Trey's cell rings.
"We need to finish this discussion. Don't answer it," I say, but my words fall on deaf ears as he gently nudges me aside.
"Hey, man, what's up?" His eyes go wide. "No way!"
"What?" I ask anxiously. "Who is it?"
"I'll be right there," Trey says. "Yeah, I got it. All right." He hangs up the phone. "Vic's in trouble."
Panic swells in my chest. "What happened? Where is he?"
Trey starts packing up the food. "Jail."
Chapter Nineteen
VICTOR
"I'm tellin' you I didn't do anythin'."
I look at the shiny silver nametag with OFFICER THOMAS STONE engraved on it. He's a big dude who acts like he's some sort of FBI agent or something as he sits across from me in an interrogation room. He was the one who cuffed me and shoved me in the back of his squad car an hour ago.
"Listen, Victor," he says as he looks me straight in the eye. "I'm going to be completely honest with you. Getting in a fight with Matthew Bonk isn't a good idea. His father is a valued community member."
"I'm tellin' you I didn't touch his Jeep. I was just there to get my sister, and Bonk stood in the way. He swung at me first. I don't know why the hell I'm the one sittin' here and you just let him go."
Officer Stone sighs. "Everyone in this precinct knows about the troubles you've been in. Your record isn't squeaky clean. Witnesses said you came there with your fists swinging and Matthew didn't throw a punch."
"Everyone there was from Fairfield, Officer. Of course they'd take Bonk's side."
"Are you saying the witnesses were lying? All of them? Even your own sister?"
"Yeah. That's what I'm sayin'." I lean my head back, tired of trying to prove to this guy that I didn't come there looking for a fight. I went there to fetch Dani so she didn't get into trouble.
The officer has pegged me as a troublemaker. Nothing I say or do is gonna change his mind.
Officer Stone leaves me, then comes back with a thick file folder. "So tell me, Salazar. Do you have gang ties?"
"No. Just because I'm Mexican doesn't mean I'm a gangbanger."
"I know that. But troublemakers like you look for trouble. You need to stay clean, Salazar," he says. "Or you'll find yourself locked up for more than a couple of hours, especially since your father wasn't too keen on picking you up. I think his exact words were 'let him walk home.'"
Officer Stone escorts me to the front, where he says I'm free to go. When I'm released into the lobby, my friends are there waiting for me.
"What happened?" Ashtyn asks frantically. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I answer, not wanting to talk about it.
Trey pats me on the back. "You scared the shit out of me, man."
Monika is standing next to him. It hits me that I forgot about the cake in my car. "I'm sorry I ruined your night," I tell them. "And your cake."
"It's okay," Monika says.
I notice that she's not looking straight at me. Instead, she's staring at the floor.
"We're just glad you weren't charged," Trey says. "But if you were, we'd bail you out, bro."
Because we all know my old man wouldn't.
"Thanks, man." I look at Derek and Ash, Monika and Trey, and Bree and Jet. I don't know how to tell them that without them I'm nothing.
"It's cool," Jet says. "All you have to do is name your first born after me and we'll call it even. You can call your kid Jake Evan Thacker Salazar. Or Jet. Or JT."
I chuckle, because Jet's not joking. "Yeah, well, straight-up that'll never happen."
Trey drives me home. I'm sitting in the backseat feeling like something is up with Monika. She's sitting in the front seat staring straight out the window. She hasn't looked at me or talked to me since the police station.
When Trey stops for gas and it's just Monika and me in the car, I break the silence. "Is everything cool between us, Monika?"
She doesn't look back at me. Instead, she keeps looking forward. "Why did you ask that?"
"Because you're actin' hella weird." I don't want her ignoring me. Hell, her friendship keeps me from going insane most of the time. She probably thinks I'm a fucking loser for getting arrested tonight. "Just so you know, I didn't start the fight with Bonk if that's what you're thinkin'."
She glances at me. "I don't think you started that fight. I know you better than that. It's just..."
"What?"
Her gaze is intense now, as if she's trying to tell me something that words can't express. "Do you ever wish things were different?"
