I went inside, got Dash situated with a snack, and called Ralph’s Repair Shop, bracing myself for the worst, but was told they hadn’t gotten to my car yet and would call me back before closing.
Time crawled. I made Dash dinner and sat at the kitchen counter to do homework so I could keep an eye on him while he played with his train set on the living room floor.
At seven p.m. my phone chimed with a text, and my heart jumped. But it was Mom saying she was working late and not to wait up.
At quarter to eight, as I labored over a rough draft of my history paper, my phone rang with the repair shop’s number.
“God, here we go.” I heaved a breath and answered. “Hello?”
“Yes, hi, I’m Martina calling from Ralph’s Repair. Is this Harper Bennett? The 2011 Prius?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“We just wanted to let you know that the diagnostics have been completed. The oil pan is punctured and needs to be replaced. Our guys will get going on it first thing tomorrow morning, and you should be able to pick it up tomorrow afternoon.”
“Wait, wait, don’t I need to authorize the work or something? I thought that was the first step. I don’t even know how much this is going to cost.”
“Um, yes, there’s a note here.” Martina sounded like she was shuffling some papers. “The work’s been authorized, and payment’s been arranged.”
“What do you mean? What payment?”
“Orion Mercer? He put a card on file.”
“He didwhat?”
I let him call the repair shop. That was my first mistake.
“How much?” I asked.
“Oh, let’s see... Including diagnostic, oil pan replacement, damagedfuel line and labor, the total comes to $990.”
My face paled. It was more than the limit on my emergency card, but I could figure it out. Withdraw some cash and pay with a combination of cash and card…
“Can you…notuse his card?” I asked. “I know it sounds weird but—”
Martina chuckled. “There’s a note about that too. It says you’ll probably ask that, and the answer is no.”
Damn him.
“We’ll text you when it’s ready to be picked up,” Martina said brightly.
“Okay. Thanks.”
I ended the call and set my phone on the counter and stared at it, split down the middle with emotions. Touched and embarrassed. Angry and grateful. I glanced at Dash, happily playing on the rug. Orion was both infuriating and endearing, and now my little brother was in love with him, and every single door inside me I’d tried to slam closed was wide open.
“I’m paying him back. Every penny.”
“What’d you say, Harper?”
“Nothing, buddy. Time for bed.”
I tucked Dash in and took my homework to my room. I heard Mom come in sometime after ten o’clock but stayed at my desk. I’d tell her about the car tomorrow, and she could tell me what kind of overtime a dental receptionist put in that kept her at work until ten at night.
Do I even want to know? No, I do not.
I tried to concentrate on my history paper, but Orion and I had exchanged cell numbers early in the semester when we became lab partners. “Later” kept coming and still my phone remained silent.
Finally, at quarter to eleven, my phone rang, and my stupid heart leaped to my throat…until I saw the number.
