Page 56 of A Favor Owed

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You sick or something?”

“No. I just, uh, haven’t been sleeping much. You know, stress and all.”

“Uh-huh.” My dad is quiet for a moment. “Is it the girl?”

“What girl?”

“The tall, beautiful one, who I’m pretty sure has a California ID and a social security card with the name Angela Pines.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. It’s no use. I can’t lie to my dad. He knows me too well. And he doesn’t deserve it. “Dad, I screwed up. Big time. I never, ever meant for this to happen.”

My dad chuckles. “You fell for her, didn’t you?”

I don’t say anything. I just exhale and punch my sofa.

“It’s okay, Brady,” he says. “I know what it’s like to fall for the wrong girl.”

“Don’t even say that, Dad,” I say. “Mom was not the wrong girl.”

“She was my best friend’s wife, kid.”

“He would have wanted it.”

“That’s what your mom and I believe, but it still wasn’t easy. I was sick over it at first, you know? We both were. But then there was you, Brady. You made it all okay.”

“You’re the one who made it all okay, Dad,” I say, forcing down the lump in my throat. “And this was one thing I could do for you, and I fucked it up.”

“Brady. Son. You don’t owe me anything. Do you hear me? There are no favors between us, no debts. I love you guys. You, your ma, Mikey, Siobhan. And you guys love me. That’s all there is to it.”

“I gave the information to Lou,” I press on. “He knows who she is, where she is, what she does. I gave him everything he needs.”

“I know you did, son. And thanks for that. But now we’ve got to focus on you. Does she know?”

“No. She doesn’t have a clue.”

“So where does that leave you with her?”

“Nowhere.” I swallow, forcing myself to say the next words. “I cut her off. I haven’t said a word to her since I got back.”

I hear my dad sigh over the line. “How’s she taking it?”

Like a champ, of course. A hell of a lot better than I am.

“She’s good at hiding her feelings,” I say. Seeing her at school is torture. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she stayed awake at night planning outfits designed to make me insane. But she doesn’t even try to talk to me. It’s like I never existed.

“I definitely hurt her, you know?” I think of Angie’s text:I miss my friend.I swallow down another lump.

“Yep, that is quite the pickle there, kid,” my dad muses. “But if you’re that miserable without her, it’s worth a shot, you know? You owe it to both of you.”

“How’s Ma?” I ask, not-so-subtly changing the subject.

“That’s actually why I’m calling,” he says. “We have a bit of a problem.”

Anxiety explodes in my chest. “What’s wrong with Mom?”

“Nothing, she’s fine,” he reassures me. “But she knows. I couldn’t keep it from her anymore.” He sighs. “She was bummed about the birthday trip, and you know I can’t stand to see her sad… I had to tell her.”

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