Page 71 of Organized Chaos
“Maybe it’s lost,” Raven announced. “Whatever. Let’s just pay the maximum price for the day and get the hell out of here.”
“We can’t,” Reid argued. “It’s cash only. When was the last time any of us carried cash?”
“Fuck!”
“I know,” he droned. “Ugh! This sucks. I need to go back to sleep. I’m still hungover as shit.”
“Let’s check the car. Maybe it fell when you tried to slip it in my purse.”
“At least tell me if we are moving to a new neighborhood.” I might as well have spoken into the air.
Raven and Reid rounded each side and threw the doors open to check every crevice inside the car. I remained rooted in place, somewhere between flabbergasted and mentally drained.
I sighed, staring ahead blankly. “I’m considering getting a new part-time job. Given my sporadic love for public nudity, I believe exotic dancing to be the most fitting. Now, I know what you’re thinking. The shifts are a real bitch but don’t worry. I’ll always be home by curfew on school nights.” I nodded sharply with vindication.
“Do you see anything?”
“No. Check the glove compartment.”
“But that doesn’t mean we have to close other avenues of opportunities. One of my friends recently joined this organization called MS-13. Other than getting a few face tattoos to mark something called a kill list, he said the training process was a breeze.” I waved it off.
“I see something sticking out from under the mat.”
“Found it.” Reid held up a slip.
“Pluuuuus, no taxes. Cha-ching. Mia for the win.”
“Oh, thank god.” Raven turned to me. “Mia, did you just say something?”
I stared at Raven impassively.
Reid quirked an eyebrow over my extended silence. “Don’t just stand there quietly. It’s rude not to answer when someone asks you a question.”
And that broke the camel’s back.
Before I could stop myself, I chucked the empty drink against the concrete, screamed that they were both out of their fucking minds, and stormed off.
No longer could I ignore the acceleration in my pulse. Erratic emotions rose even as I reminded myself to calm down.
It had been years since I’d had a meltdown. I practiced meditation, redirected my attention to different things the way Milo had taught me, kept myself occupied. Apparently, fragments of my behavior couldn’t be expelled during a heartbreak.
“What the fuck, Mia?” I heard Reid’s shouting while Raven called out hysterically.
I used to regret my meltdowns after the fact, but I lacked the ability to make the distinction in the spur of the moment. I found myself standing in front of a cab. It was a reflexive action out of sheer spite. Grabbing the handle, I pulled the backseat door wide open and rattled off an address.
Guilt hit me when I saw Reid and Raven’s perplexed faces from a distance. I considered pulling the taxi over, but the thought of being ignored for the next hour while stuck in a small car kept me seated.
Fuck it! I’d rather get kidnapped.
***
“IHEARD YOU’RE IN TROUBLE,” Gabby whispered. I moaned, pulling the comforter over my face to drown out her voice. Gabby and I were supposed to hang out later in the day. Why was she here so early? I was nowhere ready to wake up.
Reid and Raven called me relentlessly during my taxi ride home. They eventually gave up, texting we’d meet at home to talk about what happened.
Having arrived before them, I had instinctively searched for my book. When I remembered the sequence of events, I leaned against the bed frame, closed my eyes, and listened to the sounds filtering through the balcony. I wanted to cry my heart out until I was tapped dry. Instead, I crawled under the comforter. I had already wasted enough tears on that stupid story.
When my bedroom door creaked open, I pretended to be asleep upon hearing Raven’s subsequent sigh from under the comforter. She let me be, but I knew a lecture was waiting for me.
