sniffled. “Sorry I inconvenienced you.” I pushed my chair back.
    “Nice mother,” he said as he wiped the table down.
    “Well.” I tore a napkin into smaller pieces.
    “Could you not?”
    “Sorry.” I tossed the pieces on the table. I found my voice hiding in the back of my throat. “I hurt Sam, didn’t I?”
    Chad stopped. He didn’t look up at me. “Yeah, you did.”
    “I didn’t mean to.” Tears began to drip down my face. I wiped them away, but not in time to save my mascara.
    “You’re really bad at this, aren’t you?” Chad said.
    A heaving sob wracked my body. “I don’t know what to do.”
    “Lucky for you, I know Sam better than anyone. Except for his parents. And most of his other friends. The point is, I know what he’ll be doing tonight.”
    “What?” I grabbed a napkin to wipe snot off my face.
    “Watching