Page 41 of The Friend Scheme
With him, I just want to be myself.
He’s dressed in the same clothes he was when I last saw him. I guess it hasn’t even been that long. A few hours, tops. It feels way longer.
He crosses the roof and sits down beside me. Like at my place, he sits a little closer than I feel he needs to.
“It’s high up here,” he says as he looks down.
“Yeah.”
He smiles and kicks his feet. It’s cute. “What made you choose this spot?”
“I didn’t want my family to see us, I guess.”
“Because of our deal?”
“Yeah.” I cross my arms. “I mean, what else would it be?”
A complicated look crosses his features. He almost seems offended.
“You tell me,” he says.
I crack my back, and then look out at the city. This is tough. Ithink he’s here to provide emotional support, which is great. But I can’t tell him about everything that’s happened, because of our deal. And I guess I don’t want to.
I don’t know what to say.
“Listen,” he says. He adjusts his position, so he’s facing me a little more. “I know we have our agreement.”
“Yeah.”
“And I want to keep it going.”
“I know, me too. I wasn’t going to…”
“Good, but you can tell me some things, if you want.” His voice is even, and a little slow, like he’s being careful with his words. “Just, like, keep it vague. That way it doesn’t matter. You can tell me why you’re here, just, in a roundabout way. If you want.”
“So no personal specifics?”
“Exactly. I mean, youcouldtell me, if you want to.”
I chew my lip. “I don’t. Sorry.”
“Hey, don’t be. I figured. Pretend I didn’t ask.”
“Done. Well. I will say that a family member of mine was hurt pretty bad.”
I figure he probably already assumed that, given where I am.
Still, saying it feels good.
“Shit, dude, that’s really rough,” he says. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. They’re going to be okay, but it was a little scary for a second there. I didn’t know…”
“Didn’t know what?”
Tears fill my eyes. I blink them away. “I didn’t know if they were going to make it.”
I sniff and look down. There’s so much I want to say, but I can’t.
