Page 6 of Unspoken Lies

Glancing at the gas gauge, I decide to pull into the gas pump and top off the tank. We’ve been driving for hours without stopping, it couldn’t hurt. Jared and Elijah stop near me to do the same, the three of us silent as we pump our gas.

The area is busy for it being two in the morning, filled with truckers and people passing through. It doesn’t mean it’s safe, so the three of us stay vigilant while we stretch and wait for the tanks to fill up.

“I’m all set here,” Elijah says, closing up the car. “I have to take a piss and maybe grab some snacks. Does anyone need anything?”

“Can you grab me a soda on the way out?” Jared asks. “This should be enough.”

He pulls out a twenty dollar bill, knowing it’s too much, and Elijah gazes at him for a moment before taking it with a nod. He shoves it in his pocket with a sigh as he heads toward the rest stop, and Jared smirks.

“You know he hates that we insist on giving him cash so he can save his,” I grunt.

“Yeah, I do. We may need to start up a new business while we’re here,” he says. “Give him a chance to have his own money again that’s not tied to his parents.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” I agree. If I’m honest, I’d rather not touch anything that the Society gave us as a graduation gift either. It’s the definition of blood money.

I could work for anyone on the dark web with my computer skills, but with my heart not in it, I don’t want to chance it. There’s a greater possibility that I’ll fuck something up or trigger a security alert. I would much rather start up a business with my friends.

“Think Santa Barbara needs a speakeasy that’s also a sex club?” I ask under my breath as Jared watches me put the pump back. This truck sucks ass for mileage.

“I think they might,” he says with a smirk. “You’re right. He needs to make his own money. I don’t want him to hate us or feel like I’m being an ass for giving him money.”

“We’ve always been free with it,” I agree. “It’s never mattered. The Society was always our way out, but I never wanted it to become our identity.”

“Shh,” he reminds me. “Let’s get to our house, lock it down, and then we can make our plans. I’m on the same page as you.”

Nodding, I turn to see if I can look through the windows of the rest stop for Elijah. He’s been taking a while. Not saying that he needs to tell us if he’s taking a shit, but he’s the type to at least warn us if he’s going to be longer.

Checking my phone, I grunt at the lack of communication from him.

“Should we move the cars and go find him?” Jared asks, as if he can read my mind.

It’s a reminder of how close we all are, and how difficult it typically is to hide shit. It’s why it hurts so much that Ignacio played us all for pussy. I think that’s why he avoided us so much.

There’s no way he’d have kept us in the dark otherwise.

“Is that… I think I see him waiting in line to check out,” I say, craning my neck for his messy dirty blonde hair.

Jared turns as well, narrowing his eyes.

“Fuck, I’m going to have to trust your eagle eyes on this one,” he says, meaning my glasses.

“That’s cute,” I snort, nodding as I see Elijah push open the doors. “Yeah, that’s him.”

He looks frazzled as he pushes his hair off his forehead, bag in hand as he looks both ways inattentively. Elijah is pale, as if he saw a ghost.

What the fuck happened?

He jogs over to us quickly, shaking his head.

“Ready to go?” he asks.

“Why do you look so weird? Did you remember my soda?” Jared asks, frowning.

Yeah, I want to know too, so I cross my arms to show that we aren’t moving until he spills.

“I thought I saw someone,” Elijah says, shaking his head. “I think I was wrong. I just need to get some caffeine in me and get to our house. I feel twitchy.”

“We don’t have secrets,” I remind him. It’s important, because Ignacio fucked us over so badly. “If you decide you did see something, tell us, okay?”