Page 12 of Escaping Our Reality

Lulu rolls her eyes.

She may try to hide her smile, but she makes no attempt to hide this. It’s a blatant, over-exaggerated movement, complete with a head roll.

I can’t help it. For the second time, Lulu has me laughing out loud.

Her eyes flicker to me and she purses her lips in a straight line.

Finally, Amber pays attention to the girl sitting beside me. She snorts, “Who are you?”

“I’m Ella.”

Amber quickly dismisses her, sizing her up as no competition.

She’s wrong. Lulu should be the competition for every girl.

“Put away your homework, Crutch, and come inside. We can grab a drink and talk.”

“I have a few things to finish up. I’ll be in soon.”

Amber rubs her thumb over her lip. “Promise?”

I just shrug.

Accepting that as an affirmative answer, Amber and Mandy snake past us into the trailer.

I don’t say anything, waiting on Lulu to make the first move. I have no idea how she is going to react, and I’m sitting on damn pins and needles, eager to see.

“Well, your friends seem… eager to please.”

I chuckle. “I guess so.” I finish the last of my beer. “And I never said they were my friends.”

Her eyes flicker over to my closed laptop. “Homework?” she questions, picking up on Amber’s comment.

I just shrug again. “It’s nothing.”

Staring at me, Lulu narrows her eyes, considering my words. Her tongue darts out to lick her lips before she switches topics. “So, you know my sister?”

“Not well. Like I said, I only met her once at a party here. I’m sorry she’s missing. I actually joined some of the search parties when they were looking for her in the woods by the restaurant where her car was found. We didn’t find anything.”

She slowly nods. “Thank you for your help.” She takes another small sip of her water. “So, you saw her at the gas station? Did she go there a lot?”

“More than a girl like her should’ve.” If I stare hard enough, I’m sure I can see the wheels of Lulu’s brain turning, twisting, spitting out ideas. “What do you know about the gas station?”

She takes a deep breath. “I know it’s where people go to buy drugs. I know that my sister went there to buy drugs.” She clears her throat. “And she apparently sold drugs too.”

“Holy shit.” I lift the ballcap from my head and drag my fingers through my hair. “Carrie started pushing?”

“Huh?”

“Pushing drugs for the dealer.”

“Oh. I guess. Who’s the dealer? Trash? He was selling drugs at the gas station yesterday and today.”

I narrow my eyes. “You were at the gas station yesterday and today?” I sigh, dawning with realization. “The Infiniti SUV. That was you?”

She nods.

I glanced up from my work when the expensive SUV pulled across the street. The second I saw one long leg climb from the front seat, I went back to my work, underneath the hood of an old station wagon. As the drug business grew, more and more clientele came searching for their next high. Clientele with a lot of money to spend.

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