“Oh, we will be paying cash,” my mom said, and I turned around, my ability to speak gone since I couldn’t manage to get my lungs working, and I shook my head. I couldn’t accept this offer. It was too much money.
“Cash?” Marely practically drooled over the packet she had in her hands. “That’s around eighty thousand dollars.”
“What the fuck!” Oliver shouted. “Shit, sorry. Sorry.” He made the motion to zip his mouth shut and held up his hands. London pushed him into the corner to mind his own business, and it reminded me of a child having to be in time out.
I didn’t care. My best friends would find out later, anyway.
“No, mom, dad, I can’t take that. I have some money saved. I can mortgage off the rest. Really. You need it.” I blinked away the tears when I remembered why they needed it. “I can’t.” I figured I could put down around ten thousand. It wasn’t much of a down payment, but it was something.
“Oh, I haven’t told you the best part. I can’t believe I forgot this. There’s a one-bedroom apartment upstairs, just through that door. Do you want to see it?” Marely bonked her head, punishing herself that she forgot something so important.
Hell no. I didn’t care. That made the place even better. I could rent it out and make money that way.
“Honey, we have plenty of money. Your dad’s insurance covers most of the medical bills, and you know he did well as a lawyer. Money isn’t really an issue. We want to help you do this.”
“Let me put in ten thousand? Please?”
Dad shook his head. “Buy your own furniture. Pay for everything else and save the rest for a rainy day. Businesses are hard to start up, but I believe in you.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was all moving so fast and the one person I wanted to tell, I couldn’t. Anytime something good happened to me over the years, I always wanted to text Easton. But I never did after blocking his number all those years ago.
“Then let’s get to signing paperwork! Oh, this is so exciting. It’s my first sale as an agent, and I’m so glad it was with you, Luna! Welcome home,” she squealed and gave me a big bear hug.
“Oh, wow, thank you, Marely. Couldn’t have done it without you,” I blabbered. I wasn’t too sure what to think from her sudden burst of affection. I glanced at London, giving her a ‘what the hell is happening’ expression, and she lifted her shoulders. She was just as surprised as I was.
“What does this door do?” Oliver asked, clicking the bar across the door to unlock it, and it swung open to a back alley where it looked like bad things happened. I’d have to check it out. A delayed second later, a loud shrilling alarm blared through the shop, and all of us covered our ears. “Oh! That’s what the door does!” Oliver shouted and still left it open while he pointed at the damn thing.
“Close the door!” everyone tried to yell over the alarm blaring at him.
The annoyance from everyone jarred him out of his stupor. He jumped out of the way, and the door slammed shut, the metal rang once it clicked in place, but the alarm was still going off.
“I just got a message from my employer!” Marely screamed, showing me her phone as we made our way outside into the cold air. “And he said the alarm is—” she still yelled as we came outside and then lowered her voice, “broken.”
If the alarm didn’t turn off, that meant the fire department would come along with a few cops. I hoped, no, prayed like hell that the alarm would turn off, but I swore it got louder, screeching at the top of its lungs like a banshee.
I didn’t want to see Easton again.
The more he came around, the more my guard started to fall, and I couldn’t have that. My heart was safeguarded from him. It had to be. Bulletproof glass, concrete walls, and barbed wire fences blocked Easton from getting any more of me than he already had.
I knew he was slowly chipping away at my barricades. I felt myself slowly crumbling to the mere hope that he and I could be… something, anything, and I was disappointed in myself for it.
What did he have that other guys didn’t? If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be single.
Sirens rang in the distance, and I lightly tapped my forehead on my knee in vexation. I knew it was impossible for the world to plot against me, but the cosmic universe seemed to have a funny bone because it kept throwing Easton in my path.
Another set of sirens rang, only they were coming from the other side of town, and I flopped back onto the sidewalk, giving up on my efforts of just being left alone with my two friends and my parents. I wasn’t in Camden a damn week and I had no peace. Funny, since the town was so small that it was supposed to be peaceful.
Yeah, small town life’s fooled everyone. They were more dramatic than a damn opera. Boston was more peaceful, and that said something considering trains and drunks always sounded in the night.
My parents stared down at me along with London and Oliver. “Who is being dramatic now?” Oliver humored, the loud ringing behind him, causing my head to throb.
“Shut up,” I grumbled, tossing my arm over my eyes.
Oliver, London, and my parents snickered. They all sat on the edge of the sidewalk and waited for help to arrive. Marely was talking on the phone to her employer about what was going on, and I got little tidbits of their conversation about getting the contract ready. The closer the sirens got, the more the alarm got drowned out by the loud wails.
All too soon and not soon enough, a firetruck and a police car stopped in front of the store. I sat up to see who it was, hoping that the universe was kind enough to grant me a small favor.
“--Luna! Luna! Are you okay?”