AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know. He mentioned it to Jonathan and me. You said it was the wrong place, wrong time.”
Harry ran a hand through his hair, tucking the ends behind his ear. The coffee counter behind me apparently demanded his attention, and when I looked, only Vincent worked on cleaning the machines. “He was involved in something stupid. Says it was the worst thing he’s ever done.”
I leaned my head on my hand, trying to connect the dots he laid out. “What’d he do?”
Harry still watched Vincent, not me. And jeez, I swear that my heart started to beat faster because he held on to the suspense as long as possible. “He robbed a gas station,” he murmured. “Two, actually.”
“Robbed,” I echoed, straightening. “Like, with a gun?”
“They weren’t real guns. Just toys. His sentencing should’ve been longer—should’ve beena lotlonger—but he had a great lawyer and struck a deal.” He rubbed his hand along his tattoo. “You remember the gas station you wanted to stop at when we delivered for Dial and Dine? That was…that was one of the gas stations.”
Sothatwas why Harry reacted that way when we pulled into the parking lot. I thought about how sometimes Mom defended people who’d actually done crappy things. Still, though. The image in my head of Terry walking into a gas station with a weapon was insane.
It made my stomach turn. “He seemed like such a good guy.”
Harry’s gaze finally, finally turned to mine. “He is.”
“I mean, I’m sure he’snice, but how good can you be if you rob a gas station? Ortwo?” I shook my head. “When was this? A year ago?”
“A little over.”
Dang, must’ve been a fantastic lawyer and a fantastic deal if he got a little over a year’s sentence for a robbery.
Harry swallowed hard, leaning over the table and dropping his voice. “I’m bringing it up because I…well, I—”
“Hey.” We both turned at the sound of Jonathan’s voice, finding him with a rag and spray bottle, shaking it at us. “Lovebirds. Stop canoodling. I’ve got to wipe down this table.”
I grabbed my jacket from the seat beside me and shoved to my feet. Harry was slower to react, but followed suit. “Are you excited for tomorrow?” Jonathan asked me. “It’s going to be epic.”
Tomorrow, Untapped Potential’s first gig outside of Crushed Beanz. I forced a smile. “You got the night off?”
“We’re closing down Crushed Beanz so he and my dad can go,” Vincent told me. “My dad says he’s going to make his own Untapped Potential T-shirt.”
I couldn’t hold in a gasp. “Tell him Idefinitelywant one.”
Harry trailed behind me, quiet. Vincent lifted his hand to us once we were at the door. “See you tomorrow, you guys. Stella, Addy told me to tell you she’ll finally dance with you tomorrow.”
Of course they’d assume I’d go, probably assumed Harry had already asked me. Which he hadn’t. “I can’t wait.”
The weather had started to warm up beautifully for the beginning of April. A light jacket was all I really needed for the night air, and I drew in a deep, refreshing breath of it.
Since spring break started next week, it’d be the perfect weather to head to Bayview with Margot. The water might be a little cold, but the sun would be warm on our skin.
There wasn’t anyone on the sidewalks since it was so late, but Harry and I waited for a few cars to pass before crossing the street. The parking lot still had a few vehicles parked in it, but I focused on mine.
“I—I should’ve told you about the gig,” Harry said finally, uncertainty clinging to his words. “I’m sorry.”
Tension seeped out of me at that.Sorry. It disarmed me. I didn’twantto fight with him. I just wanted to understand. I wanted us to go back to the way we were before Saturday night. “I didn’t mean to sound judgmental of Terry.”
“There was a lot involved with it,” he said, his voice barely above a murmur, almost swept away with the wind. “He wasn’t acting alone. H-His friends put him up to it. Made him drive the getaway car.”
“What sucky friends,” I scoffed. “‘Hey, you want to go rob a gas station for fun?’ Who even does that?” And then I winced because, crap, I did it again. Being judgy. “Were you friends with those same guys or only Terry?”
Harry’s gaze focused on the side of my SUV. The closer we got, the more I could see our wavy, blurry reflections in the paint. “I was friends with them too.”
“You don’t talk to them anymore, right?”
I felt his gaze on me as I popped open the back seat door. “No.”
