Normal people did favors without expecting anything in return, but where I came from, you didn’t get anything without promising something in return.
At this point, it was better to banter with the devil I knew.
I was aware that Big Dog could get me the information I needed, but if I went to him with this he would know I was investigating something from that night, and, well, I had been following him, so the verdict was still up in the air.
“Fuck it,” I muttered.
The phone rang five times before I got an answer.
“Gotta say,compita, I didn’t think you would be calling. It’s been, what, three years?”
“Mr. Rivas,” I murmured.
I always got the creeps whenever I talked to him. There was a general consensus that politicians were dirty and slimy but well-polished because someone else did their dirty work. So, ultimately, they were cowards because someone else was behind their power.
That was not the case here.
Mr. Rivas did his own dirty work, and no one questioned him.
Laughter could be heard at the end of the line. Not mocking me, per se, but now was not the time to get offended. I guess a part of me felt like I needed to prove myself to Ava, Micah, and Grayson.
“I need a favor,” I managed to say.
“A favor,” he repeated more slowly.
“How the hell did you get this shit?” Grayson asked after the shock of the images had worn off.
“Don’t worry about it.”
The less they knew, the better. I already felt guilty enough that Big Dog associated them with me. I didn’t need another criminal lord looking into them.
Micah looked concerned, his brow furrowed as he looked me over.
“Where’s Ava?” I asked.
Both Grayson and Micah looked at one another with mirroring expressions. There was a closeness to them that had not been there before the party. They stood side by side, and we no longer had an awkward triangle. I wondered if this was them making a statement. It was them, and then there was me. Maybe Livy’s death reminded them that, at the end of the day, they all belonged, and people like me didn’t.
“She’s been ignoring our messages,” Grayson said.
“She hasn’t returned any of my calls,” Micah added.
On the other hand, I never even reached out. I only had one class today, so I didn’t need to be in school for longer than necessary. I usually hung around since we all went to the libraryand shit. Since I wanted to find a sense of normalcy instead, I asked Mr. Hayes if I could come into work a lot earlier than normal.
“I have to head out to work, but talk to you all later,” I said, and a part of me was somewhat disappointed as I saw them walk back to Grayson’s car.
Everything was so fucked up, and I knew my mind was all over the place because at work, I couldn’t even concentrate. Working at the garage was both a blessing and a curse. Ava’s dad was cool as shit, and he was easy to get along with, but with everything going on, I kept feeling like I was letting him down or disrespecting him.
A few hours later, Mr. Hayes came up to me, and knowing my luck, I was about to get fired.
Ava had gotten me the job.
Ava could take it away.
What if she told her dad that hiring me had been a mistake?
“Sir.” I was surprised my voice came out even and calm.
He looked pained.
