Page 100 of No Cap

The loss of life was horrific.

The utter lack of caring on Taite’s part was unsettling.

Even worse, Alana had witnessed it all and hadn’t said a word.

Now they both would be seeing prison time.

“I’m gonna get out of here,” I grumbled as I headed toward the door. “I have much better places to be.”

Dad chuckled. “Good luck trying to make up for being a dumbass.”

If it hadn’t been my dad, I might’ve turned around and decked him.

As it was, I figured he was right.

I owed her an explanation.

Or maybe I owed her a couple.

I have talents you can’t put on resumes.

—Text from Hollis to Quincy

HOLLIS

I contemplated staying at Quincy’s place.

But, once all of his laundry was done, and I’d been twiddling my thumbs because he had no charger there for me to charge my phone—what kind of psycho used an Android?—I had no other recourse but to leave.

Plus, I had my own laundry to do, and I needed to look into my parents’ situation.

I was just finishing a call with Tay of all people, who’d let me know that he was staying with a friend, our parents were in jail, and he hadn’t seen Humfrid in days, when another call came through on my phone.

“Tay,” I said as he wound down about what kind of dumbasses our parents were. “I gotta go. But call me tomorrow. We’ll talk about your living situation, and then we’ll talk about fixing up your resume so you can start applying for some jobs.”

“Okay,” Tay sighed. “Have a good one, Hollis.”

After hanging up, I switched over to Quincy, my stomach filled with butterflies.

“Well, hello stranger,” I said smoothly. Carefully.

Quincy groaned. “I would like to say I’m sorry for being a complete dumbass.”

I smiled down at my lap. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” he disagreed. “But I’ll try to do better. I’ve been doing this for years, not having to check in with anyone. But now that I have you, I’ll call. I’ll make sure to keep you updated so you don’t worry.”

“I didn’t have time to worry,” I admitted. “I went to the store to get some feminine products, then I ran into your brother, and he let me back into your apartment. Then he told me where you were and what you were doing.”

He made a noise under his breath.

“Can you, uh, come back?” he asked, sounding tired. “I’d come there, but I’m fucking exhausted, and the thought of driving makes me want to vomit. But I’d really like to see you.”

I’d really like to see him, too.

It was surprising how I’d become so dependent on seeing him, even if it was just a few glimpses here and there while I was at work.

I contemplated saying no for all of two seconds before saying, “Sure.”