One Day Soon (One Day Soon, #1)(62)

As always, when I thought about my mother, my stomach turned into knots and I felt a mixture of rage and grief. It didn’t get better. No matter how much time passed.

“So, I have somewhere I need to go today,” Yoss said as we walked down the street towards the Seventh Street Bridge.

I stiffened instantly, my mind already jumping to conclusions. To alleyways and faceless men. To busted lips and Yoss’s tears.

Yoss squeezed my hand. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d come with me.”

I gaped in shock. He wanted me to come with him? Why? The suggestion seemed callous and cruel and I couldn’t believe Yoss had suggested it.

“It’s not what you think,” he murmured under his breath, looking ashamed. I hated that I made him feel that way, but I couldn’t say anything to make him feel better. When it came to that part of Yoss’s life, there wasn’t anything I could say that wouldn’t sound like condemnation.

“Where are we going then?” I asked.

Yoss ducked his head shyly and my heart pitter-pattered. “I want you to meet my grandma.”

My eyes widened. “Your grandma?”

“Yeah. She’s my mom’s mom. The only family I have besides—anyway, I try to see her every couple of months. I haven’t seen her since the beginning of the summer.”

I had gotten the impression from him that he didn’t have any family. At least none he’d want anything to do with.

“I’m confused. If you have a grandmother, why aren’t you living with her?”

Yoss’s smile became a bit more pained. “Let’s get something to eat before we head over. I have a few dollars in my pocket. We could get a bagel,” he suggested, not answering my question.

“Why don’t you live with her? Why would you be out here if you could be with someone you care about?” I pushed. Yoss had become angry with me when he thought I had chosen to live out on the streets instead of going home. How was his situation any different?

“I can’t live with my grandmother,” he said shortly, his mood souring.

“Why not?” I prodded as we stopped just outside a bakery. My stomach growled and I could barely think over the hunger pangs, but I wouldn’t let Yoss drop the subject.

He pulled the crumpled bills out of his pocket and opened the door for me. I passed by him into the store. “Well for starters, she lives in a residential facility. I don’t think they’d allow an eighteen-year-old to couch surf in her room,” he remarked.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” I felt like an idiot. Even worse, I felt like an insensitive idiot.

Yoss pushed my heavy, too long hair to the side and gently curled his fingers around the back of my neck. I shivered at the sweet, possessive gesture. His thumb ran along my skin. “You didn’t know. It was an understandable question.”

“I should have known you’d have your reasons—”

“You didn’t know. It’s okay. I love my grandma. She’s the only blood family that I have. She knows what a dick my dad is, but she doesn’t know what happened. I don’t want her worrying about me, Imi, so please don’t mention anything about where I live. She’s been through a lot herself and I don’t want to burden her,” Yoss said emphatically.

I frowned. “Burden her? But shouldn’t she know? She’d probably help you—”

“Things with my grandmother are more complicated than that. I just…please, don’t say anything. I trust you to respect me on this.”

I wanted to argue with him, but his eyes were pleading. “She has so few good days, I don’t want them ruined with my shit.”

“Yoss, I won’t say anything. I just think it’s wrong to keep her in the dark if she could help you,” I protested weakly.

Yoss and I approached the counter and he ordered two blueberry bagels. The man behind the counter gave us a snotty look as he handed the bag to Yoss. Neither of us acknowledged him. We had become used to the disgust.

Yoss handed me a warm bagel and I tried not to inhale it as we stepped outside. But I was too hungry to control myself and ended up eating the entire thing in three bites.

When I was finished, Yoss broke off half of his and handed it to me. I tried to push it away. “I can’t take yours. You need to eat too,” I told him.

“I can eat something later. Just take it,” he insisted firmly. So I took his half of the bagel and ate it, feeling guilty with every mouthful.

With my belly slightly fuller than it had been, we started walking north. It began to rain and I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up over my head. Yoss didn’t have a hood and his dark hair became soaked in a matter of minutes.

“What did you mean your grandmother has so few good days? What’s wrong with her?” I asked him.

Yoss turned us down a side street lined with oak trees. “Growing up, she was larger than life. I remember her laughter most of all. When she’s happy, she’s loud. She doesn’t care who knows it. My dad hated when she came over. He used to fight with my mom about it before every holiday. But after Mom died, Grandma sort of fell apart. Mom was her only child and my granddad had passed away years before I was born.” Yoss stopped as we reached a well-kept brick building with the sign, Windy Acres Residential Community, out front.

Yoss smoothed his hair as best he could and quickly tucked in his shirt. I reached up and wiped a dark smudge off his cheekbone.