guys canât discuss the weather without lying about it.â
Ryan drops his eyes again. âYeah, I guess.â
âAnyway, he wonât go,â I tell him. âNot because youâve decided to go.â
âWill you ask him?â
I shrug. âYeah, sure. Iâll ask him. But donât wait for him. If youâre serious, go check yourself in.â
Ryan backs up a little. âYeah, okay.â He turns and starts down the sidewalk.
I donât believe that he will do it. Harrisâs death has shaken him up, thereâs no doubt about that. But I figure heâll be wasted by the end of the night and by morning, heâll have convinced himself that Harris had somehow brought it on himself. Heâll continue to use as though heâs invincible.
Still, it canât hurt to say it. âGood luck, Ryan.â
He waves.
SEVEN
Three days later, I sell my old Yamaha, cash my checks and withdraw all my savings. I walk home with two thousand dollars in my pocket. I have never had so much money on me or even seen it all at once. Itâs five in the afternoon and despite the bank being only six blocks from my house, I have never been so jumpy. Even the shadow of a seagull passing over my head makes my heart leap to my throat. Every time a car slows I stash my hands in my pockets and pick up my pace. I desperately hope that it isnât those two losers who are going to wind up with my cash anyway.
In the end, I havenât discussed what Iâm about to do with anyone. I really donât see any other way out. Mom and Dad are already so financially strapped, and Grandma would make me promise that I wouldnât do it. Sheâd tell me she would find the money herself. That would be a real hardship on her fixed income, and Jade...well, she has problems of her own.
So Iâve decided itâs best to get it over with and get on with life in our house. I still have my jobâIâll work extra shifts to cover the check my grandparents sent me. But I do plan on getting my money back from Chase eventually, even if I have to stoop to Ratchetâs level and extract it with a little blood.
My parents are pleased that weâre going to a movie together. At least thatâs what I told them Chase and I are doing when I asked to borrow Momâs car. I know sheâs hoping that weâve found something in common to bring us closer together. I hate lying to her, but I can hardly tell her that fending off Chaseâs drug dealers is the reason weâre going out.
I back out of the garage and sit in the car in the driveway, waiting for Chase. When he finally slides into the front seat, he immediately flips down the mirror on the visor. He pats his hair in case, between the house and driveway, a strand or two has fallen out of place.
Chase reeks of some heavy sweet cologne and he is wearing a new shirt. It reminds me of how he used to clean up after a five-day bender when he was ready to head back out on the street. I back out of the driveway. âI donât know why you got all dressed up to visit a couple of thugs. Do you think if you look good they wonât hold a grudge? Keep in mind this is the last time youâre going to see them.â
Chase doesnât say anything. He just sits, staring straight ahead.
âEver.â
âWhat?â
âYouâre not going to see or contact them after tonight. And once you get a job youâre going to pay me back, two thousand plus interest. Then weâll talk about the stuff you stole.â
I just assume we are headed for the Eastside, the sleazy part of town where the smell of garbage and urine-soaked concrete drifts from the alleys and where those who gather have only one thing on their minds. But the Eastside isnât where Chase directs me. Instead, once weâve crossed the Second Narrows Bridge, I follow his directions until we are driving down an older street in Burnaby. This is a
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