“Uh…”
“Two things of chicken nuggets and fries please,” he ordered when I didn’t decide fast enough.
“He’s against the entire idea of human trafficking, right?” I asked as he pulled the car up in the drive through.
“Yep,” he said, popping the P.
“But if it’s to help put a stop to it…”
“I would think so, but he wants nothing to do with any of it. Not everyone is as lucky to have some rich boss come buy you and save you from who knows what. A lot of people are bought and killed weekly for thousands of dollars. What better way to kill off an innocent person and never be caught?”
I didn’t know what to say to that. So much of this all went over my head. Sure, I had learned about human trafficking in school, but I never once thought I’d live to meet one person affected by something like it. I also didn’t think I’d ever be here, talking about it.
“What would you do if I hadn’t come across you that day?” he asked after paying for the food and handing over the bag. The smell caused my mouth to water and my stomach to growl. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until then.
“I’d be as far away as possible from that man,” I said, my voice laced with a darkness I didn’t even know I possessed. “I would kill him if I had to, just to get away from Alan. Unless he killed me before I could leave.”
“Where would you go?” he asked, pulling into an empty parking spot and digging into the bag of food. He handed one box of chicken nuggets and some fries to me.
“Wherever my money could take me,” I said before taking a bite. “This is the best chicken nuggets ever. The school’s sucked compared to this.”
“Take it you’ve never had fast food?”
“No. Alan would only buy for himself once in a while.”
“You are so missing out on everything good in life. I’ll just have to change that.”
“As long as you don’t drive like a crazy person, I’m good with that,” I laughed, taking another bite.
“Yeah, Dominic isn’t the best driver,” Zevon agreed. “But he’s the best at driving in a car chase.”
“That doesn’t help.” Not in the least bit. I preferred not to know how many chases these two men had been in.
“I bet in time, you’ll want to live on the dangerous side of life,” he joked.
“Heck no,” I said, shaking my head and stuffing a fry into my mouth. “I’m fine with just…whatever I have now.”
“I know, I know,” he huffed, leaning his head back against the headrest. “My words are just going in one ear and out the other. But I won’t stop telling you how important you are to all of us. Neither will Collin or Dominic. We will be by your side for as long as possible. It won’t matter if and when Ace tells us we don’t need to. You are stuck with us as much as we are with you.”
“I…I don’t know how to respond to that,” I said quietly. I wasn’t even sure how I felt. I knew that they would be watching over me, no matter where I ended up. They wouldn’t let me go far from them.
“Just know that we won’t stop telling you how amazing you are.”
“I’m not—“
“Don’t you dare say it,” Zevon said, quickly interrupting me. “You are amazing. Smart. Beautiful. And so many other things. We all want to help you, but you’re the one that has to let us help. You don’t need to carry the world on your shoulders all on your own. It’s what friends do, you know?”
“Are we really friends?”
“Yes. We may not have had the best meeting to start it out, but we’re all friends. I’d say you were like family, but…yeah. I can’t do that.”
“Why?” I cocked my head to the side.
“Just…I like you, girly. And I’ve never liked a girl before.”
“Uh…” He lost me.
“Let’s head home,” he said, both of us finished with our food. “I’m sure Dominic is pacing the house waiting for you.”
