Run Bad Boy Run

Chapter 31

"You can't be serious, Em." Gabby scowls at me. "You want to go to New York City with Hayden Cross. To take on wanna-be drug lords. Two teenagers. Do you hear yourself?"

It sounds even crazier coming out of her mouth.

"We're not going to fight them," I clarify in a small voice.

"Then what the heck are you doing?"

Pursing my lips, I avoid her eyes, knowing that the next words that come out of my mouth will definitely send my best friend into a frenzy. "I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?" Gabby explodes, not caring that the fifteen other people waiting in line at Mercy Pharmacy have decided to join our conversation.

We've been waiting for thirty minutes to pick up my mom's medicine and I can't bring myself to tell her to calm down. If the roles were reversed, I would be the exact same way—maybe even worse—so I only make a point to motion for her to lower her voice.

She looks over her shoulder and nods. We can't trust anyone in Valleyfield anymore. "And Abigail is involved in this?" she adds with a humorless laugh. "What the fuck is up with this place?"

"I have no idea," I sigh. "Hayden said he'd fill me in on exactly what is going to happen when we get there. He doesn't want the word to slip." Grabbing Gabby's hand, I beg, "Please don't tell anyone about this."

"I'm not going to," Gabby assures me. We approach the window. As I pay for the prescription, she whispers, "Can't you go later? We're going to New York next month for our senior trip. I would feel a whole lot better if you went on the bus with us instead of driving in a car with Hayden Cross for fifteen hours."

"There's no way I'll be able to sneak out." We rush out of the pharmacy and I scan the parking lot again and again as we walk to Gabby's car. "Corry will know something is up."

"And he won't know something is up if you're suddenly gone for a week?"

"I told him I'm going with Abigail to see her mom. Thanksgiving Break starts next week, so we don't have a lot of work to do." I'm not really lying to my brother. I will see Abigail's mom. Just, not with Abby. And I'm going to do a few other things he doesn't need to know about. "My mom said it was okay."

Gabby gives me a look. 'Your mom is also doped up on pain medicine. You could ask her for anything and she'd say yes' her expression says. I smile at her and she rolls her eyes. I need her to cover for me while I'm gone. I need eyes here to make sure everything is okay.

After five minutes of long, contemplative silence, she finally caves. "Alright, alright. I get it. You owe me, Ember Chance. God, you owe me big time."

I grin. "I love you, best friend."

"I know."

* * *

The early morning sun begins to spill over the late-November horizon. Naked tree branches stand as thick black webs against the navy skyline and flocks of birds leave in early morning flights for the warm south. I might have found it beautiful if I were a morning person. I might have found it beautiful if I weren't too busy sipping on my coffee, shivering in my coat, trying my hardest not to choke from laughter.

"You know, I always saw you as more of a Mustang convertible kind of guy." I comment smugly. "Or some kind of crazy expensive European car, maybe even a motorcycle. But never in my entire life would I have guessed that you'd be driving around in a station wagon."

Hayden gives me the mother of all death glares and I blow him a kiss, grinning at his obvious irritation. I circle the old car, examining the tan panels lining the sides, admiring how it tapers from a boxy front to a hefty backside that looks like a kindergartener's drawing come to life. Everything about this car says the exact opposite of bad boy.