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Bastian’s voice cuts through the tension in the air, “Let’s play cards.”
“What?” I glance up, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject.
“I’m bored of fighting with you. Let’s play cards.” He produces a pack of playing cards from his pocket and opens it, shuffling the cards a few times. I shake my head and rearrange myself to make room for the two of us to face each other so we can play.
“Do you know how to play gin?” Bastian asks. I nod and he deals out ten cards to each of us before flipping the top card of the deck over.
“My great uncle used to play this with me when I was little,” I tell him. “He died when I was a kid, but I still remember how much fun it was to play with him.”
“Grandpa taught us,” Bastian says. “He passed when I was fifteen.”
“I’m sorry. Do you miss him?”
“Yeah. He was a good guy,” Bastian says. “Taught us a lot, including how to repair bikes. That’s why we opened the shop.”
“Was that your dream?” I ask, drawing a card from the pile.
Bastian goes silent for a moment, clenching his cards tighter in his fist. “Not at first. Our dream when we were teenagers was to get into the police academy. But things changed and we thought maybe it would be better to do some good in the world in a different way.”
“How so?”
“We wanted to reopen the Haven Center. That place was a refuge for us as kids and we thought it would be good for the community to have it opened again. But it just didn’t work out.”
I feel my heart clench as he speaks. Bastian is so different from the image I had of him in my head. I feel guilty for judging the Ravenwoods now.
What if you tried again, Bastian? It's not too late.” I lay down a card.
Bastian picks it up and shuffles his hand around. “Nah. Some dreams just aren’t meant to be.”
I chew the inside of my cheek for a moment. “You know, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a midwife. But my mom and one of my middle school teachers told me that I didn’t have the aptitude for it. I was mad at the time but in a way, it helped push me to where I am now.”
Bastian discards one of his cards. “You can still do something great with your life, even if it’s not being a midwife.”
“Then the same goes for you,” I tell him. “Dreams might change, but it doesn’t mean the new dream can’t be just as big.”
“That’s some Hallmark shit right there,” Bastian says, snorting as he lays out his hand, showing me that he’s got gin.
“Damn,” I flash my hand. “I was so close.” Scooping up the cards, I start shuffling the deck again.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Bastian asks.
“I gotta take these notes to campus, to go over the results with my supervisor. He’s been saying that if I don’t show him proof, he’s pulling me from the study. I’ve emailed him some of the results but he wants to see them in person.”
“He sounds like a dick,” Bastian says. I chuckle as I deal out our hands.
“Yeah, a little,” I agree. “Academia can make people like that though. I don’t know what it is about being an academic, but it attracts toxic people left and right.”
“When do you need to go over there?”
“Probably around ten,” I tell him. “I think that’s when my boss is on campus doing his work.”
“You know one of us will have to go with you, right?” Bastian asks. I roll my eyes internally.
“I figured. I don’t know what’s got you guys so paranoid but I’m not about to run off.”
“I know you can take care of yourself,” Bastian says, cutting me off before I can start ranting. “There’s just shit going on right now and it’s better if one of us comes with.”
I hope Caleb can come. He’s been the nicest to me so far. Dominic is kind of intimidating sometimes and Bastian can be a dick sometimes.
