Page 75 of Crash into me
The doorknob jingles, and my body tenses. “Is that them?”
He nods. “Ryder. He’s the only one who’s been here. I gave him a key when you were in the hospital in case Grandma ever needed anything and I was with you. We always separate family from this life, but I can’t do that anymore.”
Ryder walks in the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes while Callum trudges behind him. Wes stomps past them, the anger in his eyes resembling that of a pissed off father.
Wes snatches the note from the table. “How in the fuck could you get yourself into this, Foster?” he growls. moving the long hair from his face and tying it into a low ponytail. His chill, funny demeanor is completely gone and replaced with a boiling rage. “I can’t believe you’re racing!’”
Foster, for the first time, doesn’t look like a notorious, not scared of shit, undefeated street racer. He looks wounded, and scared. Rightfully so. “I’m sorry.” He bows his head.
“This,”—Wes holds the paper in his face, his demeanor so far from the funny shop teacher at my school—“is affecting them.” His arm juts out, pointing to where Adeline and Sophie sleep. “And her.” He gestures to me. “How could you get yourself involved with the fucking Keeper?”
Foster snaps his fingers, and the boys descend into the living room to pass out on the couch. I nearly follow them, but Foster pulls me close. “Skyler’s parents …” He looks to me, wondering if it’s appropriate to explain how we got into this mess. I simply nod; honesty is the best policy if this man can help us. “They hurt her.”
Wes looks to me, his face falling and his nostrils flaring. “I’m sorry that happened to you, but what does any of this have to do with making a deal with the Keeper?”
“Sophie,” I tell him with a shaky voice, attempting to thaw my nerves. Wes turns his attention to me. “My parents are wealthy, and they didn’t approve of me and Foster.” I bump my body into Foster, and he pulls me closer. “So, the night I learned of Sophie’s condition was the same night as I got into that crash. Everything happened so fast, and I made a decision to act like I didn’t remember him. I made a deal with my father that I would return if he would pay for Sophie’s medical treatments.”
Wes nods, taking in the information. He grabs the bottle from Foster, turning it up.
“Then,” Foster continues our story, “when I found out about that, I called a few people and made a deal.”
I look to Foster, my eyes roaming his face. “We both made deals with different devils.”
“How much?” Wes wonders.
Foster hasn’t even told me this. “I didn’t know how much Sophie’s treatments and aftercare would be …”
“How fucking much?”
“Two hundred,” he breathes, “thousand.”
Wes says something that hurts Foster to his core, something he knows will make him wake up and realize the gravity of our predicament.
“Lo would be so fucking disappointed with you.” I’ve never heard his parent’s names. It’s something he doesn’t really talk about; I’ve been patiently waiting to hear more about them. “And Mandy?” The moment Wes says Foster’s mother’s name, he makes a terrible grunting sound, but he doesn’t stop him. “She didn’t want this life for you.”
I look to Foster, to his heaving chest.
Normally, anyone else who said something like this to him would get their head split open. But he respects Wes; this was his father’s best friend, and a piece of him lives on because of their friendship.
“They lived this life,” Foster fires back.
Wes shakes his head. “Not like this, not with people like that.”
“He wanted to go after the Keeper tonight,” I snitch, knowing I need to protect him. It seems like the only person he listens to besides me is Wes. We need his help.
Foster cuts his gaze to me. “What in the fuck, Sky?”
“Absolutely not!” Wes hisses, cutting his eyes to Foster. “We’ll go tomorrow night when they’re least expecting it.”
Foster’s lip curls into a smile.
“You are both impossible!” I throw my hands up. “I’m going to bed. Don’t bother me or Sophie.”
* * *
It isn’tthirty minutes before Foster sneaks into the room.
He locks the door behind him and crawls into bed with me and Sophie, wrapping us in his arms.