Page 21 of The Frathole

I grit my teeth. “I don’t love you having all these secret meetings about me with the enemy.”

Ty sits down beside me, hooking his arm around me. “There’s no enemy here. Just all of us trying to navigate a tough situation. And if that means you need to get a place…”

I do a double take at my best bud, studying his expression.

I was already upset, but now I’m starting to get pissed. “You guys don’t think I can do it?”

“What? No, I didn’t say that.” But I know Ty, and this is the least sincere expression he could make.

“You wouldn’t be bringing up this suggestion if you thought I could behave myself for a few more weeks. You feel that way, Keeg?”

Keegan avoids eye contact. “Honestly…?” he drags out.

“What the fuck else would I want you to be? I can’t believe what I’m hearing right now. Traitors, both of you.”

“Dude…”

“You don’t believe in me.”

I’m fuming. If there was ever a time I needed to know my friends had my back, it’s when I’m considering potentiallyupending my life, and now there’s even more uncertainty about just being around the people I love.

Although, it’s not like they know. I really haven’t fully accepted it myself yet.

“That’s not what either of us said,” Ty insists.

“It just seems…unlikely that you’ll be able to keep it together,” Keegan pushes.

“You know yourself better than anyone,” Ty follows. “Being a little wild is your thing. And we love you for that.”

“I have some fucking self-restraint. If I need to get it together for a month, I can do that.”

Ty’s lips twist up. “Okay, then. A bet.”

“Huh?”

“We haven’t done one of those in a while, and I know my buddy is competitive as hell, so maybe we bet that you keep it together until the end of your probationary period, and we owe you a hundred dollars. And if you can’t…”

I know Ty well enough to read that clever expression. “I know what you’re doing here,” I say.

“And what is that?” Ty asks, smirking.

“I might be slow sometimes, but you’re trying to take advantage of my competitive side to see if you can inspire me to behave by turning it into a competition.”

“Told you he’d figure it out,” Keeg says.

And it’s clear this has been their setup all along.

I must admit, it means a lot that they care enough to have weaponized this part of my personality to help me out. I can’t fault them for that. Suddenly all the heated anger that built up over what felt like betrayal cools off, quickly replaced with adrenaline.

“Each?” I ask, calling them out on it.

Ty flinches. “What?”

“One hundred each?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Keegan says. “I’m not rich.”

“You said you were saving all this money.”