Page 26 of The Friend Scheme
Come on…
I have a new message.
I unlock my phone.
But what about our deal? If I meet your parents, I’ll know who you are.
I feel like he must already. I’m a Miller. We’re one of the two most powerful families in the underworld. If he’s from a family allied to us, hemustknow who I am. I’m underworld famous. I hate even thinking this, because it feels smug, but I’m sort of a prince, given Dad is our current leader.
I don’t mind you knowing who I am. Why do you care so much?
That feels a little too aggressive, though, so I delete it. He obviouslydoes care about this, and I don’t want to scare him away. This is also confirmation that our deal is continuing, at least for the time being. I change tack:
Not if they’re out of the house. I usually have the place to myself on Saturday nights.
My phone chimes.
Okay. If they’re not there, I’m in.
It’s Saturday night, and Luke still hasn’t left.
Dad has gone to a meeting at the bar. Apparently something big is going down, something he isn’t ready for me to know about yet. All I know about it is Dad told me to be prepared, even though I don’t really know what I should be preparing for.
This is typical. He still thinks I’m too young to know everything.
Most of the time, I don’t want to know.
Anyway, I checked, and I know Luke is going out with his friends from college, a lot of which are his friends from high school. He’s always been popular. I get it; he’s a cool guy, but it bothers me that he’s figured out how to be likable when it’s been so damn hard for me.
Jason is the first person in a long time who seems to like my company.
And he’s coming over tonight. But only if Luke isn’t here.
Which is why I’m so stressed that my brother hasn’t left yet. I swear he doesn’t normally take this long. It’s, like, comical how slow he’s being. He’s currently in the shower, singing “Sweet Caroline.”
Loudly. And terribly.
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
Has he left yet?
Nope. He’s in the shower now. Singing.
Haha! You’re not a fan?
He’s no Beyoncé.
To be fair, nobody is. And that’s promising, right? The showering, not the singing.
Yeah!
Cool. Well, I’m ready to go. Text when your place is free, I’ll head over.
This feels so risky. I know from past experience that Dad and Luke don’t normally come home until really late, and most of the time I’m asleep by then.
But what if they come home early?
Maybe I should just cancel. Bringing Jason into my house feels like a kind of leap I’m not sure I’m ready for.
