“What is going on these days? And guns?” My mom asks no one in particular. She’s right, though. For as long as I can remember, most of our targets have been women and children running from abusive husbands and fathers, or whole families who can’t run from powerful crime figures on their own. Lately, it appears there’s been an increase in trafficked women and/or youth who are being sold on the black market. My eyes fill with tears again, hurting for the five innocent children who were rescued today, while also feeling thankful our people got to them first.
“Whoever picked those kids up were gone when we arrived. I actually thought we were going to be too late. We still don’t know who was shooting or why. Hopefully one of the kiddos will have more information for us once they get settled in,” Dad responds, his eyes falling down to his plate.
“Did they all get placed already?” I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me. I’ll have to check in with Matt and Jason tomorrow for names and information. Dad said there were four girls, so I already know it will be my responsibility to talk to them.
“Yes, Randy and Susan were able to get the housing situated before we crossed back over state lines,” he confirms, and I feel better knowing the kids didn’t have to wait to be in a home..
“Check in with them tomorrow,” my mom reminds me, as if I wasn’t already planning my little speech I give all the new targets now. Mike had given us free rein at school, as long as we made contact and checked in frequently. Regardless, I nod my head yes at her and dig into my food.
The rest of our meal is enjoyed with talk about my classes and making sure Julia can sleep over this weekend. Eventually, the fear and anxiety from earlier washes away and our normal routine for the evening creeps back in. Mom is always worried when dad leaves on a run, but this is the first time where I’ve seen her actually break down and cry.
My parents were born and raised in Savage Lakes. My dad was always in the same group of friends as Mike and so was my mom. They tell me all the time how they always wanted to help Matt’s dad and grandpa. That the family business was steadily growing each year, until they started taking in targets from across the border, when necessary. It has never been a secret that the work they do has an element of danger; yet, I can’t help but wonder if this is something that will only escalate over time.
Matt hasn’t been quiet about his plans to keep growing his family’s business after graduation. His goal is to add more staff in order to take on more targets that need our help. He plans to enlist in the military and gain some experience as well as make some contacts, before relocating back here and taking over for his dad. It’s all talk that isn’t new to me. What is surprising, though, is that Jason wants to do the exact same thing. They even bro-shook on it and started tossing around company names.
“You in too, Kell?” Jason had asked, him and Matt both watching me expectantly. My answer felt important, a pivotal moment suspended in time, where two of the most important people in my life were waiting to hear that I was all in, just like them. Ride or die at age thirteen.
“Duh,” I had told them and sealed our deal. The family business is my future now. How could I turn down my best friends?
Jason - 16 years old
There aren’t many things that really bother me. Except when someone messes with my family or bothers one of my friends. See? Pretty easy, right? Don’t fuck with them and I’ll leave you alone. The only exception to my rule is if it involves Kelly. Anything that affects her directly impacts me. If she’s sad, I’ll knock out whoever made her cry and fix any problems. When she’s happy, my mood improves, no matter what else is happening in my life. She laughs and it’s contagious. Right now it means that another dumbass junior is going to need to learn a lesson if he doesn’t back away from her. He needs to step at least a foot back, and I’m getting kinda irritated she hasn’t stepped away from him either.
“You’re doing it again,” Matt drawls next to me. My eyes flash to him, before moving back toward the upperclassman whose face is about to meet the sidewalk.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie through the clench of my teeth.
Matt scoffs. “Sure. You both keep pretending and someone’s going get hurt.”
Okay, now he has my attention. The idea of Kelly being hurt or sad at all is equivalent to someone reaching inside my chest, gripping my beating heart in their fist, and squeezing until it’s a shriveled-up piece of meat. “What are you saying, man?”
Our gazes clash and I don’t see any malice in the way he studies me. This is the most we have ever broached the subject of dating within the family business. The three of us have been friends for so long it’s never been an issue before. I’m not even sure when my own feelings changed. I just woke up one day and realized I’d die or kill for that girl, while at the same time becoming insanely jealous of any other guy who dares to share the same air as her.
“Look,” Matt’s palm rubs down his face, “I see the way you look at her, even when she doesn’t. I also know she cried herself to sleep every night for weeks last year when you finally started dating Stacy.”
I shudder, thinking about that mistake. Stacy had started out really cool, and after she asked me out again, I felt like I should give it a try. I had also been pissed because Kelly had flirted with Bobby Verno after the football game. Stacy and I dated for a few months before her personality did a complete one-eighty, and I couldn’t even take a piss without her accusing me of cheating on her. It was ridiculous. We fought anytime I was with Matt and Kelly, and she couldn’t come with us because it was family business related. Her family moved here when she was in third grade, but they weren’t part of Matt’s family’s extra-curriculars. That made it awkward dating her when I constantly felt like I was lying to her about why we couldn’t see each other every night.
“I sort of thought maybe you two had something going on,” I admit, hating the way a lump rises in my throat just thinking about it. It kills me knowing that Matt knew Kelly first. That they were friends and would hang out long before the three of us became as close as we are.
Matt shakes his head, a grin splitting his lips. “I think I had a crush on her once maybe in elementary, but then she didn’t want to eat glue with me, so it was a short-lived moment.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I laugh with him, trying to imagine them sitting at desks and Matt handing her glue to eat as if it was a tasty treat. I can just imagine the way her hazel eyes would have widened, that faint green ring around her irises darkening, and the way her plump, pink lips would have pursed, not sure if she should yell or smile.
“I’m just saying that no, Kelly and I have never had those feelings. I think of her as another sister and I know she thinks of me as the brother she never had,” he explains further. Hope bubbles in my chest.
“You said she cried?” My brow quirks in question. Matt laughs again. “Were they small, she missed out on brownie day in the cafeteria sniffles or big crocodile tears when she failed her science lab?”
“And this is what I’m talking about.” Matt hops down from the hood of my car. He turns on his heel. “Science lab tears.”