"What if... what if you came on the road with me? Just hear me out," he pauses, holding his hands up, "just to keep an eye on Evan while I'm at practice or have a game. I will get you tickets for every game, so you'd really just have to bring him."
"That is crazy, Reed. Don’t make something insane up just to buy me a new furnace. I can fig-"
He cuts me off. "Just listen. I’m not making it up and it benefits me too. I’m saying this selfishly. I'll pay you a salary. A ridiculously large one. And before you say anything, you'd be helping me out more than you know, Holland. I can't just leave him with a stranger that I don't know, and I'm not even entertaining the idea of leaving him behind. Your classes are online... so it wouldn't interfere, right?"
It wouldn't... but... I can't just go with Reed. On the road. For an entire hockey season.
Could I?
"Just think about it. This way, you can make a decent amount of money, save up, and it would be saving my ass tenfold. It's only during practice and games, and I'll book you a room. I know your dad has Mona, but I’ll pay for a night nurse too. The absolute best care money can buy."
Dad's nurse, Mona, would probably be okay staying with him on the days that I would be gone.
“And put all of that aside, okay. Look, Evan just met you and he already likes you, hell, probably more than me. He obviously trusts you, and is comfortable with you and... right now? That’s everything to him. And to me. It’s not just me that needs you… it’s Evan too.”
Oh God, am I seriously considering this? He’s tugging directly on the strings of my heart by mentioning Evan and the fact that he needs me.
Reed's right, though, about all of it. I need to be able to fix this stupid furnace and all of the other things that are falling apart around here, and not to mention, save up for the next emergency, so I don't have to stress about it.
"This is a terrible idea," I mutter.
He steps closer to me, not quite touching, but almost. "Please, Holland. This is me, Reed Davidson, the hottest hockey star you'll ever meet, begging you. I need you. I promise it'll be worth your while. This solves my problems, and yours. What could it hurt? Just… give me the hockey season. That’s all I need, and then I’ll find someone else. Six months.”
When he puts it like that...He’s right.
What did I have to lose?
"Deal."
The words are out of my mouth before I can talk myself out of it.