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She punches the air. "I knew it. How was it, Wills? You have to tell me everything."
"It was different than I thought." I bite my bottom lip, setting the popcorn bowl down. "You know, I only wanted to do this to get back at Raphael for turning me down..."
Mercy nods eagerly, digging in the bowl for more. "Keep going."
"But it was really good," I whisper. "Like, on a different level. I didn't expect that... connection. The spark, the passion. I want to see him again."
"Well, you should," Mercy winks. "You said you wanted to save money so we can move in the fall, right?"
"Yeah," I mutter guiltily.
"Have you told your parents about Parsons?"
I feel sick from the popcorn suddenly. I take a big gulp of seltzer water and shake my head no. My acceptance letter is still hidden under my mattress.
"Why are you so determined not to tell them?" Mercy asks for the thousandth time, making me roll my eyes.
"Not this again."
"Well, I still don't get it."
"I want to do something on my own, I don't want to take their money," I mutter. "They've done enough for me. And they'd be really hurt if they knew I wanted to get away from here. I could have found a school locally, but..."
"Hey, it's okay." Mercy lays her palm over mine gently and squeezes twice, getting a small smile out of me. Our secret handshake that we've had since we were kids is still going strong. "Tell me more, but only if it helps."
I nod, "It does. And I don't want Dove and Nox to feel guilty about me leaving. It's something I have to do for myself."
"You know I support you with everything," Mercy says slowly, and I nod with a grateful smile. She told me I was moving to NYC under one condition – if I let her come with me. She is determined to work in the city while I go to school, and I believe she can do it. "But I still don't understand. Why do you need to do this? Dove and Nox are so amazing."
We haven't talked about this before. I've been hesitant to say much since Mercy doesn't have a great home situation herself, and I don't want to be ungrateful.
"I know," I finally say. "But this isn't about them. It's about me and the fucked up place I come from. You know... my biological mom, dad. And that fucking bastard who Mom married."
"I know," Mercy whispers. I can tell she already feels bad for even bringing it up, so I give her our secret handshake again. "I just wish you didn't have to. I like it here. Scott is here, you know?"
I struggle with my reply. Fact of the matter is, leaving Mercy's shitty boyfriend behind will be one of the best things to happen if we do end up leaving LA. But ever since I met Raphael, that seems more and more unlikely.
Before I can respond, my phone buzzes with a reply. I reach for it, for a second hoping it's Raphael. When I see the notification, my eyes widen.
"Someone just sent me ten grand."
"What?" Mercy scoots over. "How?"
"On the sugar baby app," I click through to the app and point at the question mark next to the username youronlydaddy. "But he doesn't have a picture up, or any information."
"I bet it's Raphael," Mercy elbows me. "This is so freaking exciting!"
"He has a different username." I knit my brows together, trying to understand what the hell just happened. "I don't get this at all. Why would someone send me ten grand, no questions asked?"
"Maybe they're working up to messaging you and want to leave a good impression," Mercy teases.
"Maybe..." I shrug and pocket my phone with a big grin. "We need to celebrate. Pizza on me?"
Chapter 6
Raphael
"Are you almost ready, Raphael? We need to get going."
I ignore the voice and splash myself with cologne. But like her old yappy dog, Pepper, Elise just won't shut the fuck up.
"Raphael, we need to get going. The cab is already downstairs. I told you a million times, we can't be late for this! I don't want to look bad in front of the sponsors."
A moment later, the voice comes back again.
"Are you almost done?"
I fight the urge to bark back a reply and instead take my time doing up the buttons of my shirt, ignoring Elise's nagging voice.
"Raphael!" She saunters into the bedroom but shuts up when she sees me glaring at her.
"Don't you think you should treat me with a little more respect?" I ask calmly, making her pale. "I think you're forgetting that this is only a business arrangement, Elise, nothing else and nothing more."
I slick my hair back in the mirror while she stares on with a miserable expression.
"I could break it off here and now," I tell her coolly, shrugging on my blazer. "Behavior like this makes me question why I haven't done it already. You're annoying the fuck out of me today."
