Page 59 of Defend Me

Was it messed up that I stopped by his dorm to invite him to a movie, then swiped his keys when he wasn’t looking? I mean, maybe, but my intentions were good. It wasn’t like I was going to steal the thing. Since there was a car key on the ring, he was either telling the truth or it was there for show.

Enter Brooks: expert detective. It was also possible that I needed a distraction. Fuck the details.

We were leaving in an hour, which gave me the perfect amount of time to let him shower, snoop, then get back to his room to pick him up. He would be none the wiser.

Since it was Thursday evening, the parking lot was fairly empty. For the most part, only the people who lived on campus had their cars here this late and a decent number of students didn’t have one.

There weren’t any controls on the key, plus the battery was apparently dead, so I couldn’t start smashing the button to find which car responded.

Maybe it’d be a little bit harder than I thought.

The key was for a Honda and it looked pretty old. That narrowed it down, at least.

As I strode through the lot, I scanned the emblems quickly. I found a Civic that was definitely outdated, but when I tried the key, it didn’t unlock it.

Tapping my fingers on my thigh, I turned in a circle. A few rows away, there was a faded maroon hatchback. It was older than me, that was for sure.

With a frown, I headed over to it. Sure enough, the key turned. I swung the door open and eyed the seat for a minute. Instead of sitting, I leaned in and tried the ignition. Dead, just like he’d said.

I really felt my privilege when I realized that I didn’t know how much batteries cost. It seemed like a simple thing to fix, but I guess it wasn’t for everyone. I closed the door and walked around the car. The tires didn’t match and it was missing a mirror on the passenger side. Pretty sure that wasn’t legal. At least the tabs were current.

“Shit,” I muttered as I pulled out my phone. It rang in my ear buds a few times before someone answered.

“Brooks, what’s up?”

“Hey, Kyen. You working tonight?”

“Always.”

“If you have an opening, can you do me a favor?”

“As long as you’re paying, I’ll do anything for ya. Don’t tell me you fucked up that gorgeous car.”

I chuckled. “No. It’s for a friend, actually. It’ll need a tow.”

“Text me what you need and I’ll get it here tonight.”

“That’d be great. It’s at Harmon. I’ll send you a picture.”

“You got it, Brooks.”

I ended the call but continued to grip the phone. It annoyed me that Dean acted like the whole thing was okay. He didn’t have a way to get around, but he kept assuring me he had it dealt with. I guess we weren’t too close, but I wished he would’ve been honest. I could’ve helped.

He was proud, though. Maybe it was more than that.

Well, he didn’t get a choice. By the time he knew what I’d done, it would be too late and he’d have a properly functioning vehicle. From the look of it, the car needed some serious TLC.

*****

Reminding myself that biceps don’t make a man

Mom:Call me.

An image of my phone flying across the room came to mind. If it shattered into a million pieces, I might feel better. Since that wouldn’t help, I stared at the text, trying to convince myself to hit ‘call.’

“Ready?” Dean asked as he strode into the room.

I glanced at him, then chuckled.

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