And now she was doing things I’d done my best to prevent her from doing. And I knew what I needed to do.
I needed to get to Phoenix to uncover the truth.
The thought terrified me. I’d be back nearhim.I’d be back near the Devil’s Patriots. If Hailey had made any sort of contacts with them beyond just standing outside their clubhouse…
I just had to lay low.
“Well, why don’t we celebrate by having me come up?” I said with false cheer. “Besides, I could use getting out of the house some.”
“You mean Dad’s still pretending like being a bank teller is a job that requires him to be at work after closing hours?”
It would have been depressing to think about if we didn’t laugh.
“Shocking, isn’t it?” I said with a weary voice. “When can I come up?”
“Whenever you want. And before you ask, I’ve got some leads on part-time work. And remember, journalism pays so poorly, I got used to living off of a thousand bucks a month. I assure you I’ll be fine financially.”
It’s not that I’m worried about.
As she spoke, I pulled up my bank account. What had once been a little over fifteen grand in savings had dwindled to under nine hundred bucks. Online freelancing work, shockingly, didn’t pay as well as having a stable job in marketing. I had to return to the real world at some point. I couldn’t play the victim card forever.
But there were cards that Hailey might have gotten that required my attention.
“I’ll head over tomorrow,” I said. “And we can catch up.”
She could not fail as I had. No matter what.
