AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I want to say yes–I really do. But my gut twists at the thought of spending the night watching her and Conrad together whilst also knowing it’s Ellie’s last night in Blue Haven.
When I don’t say anything, Ivy sighs and takes a step back. “The invitation is there. I hope you’ll come.”
My stomach sinks as I watch her walk away. I know I’ve upset her, but I can’t make promises that I’m not sure I cankeep.
My mood sours even more when I pull out my phone only to see two missed calls from my dad. Deleting the voicemail without even listening to it, I quickly change and head home for a shower and lunch before my afternoon classes. I’m surprised to see Tom sitting at the kitchen bench, going through some paperwork when I walk in.
“Shouldn’t you be at the garage?”
He looks up at me in surprise, as if he didn’t hear my bike pull up or the door slam shut behind me. “What are you doing home?”
“No classes until this afternoon.”
“Right.” He starts gathering the papers, acting shady as fuck.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
I snatch one up from the top of the pile. It’s a bill addressed to the garage, and I run my eyes over the page, bugging out when I see the five-figure sum at the bottom of the page. “Holy shit, Tom. What the hell is this?”
He sighs and grabs it out of my hand as he stands up. “It’s nothing. Just business stuff.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“You don’t need to worry about it. I have it under control.”
“Speaking of the garage,” I say as I help myself to some of last night’s leftovers. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“Things are a little… slow. So I thought I’d take the afternoon off to catch up on some paperwork.”
I pause with my fork halfway to my mouth. “Are we introuble?”
“We’re fine. Like I said, I’ve got it all under control.”
There’s something he’s not telling me, but before I can push any further, his phone rings, and his face pales. “I’ve got to take this. I’ll catch you later.” The front door slams behind him.
I push my food away, my appetite all but gone. Tom has worked his ass off at the garage since getting out of prison, keeping the family business afloat and a roof over our heads. And in that time, I’ve never seen him so worried as he was just then. Not to mention the strange phone call. I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.
I pull out my phone and open up the banking app, grimacing when I see how dismal my savings are. I hadn’t wanted to work at the garage because I didn’t want to be stuck in close quarters with Tom, having him hound me about Conrad. But now, by the sounds of it, he wouldn’t have enough work for me anyway. I’m only getting the odd weekend shift at the surf club now that summer’s over, so I’m going to have to get another job if I’m going to help Tom out with the monthly bills for the house.
Going to my room, I scroll through my contacts until I find the one I’m looking for.
“What’s the payout?” I ask when he answers.
“Two hundred up front and ten percent of the stake if you win.”
“I’m in. Get me on next Friday night’s roster.”
“Done.”
SIX
HARLEY
I’M ROSTERED ON the early shift at the surf club Saturday morning with Jordan. The mid-April weather is still warm, and the beach is busy. I offer to watch the tower while he patrols the beach, having noticed Wren, Ronnie, and Ivy laying out their towels just before lunch. He gives me a funny look but doesn’t say anything. Jordan and Brady are the only two friends that I’m not avoiding at the moment, and that’s only because they seem to understand my need not to talk about anything related to Ellie, Conrad, or my dad.
They haven’t stopped trying to convince me to go to Ivy’s twenty-first tonight, though.