Oh, hell.
Time stops.
I open my mouth to answer even though I have no clue what I'm going to say when Trey suddenly opens the door and slides into the driver's seat.
"Gas is ridiculously expensive," he says. "I feel like my wallet just got violated."
Monika chuckles quietly.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I mumble.
There's electricity in the air between Monika and me, but Trey seems oblivious. He yaps the entire rest of the ride about gas prices and then goes on a rant about hybrid and electric cars that I only partially hear because I'm too focused on wondering what Monika was trying to hint at with her loaded question.
After Trey drops me off, I'm still thinking about Monika's question that I never answered. I walk into my room, knowing I'll be going over our unfinished conversation for hours and probably won't get much sleep tonight.
A pissed-off Dani is sitting on my bed.
"I hate you," she tells me.
"I don't care," I tell her. "Bonk's just hangin' with you to get to me. He's a snake."
She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes at me as if I'm the one in the wrong here. "You don't know anything about Matthew."
I roll my eyes. "And you do? That's a joke. What, you met him like five minutes ago?"
"I don't care what you think about him, Vic. Oh, and just so you know, Matthew and I are going to homecoming together."
"The only person Bonk loves is himself. And just so you know, you're not going to homecoming with him. He's our fucking rival, Dani. He would lie, cheat, and steal if it meant beating us. Hell, he already stole our quarterback, and we'd be screwed if Fitz didn't step in as QB."
"You don't control me," Dani says, huffing and puffing like a typical fourteen-year-old girl. "I can do what I want, when I want."
"Not with Matthew Bonk, you can't."
She storms out of my room, but I don't tell her what I want to say. I might not be able to control her, but since mi'ama isn't here I can sure as hell do my best to make sure she doesn't make mistakes that'll ruin her life.
I should know. I've made mistakes that have ruined mine.
Did I make another one with Monika tonight?
Chapter Twenty
MONIKA
Sunday morning when I wake up, my first thought is Vic. He never answered my question in the car last night. I held my breath, wondering if he'd say something to reveal that he might have an ounce of feelings for me.
Ugh, what am I doing?
I should be thinking about why my boyfriend wants to hold off talk of us breaking up until after homecoming.
I drive to Trey's house to finish our conversation from last night. Trey might not want to have The Talk, but ignoring our problems hasn't made them go away.
As usual, the front door to his apartment is open. I peek my head inside.
"Hello?" I call out as I clench my hands into fists to work out the aching bones in my fingers that are reminding me that I'm more frail than I want to be.
I don't hear sounds except for running water.
I walk further into the apartment, hoping nobody notices my slow-moving limbs. Trey must be sleeping. I peek into his room, but he's not there. I hear him cough in the bathroom; his distinct cough that I'd recognize anywhere.
The door is cracked open. Trey is standing in front of the sink wearing a towel around his waist. He reaches into a small baggie with a few pills in it
. I recognize them right away from health class sophomore year; the highly addictive drug Vyvanse. My heart starts racing and I want to leave, to pretend I'm not seeing him pop one of the pills into his mouth. If I didn't know what it was, I could live in ignorance.
But I can't. Not anymore.
I push the door open. It creaks, alerting Trey of my presence.
"Trey, seriously?" I say. "You're an addict."
I start to walk out of the apartment, but he runs after me. "Monika, it's not what you think."
"I think you're addicted to illegal prescription drugs," I say. "Actually, I know you are. What if you get caught? You could be arrested. You don't even know what's inside the pills. They could be laced with something that could kill you."
I can feel the tension between us, like a cement wall. "I'm sorry," he says, shrugging. "I don't know what to say. This stuff... it makes me feel stronger and alert. It's not gonna kill me. And I'm not addicted."
I hold a hand up as tears well in my eyes from the finality of it all. "I can't date you, not like this."
He lets out a frustrated breath. "I'm already dealing with so much pressure. You have no clue what I'm going through. I can't slow down. You're going to say it's all about the drugs, but it goes way deeper than that."
