Chapter 23
Sam
The bell rings, signaling the end of the day. I swing my purse over my shoulder, heading for the door.
Today has been weird, a good kind of weird, but still … weird. I’m not used to having a group. Having people to sit with at lunch. Someone to talk to in class. A boyfriend.
Jameson only left my side when our class schedule separated us. Other than that, he’s been a constant throughout the day.
It’s been nice to not be alone.
Last year, I’d bring my lunch to the library and read, wanting to avoid the cafeteria altogether. So, having a table to sit at, a group that seemed to immediately accept me, was something I didn’t even know I wanted. Something I didn’t even realize I needed.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I pull it out, finding a text from Jameson telling me to meet him out front.
I push through the crowded hallway and out the doors of the school, a smile coming to my face when I see Jameson leaning against a column, Billy’s head thrown back in laughter.
“Hey,” I mutter, coming up beside them.
Jameson’s eyes brighten, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over how his face goes from dark to light when he sees me.
“Hey, baby.” He swings an arm around me, pulling me into him and bringing his lips to the top of my head. “You ready?”
I nod against him as we start for the garage.
It’s just a few blocks away from school, so it doesn’t take long for us to get there. Billy rambles on about his day, me and Jameson barely getting a word in, which is usually how conversations with the three of us go.
When we turn the corner and walk into the big lot in front of the garage, Billy’s words fall away. I glance at him and find his eyes trained on a white car parked right in front of the entrance.
“What’s she doing here?” he says to himself.
“Who?” I ask.
“My mother.”
Billy rarely ever talks about his mom, which is kind of odd considering how close he seems to be with his dad. Luke is so great that I just assumed his mom is, too. I know she works as a hairdresser on Broadway, but that’s pretty much it.
We walk past her car, and I’m surprised by how new it looks. I’m guessing Billy’s family has decent money from the shop, but not new car kind of money.
Billy throws open the front door, and we follow in behind him.
Glancing around, I see the space is empty and drop my bag on the desk when I hear voices coming from the garage.
Voices that are shouting at each other.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” a woman yells.
“Anything is better than fucking nothing,” Luke shouts back.
Billy goes still beside me, his attention fixed on the door that leads out to the garage.
I turn to Jameson for an explanation, and the look he gives me tells me that this isn’t anything new.
His mother’s voice drifts into the room. “I’m chained to this fucking life.”
Billy stands frozen, the casual look he always wears gone. In its place is an expression I’ve never seen on him before. A sadness I didn’t know he carried.
Suddenly, all I can think about is getting him away from this. Taking that pained look away.
I grab my bag. “I need a smoke. You wanna come?”
He doesn’t answer. It’s like all he can hear is the conversation in the other room.
“I just need a break,” his mother snaps. “Can’t you just give me a break?”
“Billy?” I prompt again.
When he still doesn’t answer, I walk up to him and grab his hand. “Let’s go outside, yeah?”
He blinks, jerking his head into a nod.
I lead him outside, his parents’ voices fading with each step we take.
Jameson moves in front of us, opening the door that leads to the side of the building. It slams shut behind us, acting as a barrier to Billy’s problems inside.
Digging through my purse, I pull out a pack of cigarettes and my lighter. I place one between my lips and light it.
“Can I get one of those?” Billy asks.
I’m not expecting him to ask, having only seen him smoke a few times, but I hand one over without question.
He lights it, takes a long drag, and says, “Thanks,” on an exhale.
“Of course,” I answer tentatively. “You okay?”
“Just the same shit.”
I’m quiet, waiting to see if he’ll give any more than that away.
He flicks the ash off his cigarette. “It’s been getting worse.”
“Their fighting?”
He nods. “Don’t know what happened to make her show up here, though.”
It is unusual that I’ve never seen his mother around the garage, considering her husband owns it.
“I’m sure they’ll get over it,” Jameson offers. “They always do.”
“Sometimes, I wish they wouldn’t.”
The side door opens with a groan, and a woman pushes through, a phone pressed to her ear. The second she sees us, she says, “I’ll call you back.”
It’s instantly obvious that the woman is Billy’s mother. They have the same dark hair, full lips, and high cheekbones. I’m taken aback by how young she looks, how untouched by life she seems.
Billy drops his cigarette, grinding it into the asphalt under the sole of his boot.
I bring mine up to my lips and take a drag. She’s not my mother.
“Oh, Billy. Hi, honey,” she pushes out.
“Hey, Mom,” he murmurs.
She forces a smile to her face. “Jameson … hi, sweetie. How are you?”
