Read Online yolo by Sam Jones - Free Book Online Page A

Emily’s face, and Ana kept panting, “Stop! Okay, stop! My stomach hurts from—” Then Pickles jumped up and licked her nose with a little bark and the two of them collapsed into hysterics again.
    Finally Brandon opened the door to the backseat and slid inside. “Are we good to go?” he asked. “Can I tell them to get in?”
    â€œDammit, Brandon. Why do you care about these assholes more than your friends’ safety?” Emily said. She wasn’t angrynow, she was just curious. It didn’t make sense to her.
    Brandon shrugged. “I dunno,” he said. “I just know that when my dad left, my mom . . .” His voice trailed off for a second, and Emily saw a shadow cross his face. She saw Ana reach into the backseat and put her hand on Brandon’s knee. Feeling her touch him, he looked up into her eyes, and somehow found his voice again. “My mom, she was strapped financially. I know she did some stuff that she wasn’t proud of. I mean, she didn’t sell herself or anything, but she worked a lot of shifts at the Bikini Bar. I just understand when people feel like they don’t have any options left to take care of their kid.”
    Part of her wanted to protest, but Emily kept her mouth closed. True, they didn’t even know if Artie existed, and there were obvious problems with equating Liz and Chestnut with Brandon’s mom, who had worked her ass off to keep things going for Brandon and not lose their house after his dad ran off . . . but still, she was tired of the arguments—with her friends, sure, but mainly with herself.
    Emily sighed. “Where do they want to go next?”
    â€œWell . . .” Brandon had a sheepish grin on his face. “They have one more job planned.”
    â€œBrandon,” Emily said, “they are so bad at holdups.”
    This cracked Ana up again, and this time when the laughter spread through the car, Brandon was in on it too. “ Dude . I know ,” he said. Finally they settled down again, and when they did, they saw Chestnut and Liz leaning against the front of the car making out. Emily started to say “Ewww!” but stoppedherself, and watched the tender way Chestnut held Liz, one arm around her waist, one hand sliding up to cup her cheek.
    â€œAww, they’re so cute !” Ana said, squeezing Pickles, who yelped in agreement.
    Something about this moment gave Emily pause. Sure, they were criminals, but maybe the things people did didn’t define who they actually were . She thought about Brandon’s mom slinging drinks at the Bikini Bar until she met Brandon’s stepdad and could go back to school and finish her teaching degree. True, Brandon’s mom hadn’t done anything illegal, but she’d done whatever it took to make sure Brandon had everything he needed.
    â€œThey may be cute,” Emily said, “but you guys, it’s too dangerous to keep hanging out with them.”
    â€œAgreed,” said Brandon. “Just let them tell you about this last job?”
    Looking back, Emily would understand that this was the moment she stopped trying. Everybody was always telling her to “let go” and “go with the flow.”
    â€œFine,” she said.
    Brandon opened the door and poked his head out. “Jesus, you two. Get a room why don’t you.”
    Liz giggled, and Emily actually thought she might have seen her blush. She and Chestnut came barreling into the backseat.
    â€œSo, you’re gonna take us to the last job?” Liz asked.
    Emily sighed. “Where is this last stop?”
    Chestnut jumped in, his eyes lit up like fireworks. “Well, see, we gotta get to this big warehouse about five miles up the highway. We’ve got to make a pickup.”
    â€œWhoa, whoa, whoa.” Ana held up her hand. “Pick up what ?”
    Liz and Chestnut glanced at each other. “A shipment,” said Liz