Kye: She good?
Me: She will be.
Kye: What did you do?
Me: You don’t need to worry. I handled it.
Kye: Why do I not like the sound of that?
He texted again.
Kye: Want to hang out? I got hold of some premium weed. We can smoke all our troubles away.
It sounded tempting but getting high with Kye would mean talking to him. Or avoiding his questions. So I gave him an excuse.
Me: Can’t. Headed home soon. See you at school tomorrow.
Kye: It’ll all work out, Z. You know that, right?
Me: Yeah.
The lie snaked through me, the heavy weight of dread settling in the pit of my stomach. Everything was fucked.
But I had the money—that’s all that mattered. I’d figure out the rest.
I drained my beer and cracked open another. It barely touched the tension radiating through me though.
After meeting Bryson’s contact, I’d returned home and eaten an awkward meal with Grams. I couldn’t tell her the truth, not yet. Maybe not ever. So I’d gotten her comfortable in front of the TV, kissed her on the head, and told her I was meeting the guys for a bit.
I hated lying to her; my mom had done enough of that over the years. But this wasn’t to harm her, it was to help her.
“Fuck,” I breathed, bringing the bottle to my lips.
I needed something else to take the edge off. Something that no buzz or high could give me.
Without overthinking it, I opened my chat history with Celeste and sent her another message.
Me: How’s the family thing?
To my surprise she texted straight back.
Einstein: I’m hiding out in one of the reception rooms with their dog Pippa.
My mouth twisted, picturing her in some huge lavish room with a rich people dog around her feet.
Me: That bad, huh?
Einstein: We’re going to escape soon.
Me: We?
Einstein: Me and Max.
Me: Come meet me…
I waited. And waited. She’d blown me off so easily earlier, and I didn’t like it. Because I’d grown used to her attention—her blatant interest. Even if I hated it.
Einstein: Where are you?