I wrap both hands around my paper cup, savoring the warmth.
“I’ve been with my dad,” I say. I guess I’m not ready to talk, after all.
“You know what I mean.” She leans in. “Friday night, you ask me to come down here and check in on your dad while you vanish. Saturday morning, you call me, whispering like you’re a spy. You say you’re safe, and that you’re not alone, and then you hang up on me. Then you show up with your dad’s deposit handled like you won the lottery.”
Her mouth twists.
“And you’re acting… weird. You keep checking the door. You flinch when your phone buzzes.”
I stare at the lid of my coffee.
Maddy’s voice drops even more. “Erica. What happened?”
I swallow.
“I’m fine,” I say, because it’s reflex.
Maddy’s eyes go flat. “No, you’re not.”
She taps her straw against her cup. Once. Twice.
“Erica,” she says softly. “Where did you get the money?”
“Remember when you joked that I could sell my virginity for a lot of money?” I ask.
Maddy’s face shifts into an amused expression. “Ha. Ha.”
My throat closes, and I look down.
Complete silence.
Then: “Oh my God.”
I can’t speak.
“Erica,” she whispers in disbelief. “You didn’t.”
I don’t answer.
Silence stretches between us, filled with espresso machine noise and someone laughing too loudly near the windows.
My fingers tighten around the cup.
“He was going to die, Maddy,” I whisper brokenly, tears stinging my eyes. I lift my wet eyes to hers, begging her to understand. “Itried everything. Loans. Appeals. Payment plans. I begged. I sat in offices with my folder like a good girl and listened to people tell me my dad’s life doesn’t fit into their rules. I didn’t have a choice.”
Maddy’s hands curl around her cup like she wants to crush it.
“Erica,” she whispers. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you would’ve stopped me.”
“Damn right I would’ve stopped you!”
Heads turn in the café.
Maddy lowers her voice immediately, but the anger doesn’t go anywhere. It just compresses into something sharp.
“Okay,” she says, breathing. “Okay. Start over. Tell me exactly what happened.”
