“That’s not your fault,” he starts, but I go on.
“I’ve broken a lot of bones. I have a ton of bad luck and that’s spread over the years to my family.”
“How?” he asks, his voice hard with frustration.
“My mom and dad have both gotten fired from numerous jobs,” I start.
“So they’re bad workers then,” he counters.
“One of our houses burned down,” I tell him.
“Probably from a candle that they lit or something electrical, so either way, not your fault.”
“We never won anything,” I list off. “Not on lottery tickets or at the casino or even things at school.”
“So? Lots of people never win stuff. I would argue most don’t and most certainly never win the lottery.”
“We lost houses and apartments. Been in car accidents.”
I’m listing off more and more things, desperate for him to see my point, and I don’t even know why. He wasn’t there for all of those things. He doesn’t know how much it hurt all of us.
“None of that was because of you or a curse,” he says, and I shake my head.
He pulls into Madelyn’s driveway and I hurry to unbuckle and get out.
“Hey,” he says, his hand resting on my arm. “You didn’t cause any of that. They did. They didn’t work hard, they slacked off, or they lied and got caught. Your family, they’re just blaming you for everything. None of those things were your fault or a curse’s fault.”
I open my mouth to argue with him, but his jaw is set and I know that he’s never going to believe me.
“It’s just bad luck or the consequences of their own actions, Record,” he says softly and I feel tears sting the back of my eyes.
“I have to go,” I choke out. “But you should stay away from me. For your own good.”
I climb out of the Jeep and run up the front porch steps and inside.
I lean back against the door, tears slipping free from my eyes, and wait for him to leave. It takes a few minutes, but finally his headlights reverse and head back down the street.