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“You should head back inside, your brother will be down here any minute.”
“The least you could tell me is what you’ve got him into?” She ain’t budging and her eyes are fixed on me curiously.
“I ain’t got him into nothing.” It pisses me off that she, like everyone else, assumes that because I’m the kid from the wrong side of town I’m the one who instigates all the trouble.
“Nothing, huh? So what was that black SUV you picked him up in last night? I saw you out my window. And I know It doesn’t belong to you.”
“It was just a loan from a friend,” Alex interrupts as he struts through the garage door. “What you doin’ hanging around here?” He shakes his sister’s hair as if she’s a kid.
“I was just talking to Tate, trying to find out where you boys were off to.” She slides off the workbench, making sure her body touches mine when she sees that Alex isn’t watching. Louisa is not the sweet, innocent, bible studying girl this town thinks she is.
“Well it sucks for you that none of that is your business. Haven’t you got studying to do?”
“I have actually. Unlikesomedisappointments to this family. I’m taking my senior year very seriously. Someone around here has to make the folks proud.” She smiles sarcastically as she heads up the stairs toward the kitchen, then once she’s through the door frame and out of his sight she turns to blow me a kiss.
“Next time, tell her to fuck off,” Alex tells me, as I’m shaking my head and laughing at her. “I mean it, Tate. I don’t like the way she looks at you.” He takes the holdall from my shoulder and tosses it into his trunk.
“We’re taking your car tonight?” I watch him load up and wonder what’s going on
“Yep. Toby’s got something to take care of. We’re on our own for this one.” He looks excited as he gets behind the wheel.
“You sure that's a good idea?” I check as I get in beside him. “We’re still pretty new to this shit, and up to now we’ve had Toby showing us the ropes.
“What you lookin’ so nervous for, Tate? We got this.” Alex slaps me on the chest. “We’ve done this tons of times. We know what it’s about.”
“Yeah, but Toby has always been with us, people know him. They respect him. People ain’t got no reason to be scared of us.”
“They will,” Alex assures me. “Toby is trusting us. He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t think we had it covered.” He starts the engine and drives out on to his parents' red bricked driveway.
“That look ya were talkin’ about?” I bring up the subject of his sister again as he starts cruising out of his avenue.
“What look?” He laughs at me.
“Louisa. You said you don’t like the way she looks at me. How does she look at me?”
“Dude, she looks at you the way every other girl in town looks at ya. You’re a handsome fucker, you can’t help that. And there may come a time with Louisa where you're gonna have to be cruel to be kind.”
“She don’t like me.” I light myself a cigarette and hate that I have to be dishonest with him. “What would a girl like your sister see in a guy like me anyway?” I wonder if he has an answer to the question I ask myself every day.
“Are you livin’ under a rock? Chicks dig the bad boy vibe. Especially chicks like my sister. Add to that the fact that you're her older brother's best friend, of course she’s into you. I just appreciate that you don’t take advantage of that. It shows what a loyal friend you are.”
I take a long drag on my cigarette and let his words scratch at my conscience, and when we eventually pull up outside thebungalow where we’re making the drop, he has to say my name a few times to snap me out of my thoughts.
“Here we go.” Alex pulls his gun from the glove compartment, tucking it into the front of his jeans.
“I’m not sure about this,” I admit, I can see at least three cars parked on the drive and after I open the trunk and take out my glock, I tuck it in my own pants and conceal it under my tee. Grabbing the holdall I place it on my shoulder and take a nervous breath.
“Tate, I need Toby to start trusting us with shit like this. I need the money.” He grabs my arm and it forces me to look at him when he sees how uncertain I am.
“You need the money? Mr. fuckin’ trust fund needs the money?” I laugh at what I’m hearing.
“Tate, I’m gonna get straight with you. That trust fund is gonna be non-existent when I take my sister and get the hell out of town.”
“What the fuck you talkin’ about?” I stare at him in shock. I’ve hung out with Alex every day since we were kids and I’ve never heard him talk shit like this before.
“My dad, Tate. You and the rest of this town see him as this influential, moralistic man, when in reality he’s a monster, and Mom, well she’s too damn drunk to either notice or fuckin’ care. I need to earn big and then I’m gonna get me and Louisa as far away from them as possible.” He goes to move on but I stop him.
“How is this the first time I’m hearing about this?”
