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“So that’s good, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You could still name them, too.”
“I’ll take the ten grand and walk away for good.” Nudging her knee with my own, I say, “Really, I’m good with that. It’ll be like giving them the finger every time I walk into class this year.”
“That’s a healthy way to look at it, I guess.” Looking to the greasy napkin in my lap, she says, “Healthier than what you just ate.”
“They’re actually better than decent, but definitely not healthy.”
“I can’t believe you were even hungry. You had like four of those muffins.”
“I wasn’t hungry. It’s the smell that gets you. The hot dogs are positioned right next to the coffee machine, so I was smelling them while I was getting you your fix. It’s all your fault.”
“Sure, Liam.” She’s smiling again, and I’m so glad the topic and the mood has shifted. Very glad about the ten grand, too. “So, Ocean City Community College? You’ll be close to home.”
“For the time being. It’s practical. I can stay with my aunt and uncle, work around twenty hours a week, sock away some money for living expenses for when I—”
“Snag that full ride.”
“Exactly.” The thought of having some extra money for the first time in my life has me feeling relieved and happy. “I guess I’ll have to open a real bank account.”
“You don’t have one?” She cocks her head to the side. “But you have a credit card, right?”
I fully expected the surprise she’s trying to mask right now. I’d wager Sarah not only has a bank account in her name, but also stocks, bonds, and a trust fund to boot.
“No. I buy those prepaid ones from the convenience store because so many places don’t even take dollar bills anymore.” I side eye her to add, “Which is nuts, in my opinion.” Sarah still can’t wrap her mind around this alien concept, so I spell it out. “I cash my checks and put it with the money I make from my other side jobs.”
“So you take your paycheck, exchange it for cash, then buy a debit card so you’ll have spending cash? Where do you even cash checks?”
“Check cashing shops.”
“I’ve never seen one.”
“Yeah, they don’t have stores with bullet-proof glass in your neighborhood.” I continue, not the slightest bit embarrassed, knowing Sarah is soaking this education up and I’m her professor inLife 101. “There are some big-box stores where you can do it, but people pay their utility bills there too, so the lines can get crazy long. It’s a toss-up,” I shrug like the badass I am not, “but time is money, so when it’s long lines versus safety, I’ll pick the guy behind the bullet-proof glass any day of the week.” I say that last bit with a chuckle but she doesn’t acknowledge my stab at levity.
“I realize my system is ass backwards.” My mood takes a nosedive when I think of him, and I shift uncomfortably as the truth comes spilling out on its own. “When Jeff raided the coffee can I kept stashed in the back of my closet, that’s when I moved out.”
She doesn’t answer, and I’m all right with her knowing the ugly. Is my life enviable? Absolutely not. But I’m not hiding or apologizing for anything. And just because Jeff is a modern-day version of Fagin, that doesn’t mean my part of town is full of losers with questionable morals. Mike, for example, has awesome parents. And Lorraine, despite her faults, is a good mother to my nephew.
Reaching over to grab a wayward crumb off my lap, she says, “There’s a fourth option.”
“I’m listening.”
“We could run away from home for a while.” Something in my expression has her back peddling fast. “Forget it. I know you probably need to get back. I just had a crazy thought.”
“No, I want to hear your crazy thought.”
“I was thinking we could go to Ocean City. Find a place to stay tonight.” Before I can protest, she says, “I have my credit card and my parents will be footing the bill. Seriously, Liam,” she sniffs her own armpit, “I need a shower.”
“I wanted to ask Sienna and…”
“Garth,” she supplies when I can’t remember the name.
“Yeah, I wanted to root around for a toothbrush while I was in the bathroom.”
“I did,” she says before breaking out into a fit of giggles. She then digs into her pocket and produces a kids’-sized brush with some blue paste mashed into the bristles. It’s wrapped in soggy toilet paper, and I still want to get my hands on it.
