Page 45 of All the Ways You Save Me
“Is that true?” His dad whirls around, and Jason quickly snaps his mouth shut.
“Uh. Yeah?”
“Why didn’t you tell us that in the first place?”
Jason’s face twistsnervously. “Well…”
“I bet he was worried you’d kick me out of the house, and then I’d have no place else to go,” I cut in. “Right?”
Jason nods, half-dazed. “That’s right. You can’t kick Adam out. Please?”
Phil is silent, sizing me up, and I shift my weight. Finally, he sighs. “Look, Adam. I know you’re not planning to go to college. And maybe they don’t mind if you do this sort of thing working at the autobody shop. I know your dad had a problem. But you can’t be bringing drugs like this into our home or risking Jason’s chances to go to Princeton.”
I can’t help but wince at the implication that I don’t have a future to ruin, not like Jason does. But I just nod along. “Yes, sir.”
“We’re not going to kick you out, but is there anything else you’re hiding?”
From behind his dad, Jason shakes his head vigorously, and I follow suit. “No, sir.”
“Okay. I’m going to choose to believe you this time because I know you’ve had a hard time of it. But it had better not happen again.”
“It won’t.”
He nods. “You boys clean this up and head off to do your homework.”
Jason and I fling his clothes and junk back in his drawers, and then we go downstairs to the basement under the pretense of working on our biology assignments. I immediately head to my dresser, where I’ve hidden the weed Jason likes to leave lying around. In the bathroom, I dump it in the toilet and flush.
“That was amazing. I can’t believe you took the fall for me.” Jason stands in the bathroom doorway looking positively giddy. “Damn, that was a close call.”
I bend forward, pressing my hands to my knees as the adrenaline kicks in. That could have gone in any direction. What if they’d kicked me out? What would I have done?
“Don’t ever bring this shit into the house again,” I hiss, waving the empty plastic bag and stuffing it into the garbage can. “If they find it, they really are going to make me leave.”
“You’re fine.” Jason gives me a shove on the shoulder as I push past him out of the bathroom. “You’re making tons of money now. You could afford an apartment. In fact, maybe you should get one so we can hang out there and do whatever we want.”
I give him a death stare. The money I’m saving from working at the delivery job is to rent an apartment in whatever town Madeline decides to go to college in, not have a place for Jason to party. But the reminder of all that cash has my stomach churning again. What if Jason’s parents had searched my things and found it in my underwear drawer? How would I explain it?
I take a deep breath in and remember that just because it’s a wild amount of money to me doesn’t mean I didn’t earn it or don’t deserve it. This whole thing with cocaine in Jason’s pocket is just making me paranoid. Still, maybe I ought to find a place to hide that cash better.
Jason holds up his hands. “Look, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I promise.” He throws an arm around me. “It means a lot that you stepped in and did that for me. I didn’t deserve it.”
“You’re my best friend. I couldn’t let you get grounded until the end of time.” My elbow jabs into his ribs. “It would have ruined my senior year, too,” I joke to mask the fact that inside, I’m still shaking.
An hour later, Jason heads upstairs to shower, and I yank open my drawers, digging around to make sure there are no more bags of Jason’s weed stuffed in any corners. I find the pile of cash I’ve been saving in a shoe box, fold it into a tight wad, and roll it up in a ball of socks. When that’s done, I expect to feel relief, but for some reason, my hands are still shaking. Normally, I’d call Madeline to talk it over, and by the time we hung up, I’d feel better.
But this time, I can’t tell Madeline about any of this. Jason might not want her to know about the cocaine, and it’s not my secret to tell. But as I settle on the couch and flip on the TV, hoping that will distract me, I realize that it’s more than just keeping Jason’s secret that’s holding me back.
I’ve been purposely vague about my employment situation, and Madeline doesn’t know about the delivery job I’ve been doing on the side. I didn’t tell anyone at first, just to try it out, like Jason suggested. But then that insane amount of cash started piling up in my sock drawer, and I just keep it to myself. I’ll only do it for a few more months.
Just until graduation when we can leave town and start our new lives.
TWENTY-SIX
PRESENT DAY
Madeline
After I hang up with Josie, my thoughts continue to pull me in Garrett’s direction. As I unpack the rest of my dishes in the kitchen and step outside to water the flowerpots on the deck, I can’t help shooting little glances in the direction of his property. The shop remains closed and the driveway empty. Later, I stroll down to the 76thStreet beach, but while I spot Ian bobbing in the waves, there’s no sign of Garrett.