“I’m good,” he answers. “You?”
Her voice is light, airy even. “Oh, I’m great.” She shifts her attention back to Billy. “Was just stopping by to see your dad.” She pauses before tacking on like she just remembered, “And to see how your first day was.”
“It was fine,” Billy answers.
She nods, not asking for any details, then passes her gaze over me, her expression pinching. “Hello,” she says. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“I’m Sam,” I offer, my voice flat.
I can already tell that I don’t like this woman. Her little nice mother act isn’t fooling me.
She looks to Billy for an explanation, but it’s Jameson who says, “My girlfriend.”
“Your girlfriend?” she repeats, surprised, then sticks out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Evelyn, Billy’s mom.”
I look at her outstretched hand for a few seconds before taking it. “Nice to meet you, too.”
She eyes the cigarette in my other hand. “Aren’t you a little young to be smoking?”
“Probably,” I answer, bringing it back up to my lips.
She watches me for a minute, and I see a small crack in her mask before she turns back to Billy. “Well, I’ve gotta go. I have an appointment.” She leans in to give him a quick hug. “See you at home.”
Billy stares after her until her car pulls out of the lot.
“Are you—”
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” he mutters. “We should get inside. Get to work.”
I toss my cigarette as Billy reaches for the door. “All right.” I grab his arm. “But if you change your mind …”
He stills.
“We’ve got you,” Jameson says from beside me. “Always, you know that.”
“Yeah,” Billy answers. “Yeah, I know.”
It’s just turned six when the front door chimes. Billy and Jameson have been out with Luke in the garage while I’ve been at my spot behind the front desk.
Luke has come by a few times, and I expected him to seem upset, but he’s been his regular self. I would have never known he just had a shouting match with his wife, if I hadn’t heard it.
I glance up from the textbook in front of me and smile when I see Johnny, but it quickly falls when I notice the look on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I cross my arms over my chest defiantly. “You know I can always tell when you’re lying.”
“Just been a busy day.”
“Johnny.”
“Leave it,” he spits, and I flinch at the harness of his words. “Shit, sorry, Bug … I just … I can’t do this right now, all right?”
I nod. “Yeah, all right.”
“We’ve gotta get going,” he says. “I need to get back.”
“Okay,” I answer, shutting my textbook with a thud and packing up the rest of my things.
“Jameson in the garage?” he questions.
“Yeah.”
“Can you go grab him for me?”
I start to ask him why, but he looks like he’s one question away from snapping, so I just mumble, “Sure.”
“Be quick about it.”
What’s his problem today?
I walk into the garage and find Jameson hunched over the engine of a car. “My brother asked me to come get you,” I tell him. “Seems urgent.”
“What time is it?”
“Just past six.”
“Shit,” he says under his breath before he yells out, “Gotta go, Luke.”
“Okay, kid. See ya tomorrow,” Luke shouts back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jameson answers.
“Seriously? You, too?”
“What?”
“My brother said the same thing.”
“That’s ’cause there’s nothing wrong.” He pauses. “Nothing you need to worry about.”
“But there’s something you need to worry about.”
He looks over at me as he starts for the door. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
The door swings shut behind us as Johnny calls out, “Come on; we’re gonna be late.”
The three of us step out into the night and round Johnny’s car. “Late for what?”
Neither of them answer.
“Late for what?” I repeat. “And why is Jameson coming with us?”
“Get in the car; come on.”
“No, I’m not getting in until you tell me what’s going on.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Johnny says. “Get in the car.”
I stand my ground until he sighs.
“A job. We’re gonna be late for a job, okay?”
I look between them. “What job?”
“Get in the car,” Johnny presses.
“If I get in, will you tell me?”
“Fuck, fine.” He waves a hand. “Just get in. I need to drop you at home first.”
I slide into the passenger seat, shutting the door roughly as they both get in. “Well?”
“We’re hitting a safe,” Jameson answers simply.
“Like at a bank?” My gaze bounces between them. “You’re gonna rob a bank?”
“No,” Johnny clarifies. “It’s just a pawn shop.”
“Just a pawn shop?”
“It’s fine,” he says, starting the car.
“You using guns?”
“I said it’s fine,” he repeats in that tone he reserves for the times he takes on the role of a parent.
But fuck that.
“No.”
“Excuse me?” my brother shoots back, his tone growing more defensive.
“I said no. I don’t want you to go.”
He scoffs, and Jameson grits out his name in warning.
“Don’t start making me feel guilty for how I take care of this family.”
I shake my head. “I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m just—”