Chapter 189
Behind him was Uncle Andy—Mom just called him Andy, mostly, unless she and Uncle Winnie got in a fight, in which case Mom called him a bunch of words that Billie wasn’t allowed to say. He wasn’t really looking at her though. He looked at his phone and at Billie and at Nurse Huang and at Uncle Winnie and then back at his phone.
Uncle Winnie just looked at her, though, like he was waiting for her. She sniffled and dragged her arm across her nose. “Hi.”
“I don’t even—” Uncle Winnie started, holding out a hand like he expected her to take it, or hug him, or something.
Mom had sort of told her she ought to, but that if she didn’t want to, she didn’t have to. Mom was big on something she called bodily autonomy. Billie only really knew how to say that because she got a lecture every time Billie hit someone at school. Or hugged them. Or pretty much anything. Other people weren’t for touching, mostly, except for how sometimes they were. Billie still hadn’t figured out the rules yet.