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“Yeah,” Brawler says.
“Toss it.”
Oscar and Brawler both lower their windows and toss their phones out. The hard plastic clatters against the cement, and then I pull out of there. No one tells me where to go, so I take the road out of the Heights. I take it to another main road and drive and drive until I find a hotel on one of the exits. It’s a chain hotel. Not high class, but not a dump either. I park in the lot and fall back against the seat.
Brawler reaches over and threads his fingers through mine. I nod toward the glove compartment. “Mind opening that and grabbing my wallet?”
Brawler does as I ask, and we walk inside like three children of the Heights kicking it in the real world. The front desk attendant stares at Brawler’s tattoos. Another worker comes up behind him to fiddle with a different computer, but keeps his eyes on Oscar, his stare flicking to me like I’m about to give them the universal salute that I’ve been kidnapped.
Or maybe not. Maybe that hint in their gaze is that they’re scared of me, too. Wouldn’t that be something?
I’m no longer a pretend thug. I’m no longer the girl who doesn’t fit in with the Heights.
I am Heights, baby. And I will fucking fix this.
24
Travel is easy when you don’t have any luggage. It’s the baggage back in the Heights that has me troubled.
I walk out of the bathroom with wet hair, dressed back in the outfit I left Johnny’s suite in. Brawler and Oscar have taken up each of the queen beds in the room. Oscar has the television on with his back pressed against the headboard while Brawler is sitting on the edge of the other mattress, head in his hands.
He flicks his gaze up when I come out. He stares at me for a while until he gives Oscar a double take. He sighs, grabs one of the numerous pillows on the bed he’s claimed and throws it at Oscar.
Oscar blinks and looks over at him slowly. “Dude.”
“Dude nothing. Turn that shit off.” He cocks his chin toward me, and Oscar reluctantly hits the power button on the TV until the screen goes dark. Brawler looks back at me. “We need to talk about what happened.”
It’s odd the calm that’s taken over my body right now. I’m not freaking out. I’m not worried. I miss the fuck out of Johnny, but I also don’t think all is lost with him yet either. No matter how delusional that sounds. “Let’s start with Magnum,” I say, sitting on Oscar’s bed and facing Brawler. “What the hell was that about?”
Oscar sits up. He scoots down the edge of the bed before he maneuvers himself behind me, his legs straddling my hips. “He obviously stayed for a reason. We all know he knew what you were doing here, so he stayed for Johnny. He didn’t want Johnny to lose faith in him.”
“Or the Crew to lose faith,” I say.
Brawler nods. “I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s completely on our side.”
The way he says it makes me think he believes Johnny isn’t. I lean back against Oscar. “I don’t know why I’m surprised Johnny reacted like that. He was never going to take me killing his dad well.”
Oscar almost snorts. “You think? If there’s anything that family has going on for them it’s self-preservation and thinking they’re God’s gift to everything.”
“I’m not giving up on him,” I say softly. My gut tells me I’m right. My gut tells me things are happening for a reason. I wipe my hands down my face, and Oscar pulls me closer. “The only thing is, now I’m not even anywhere near the Heights. We might even be public enemy number one by now if Johnny went to his father.” I hold tight to Oscar’s hands and gaze over at Brawler. “You guys might not ever be able to go back.” I bite my lip. “I’m sorry.”
“Listen, we don’t know what’s going on,” Oscar says. “Johnny just might need to calm down. Part of me thinks he’ll go straight to K and tell him what you had planned, but the other part of me knows he would never do that to you.” He leans into me, pressing his chin on my shoulder. “We all saw the way he was with you. Maybe he got overwhelmed and reverted back to his old ways, but he’ll be begging for you back in no time.”
I lift my hand to stare at the ring Johnny gave me. Just two days ago, we all celebrated Christmas together, and I got the glimpse of what life could be like with all four of them. Now, the rug has been pulled from under my feet. “You don’t even like Johnny,” I say.
Oscar chuckles. “I never said I didn’t like him. He’s just a dick.”
Brawler shakes his head. “I swear you two are fucking long-lost brothers.”
Oscar stiffens behind me, but I laugh. “I’ve been thinking that myself lately.”
“Wait,” Oscar says. “I’m a dick?”
I collapse backward onto Oscar in a fit of humor as he holds me close. “Don’t worry. I like dicks,” I finally manage to get out.
“Obviously,” Brawler says, then catches my double entendre and shakes his head with a smirk.
After a while, the laughter fades, and we just sit there not knowing what to do. Oscar glances around the room. “Confession time. I’ve never stayed in a hotel room before.”