I get a chill up my spine that makes me shiver. "Are you going to stop and try to fix yourself and our relationship or are we going to break up?"
He leans his head against the wall. "I need to do this. It doesn't mean I don't care about you, Monika. Things have changed. I've changed. We've changed."
"I knew things were different these past few months," I admit. "I guess this is the end of a great thing."
"We've been falling apart for a while now. I just didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want to hurt you, but this is my life now."
"You know I can't be a part of your life if you're doing drugs."
"I'm not going to stop, so spare me the lecture." As I back away from him, he grabs my elbow. "We're still going to homecoming Saturday night, right?" he asks.
I blink a bunch of times in disbelief. "I'm not going to homecoming. It'll be too weird."
He leans in and his face softens. "Listen, I know you have a dress and our friends have already planned the entire night. I want to go with you, Monika. Whether or not we get voted king or queen, it's our destiny to go to homecoming together."
"Our destiny? Why?" I ask, confused.
"Truth?"
I give him a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look. "Duh. I always want the truth."
"I know you hate me right now."
"I don't hate you, Trey. We've been together for so many years, I couldn't hate you even if I tried."
"I'm not deserting you," he says. "Just go with me. Okay, it's not destiny. I just need to focus. We don't have to tell anyone we broke up until after the dance so there's no drama. Cool?"
Lie to my friends?
Pretend we're fine when we fell apart?
"I don't want to lie to them," I say.
He sighs. I can feel the stress permeating off him. "Can you just do me this one favor?"
He doesn't say it, but it hits me. I know he wants to focus on the football game because scouts will be attending. He doesn't want drama or rumors to impact his concentration.
I take a deep breath, then swallow the despair welling in my throat. "Okay, Trey. I won't say anything."
I can tell by the way his leg is shaking that the drug is starting to kick in. "I don't want to hurt you," he says. "I'd never want to hurt you. I'll always love you."
I gaze at the bag of pills he still has in his hand. "Just so you know, by taking those drugs you're playing a dangerous game. Stop now before you kill yourself, Trey. Please. I beg you. I'll always love you and want the best for you, even if we're not together," I add, then turn on my heel to leave. "But it's not my job to protect you anymore."
"Just promise me one thing. Don't tell anyone about the drugs," he says, practically begging. "Take it to the grave. Please, Monika. It'll ruin me."
I nod slowly. "I promise, Trey. I won't tell a soul. Ever."
Chapter Twenty-one
VICTOR
Isa is standing over the books, shaking her head. "I'm in trouble."
"With what?" I ask.
"Money." She turns the pages over in her bookkeeping log and uses her calculator to add stuff up. "It's not enough," she says. "Hell, Vic, it's never enough."
"How much in total do you owe?"
"Thirty-five g's."
I walk up to her and wonder how she got herself into this mess. "How much are you short?"
"Four hundred for this month's mortgage payment," she says. "I'll figure it out. Maybe they'll let me extend the loan if I give them more interest."
"I'll give you four hundred dollars," Bernie chimes in from the back of the garage. He's been working silently for the past hour on soldering some old parts together so they'll fit the vintage parts Isa has stored in the back.
"I don't want your money, Bernie," Isa calls out. "Besides, I fired you. Remember?"
"Yeah, I remember. How about you go on a date with me, then you can fire me afterward. Deal?"
"Nope. I don't need your money." Isa walks back to her office. "I'll just ask the bank to cut me some slack."
"Yeah, because that always works," I say sarcastically.
"It's worth a try," she mumbles.
"I don't know why she won't take help from me," Bernie says to me. "I've offered to help her out a hundred times."
"Maybe she doesn't want to rely on anyone for help," I tell him. "Besides, I think she hates you."
Bernie waves a hand in the air. "Don't let her ambivalence fool you. I'm breaking her down."
"I can hear you!" Isa yells from her office. "And Vic's right, Bernie. I do hate you!"
"How can you hate me? I didn't do anything," Bernie says.
An exaggerated huff fills the air. "Your mere existence grates on my nerves, nerd," Isa says.
