Then she pulled out a gun from the waistband of her jeans and Larry finally understood as her backup came up behind her. The two men behind her hadn’t even drawn their weapons. I think they both knew it was pointless. We were as good as caught. Larry turned to me with shock on his face.
“Fuck,” he said.
I shook my head at him and raised my hands over my head. “You fucking moron,” I said. “You should have known.”
Chrissy gave a triumphant smile as she gestured for the two cops behind her to come forward and cuff us. I felt my heart stagger uncomfortably in my chest as I realized what this bust meant for me. I couldn’t count on being lucky this time around. I would be facing jail time, and I still didn’t think that was the worst part.
The worst part was that Zoey would find out. I had promised her that there would be no more secrets and on the night I introduce her to my parents, I get arrested for dealing… again. She had already given me a second chance, despite the fact that she was hurt and angry. She had supported me at this dinner with my parents because she loved me.
And I had let her down… again.
30
Zoey
I looked at the time again. It had now been sixty-three minutes since Devlin had left to fix his ‘work emergency.’ I hadn’t bothered to question why a local arts magazine would need a new employee to come in to fix an editorial problem, but now I was starting to see the holes in Devlin’s story.
He had promised me only this morning… no more secrets. Was it possible that he could go back on his word that easily… without even the faintest thought for me? Dessert had been served forty minutes ago, and now the guests were finishing up their coffee and making their goodbyes. I stayed a
part from the small crowd, preoccupied and getting more and more worried as the minutes ticked by.
What if Devlin didn’t show up in the next hour? I couldn’t just stay at his parents’ house indefinitely. I would have to walk home in my heels, which was, of course, the least of my problems. What would I even say to his parents? Both of them kept glancing at me every so often as if they thought I would know where Devlin was. I felt abandoned and alone, and my anger with Devlin was slowly starting to creep back in.
“Where has your young man got to, dear?” Mrs. Roberts asked me, as she put her coat back on.
“Uh… the work emergency turned out to be… bigger than expected,” I replied lamely.
“Shame… anyway, it was lovely to meet you,” Mrs. Roberts continued. “You and Devlin make a lovely couple.”
“That was some fantastic piano playing; I really enjoyed it. Hopefully next time Devlin will stick around long enough to hear it. Say goodbye to him for us, will you,” Mrs. Roberts said.
“I will, thank you,” I nodded, as they waved to me and headed out with Mr. and Mrs. Danvers close behind them.
The moment I was alone, I grabbed my phone and tried to call Devlin again. And again, there was no answer. I sent him several more text messages, but I could tell that he even though they had been delivered, Devlin had yet to see them. I no longer believed his flimsy excuse. It couldn’t have been a work emergency. It was something else… another secret he was keeping from me.
Moments later, Mr. and Mrs. Danvers came back into the living room, and I turned to them and made an attempt at a smile.
“I… thank you so much for your hospitality… but I… I should get going—”
“How will you go home, dear?” Mrs. Danvers asked. “Devlin isn’t back yet.”
I could feel emotion clog up my voice and I realized I was very close to tears. I swallowed them back and tried to maintain some sense of composure.
“He must have gotten caught up at work,” I said.
“But he hasn’t called you to tell you that… has he?” Mr. Danvers asked shrewdly.
“I… no, no he hasn’t.”
I could see the disappointment and the annoyance on both his parents’ faces, and for the first time, I was able to see their side of things.
“He didn’t really get called in for work, did he?” Mr. Danvers asked bluntly.
I opened my mouth to try and defend Devlin, but I found that I couldn’t do it. “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “The same thing he told you is what he told me. I think he was lying about being called into work.”
“As I suspected,” Mr. Danvers nodded.
“I… I should go,” I said, making for the door.