Page 15 of The Wolves of Forest Grove

Iwas bouncing in anticipation my entire shift.

It’s not a date, I told myself for the fourteenth time since Jared dropped me off.

He just wanted to come to the party. He went to parties sometimes.

Not often, but sometimes. He would probably meet his friends there. He wouldn’t even really be hanging out with me. We would just be at the same party. No biggie.

So then why couldn’t I relax? Why did what other people thought if they saw us together bother me so much? Was it just because I was so bent on flying under the radar and coasting to graduation without any more incidents? Or was there something else to it?

I finished sweeping and set the broom and dustpan in the nook behind the door leading down to the basement.

All the lights down there were already off.

There wasn’t anything left to do, so I grabbed my jacket and bag and waited out the last five minutes before the official closing time.

I’d already locked away the cash box in the safe downstairs fifteen minutes ago.

Hardly anyone ever came in this late and if they did, they usually paid with debit.

Not many cash sales nowadays. Which was good because if there was one thing I sucked royally at; it was math. If I didn’t punch in the exact amount of money, I’d taken from a customer to get the calculated change, I’d be standing there for five minutes counting out pennies.

The instant the clock struck 6:00pm, my phone pinged, and I stepped outside and locked the door behind me.

Headlights wiped their off-white light across the windows, and I turned to see Viv pulling up in her moms Volkswagen beetle.

The thing was more hers than her mother’s these days.

With her working from her home now, Viv was pretty much the only one who put miles on that thing.

She rolled down the window as I approached. “How much for an hour?” she said and waggled her eyebrows, skimming my frumpy attire with a predatory gaze.

I opened the door and hopped in. “I’m way out of your price range buddy,” I joked back. “But I’ll let you take me home, anyway.” I winked at her.

“Missed you, bitch,” Viv said and put the beetle into drive. “I feel like we haven’t done this in weeks.”

I snorted.

I didn’t say so, but she felt that way because it had been weeks.

Over a month, actually. We used to hang out every weekend, but now with my supposed move into my aunt and uncle’s condo in the city, we hung out outside of school less and less.

If Viv or Layla asked to come over, I’d make up an excuse.

My aunt and uncle have company, or they’re remodeling the bathroom. Eventually, she stopped asking.

And Viv only invited me over when her dad was out of town, which wasn’t nearly often enough.

“It’s been a while,” I agreed.

Viv scanned my attire as we pulled onto a side street toward the south end of town where Layla lived.

I figured we were going to pick her up on the way to Viv’s so we could all get ready together like we used to.

A weight settled on top of my chest as though a fat elephant had taken a seat there once I remembered why we didn’t do this so often anymore.

It was because I was lying to them.

“Please tell me you have something else to wear in that bag. Is that coffee on your sleeve?”

“No,” I’d left my other clothes in the dryer at Jared’s cabin. I had to wash them every few days if I wanted to wear clean clothes every day. “Why?”

“We really need to update your wardrobe. I feel like you have the same three outfits you wear, like, every day. Did you grow or something?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Lots of stuff doesn’t fit anymore.”

“Then maybe you’ll fit into some of my stuff,” she said. “I have a box of shit that I grew out of last year. You can have it if you want.”

My eyes lit at the idea of an entire box of clothes all to myself.

Viv bumped my shoulder. “Jeeze Allie Cat, they’re just clothes. You didn’t win the lottery or anything.”

“Right,” I said lamely. “You just know how much I hate shopping. You’d really be saving me.”

It was easier to lie when I mixed in some truth. I really did hate to shop, and she really was saving me. She just didn’t know the extent of it.

Even if her clothes were a bit too big because she was a freaking giant, or if I thought the way she dressed sometimes was a little too revealing for my taste…

an entire box of clothes would mean more money I could save to get the little apartment above the bookshop and that was a massive win in my books.

“It’s yours. We can go through it when we get to my place,” she said, waving off my thanks as we pulled into Layla’s driveway and she laid on the horn.

Layla came out a few seconds later as though she’d already been waiting by the door and knowing her it was possible she had.

Any excuse to get out of her chaotic single-story house and she was running out the door.

With seven brothers and sisters, all of them save for one younger than her, it was hard to find a single private minute any time she was home.

At least she didn’t have to babysit for her parents tonight. I couldn’t even count how many times she had to cancel plans or swindled us into helping her with her siblings on the weekends last year.

Both her parents worked two jobs apiece to support their massive family.

I don’t know how they did it, but they did, and with smiles on their faces, too.

They loved their kids more than life itself, evidenced by the fact that neither actually lived any semblance of a life outside of their children and work.

“Hey,” Layla said, jumping into the backseat. “Drive before my mom changes her mind and decides to take the shift her boss just offered her.”

As we pulled out, sure enough, I watched the door crack open and Mrs. Esposito poke her head out. I quickly averted my gaze before our eyes could meet and Viv turned up the music as she swiveled the beetle out onto the road and pulled away.

“Is she going to make you go back?” I turned to ask Layla, wondering if trying to escape was even worth it.

Layla grinned at me mischievously and flounced her dark hair back over her shoulder. “Can’t,” she said with a little shrug. “I accidentally left my phone at home.”

Viv snorted, pounding her palm against the steering wheel as she whooped loudly and wiggled to the beat of the pop song blaring out of the speakers.

“Oops,” Layla said innocently, and I rolled my eyes at her.

I could only imagine the earful Layla would get from her mom tomorrow, but at least she had tonight.

At least she had a mom to begin with.

No one was there to worry for me. To make sure I got home safely. Not anymore.

“Loosen up, would you?” Layla said between belting lines of the repetitive chorus, swatting me on the arm. “You act like you’ve never lied to get out of the house on a Saturday night.”

I laughed, trying to loosen up. I didn’t think I had ever had to lie to get out of the house, actually.

Dad was easy going when he was around, and my aunt and uncle didn’t care when I came home as long as I wasn’t loud when I came in and woke them up.

But Viv was right… and I knew she was only trying to cheer me up.

And honestly? It was working.

I had an actual roof over my head. Access to fresh running water. The ability to sleep past the six am bus because I didn’t have to rush to shower at school before the other students started arriving. I hadn’t had to eat ramen in days. I had a ride pretty much everywhere.

The situation wasn’t ideal, but even I had to admit, it was far better than what I had, even if I had to share it with two wolves. One who seemed bent on helping me whether I liked it or not, and one who still looked like he wanted to eat me for lunch. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

I turned up the music as an Imagine Dragons song came on, determined to have a good time with my best friends tonight. I hollered over the music. “So, what are we drinking tonight?”

Layla and Viv answered at the same time, shouting over the music to be heard, “Tequila!”