Instead of being insulted, Bernie winks at me. "She's weakening. Hell, I bet one day she'll even go out with me."
Isa comes storming back into the shop with her hands on her hips. "Keep dreaming, Bernie. I mean, look at you." She gestures to his entire body. "Your hair looks like Howdy Doody, your skin is so white I need fucking sunglasses to come near you, and you couldn't dress yourself properly if someone put a gun to your head."
"Bernie, don't listen to her," I tell him. "She's just a bitter woman."
"Fuck you, Vic," Isa says. "You don't know shit."
"It's fine," Bernie says, obviously amused by Isa's harsh words.
"Excuse me." A familiar female voice coming from the front door echoes through the shop.
Monika's here. She's wearing tight jeans and a white lace top that accentuates her honey-colored skin. Damn, she's beautiful. I can't help but stare and be stunned that she's standing in the shop.
Isa pushes past me and puts on a smile I've only seen used with customers. "Can I help you?"
Monika nods, then glances at me with those sparkling green eyes. "Hey, Vic."
"Hey," I say.
Isa has easily transitioned from bitch mode to business mode. "I'm Isabel, the owner of Enrique's Auto Body. Do you need an oil change? A new battery?"
"I need a job," Monika blurts out.
Wait, what? I don't think I heard right.
"A job?" I say, practically choking on my words. "You've got to be kidding."
"I'm not." Monika straightens. She directs her attention to Isa. "I don't know much about cars, but I can come by after school and on weekends. You won't even have to pay me much."
"No," I tell her.
Monika looks at me with daggers in her eyes. "I can do this."
Isa looks her up and down, like she's assessing her abilities just by looking at her clothes. "Do you have any experience working on cars?"
"I know how to drive them," Monika mumbles, then perks up. "But I promise I'm a fast learner. I need this.
Please."
I can tell Isa is considering it.
Oh, no.
"She can't work here," I blurt out. I don't want her here. It's dangerous. On top of that, it'll be torture working with her. She'll never be mine. How long can I pretend I don't want to hold her and touch her and kiss her? "Monika has cheerleading practice. She's obviously under too much stress and isn't in her right mind if she thinks she can work in a dirty garage. She's a cheerleader, Isa, not a mechanic."
Isa pushes me out of the way. "You can't tell me who I can and can't hire."
This is the one place where I can escape thoughts of Monika. With her here...
I point to the white lace top Monika's wearing. "Look at her, Isa. She's into lace and designer clothes, not cars and dirt. She's got diva written all over her. Besides that..." Time to go for the jugular. "She's got some medical issues."
"I'm fine," Monika snaps. "I'm not a diva. And my medical issues aren't going to be a concern. Don't listen to him."
"Why are you doin' this?" I need distance from her.
Isa seems very entertained by the turn of events. The smirk on her face is an indicator that my life is about to get much more complicated than it already is.
"Because you and the guys said I couldn't do it, and I'm going to prove you all wrong. Listen," Monika says to Isa. "If you hire me, I'll work for free while you train me."
Isa holds out her hand. "You've got yourself a new job."
Oh, hell.
I just got myself a new problem.
Chapter Twenty-two
MONIKA
Taking a day off school for my infusion treatments sucks, especially when I'd rather be in school. But this weekend is homecoming, and since my entire body has been aching, my doctor wanted me to fit in a treatment before the pain overwhelmed me.
So I'm sitting at the hospital, waiting to get poked and prodded by the nurses.
One of the nurses comes in the room with a cheery smile on her face to match the splattering of cherries on her top. "How are you doing today, Monika?"
"I'd rather be somewhere else," I tell her.
She laughs heartily as if I just said a joke.
My mom, who's sitting in the chair next to me, is frowning, and her brows are furrowed. It pains me to see her so worried.
"Mom, go to work. Your meeting with your client is in ten minutes. I've been through this a thousand times before."
Mom settles into the chair while clutching her purse on her lap. "I want to wait until the IV is in. I can be a few minutes late for my meeting," she says.