“I…” I swallowed. “I don’t have it.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean you don’t have it?”
I shook my head, feeling more embarrassed by the second. “I didn’t think it would need one.”
She glanced back at the register and then at the towering stacks of books. “Evania. It’s a huge purchase.”
I knew that, I knew that very well. Luckily, the store was relatively empty, so I signaled for the twins to pick up a few more books to save me the embarrassment of having to explain what happened.
There were only two ways out in this situation, and one of them wasn’t really an option. I could pay for all the books myself, spending almost all of my savings in one go. Or I could swallow my pride and call Callahan. The thought made my stomach twist.
Elena watched me carefully. “What are you going to do?”
I exhaled slowly. “I’m going to call him.”
She nodded as I moved further away from the counter and pulled out my phone. My thumb hovered over his name for a brief second before I pressed it. He answered after two rings.
“Evania?” He sounded surprised.
“Hi,” I said, trying to sound casual.
A pause. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes. Everything’s fine.”
“Then why are you calling?” he asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
“I’m at the bookstore,” I admitted.
“I see.”
“And I might have bought… a lot.”
There was silence on the other end for a second. For a second, I thought he was laughing at me, but the next second, he sighed into the phone. “You need the pin?”
“Yes, please.”
He laughed quietly. “It’s 3928.”
“Are you sure you want me to use it?" I mumbled, surprised at how easily he gave me access to his money. “I might spend more today.”
“Are you still mad at me?”
“Yes.”
“Then go wild, Firefly. As long as you’re more willing to forgive me when you’re through.”
I hung up before he could say anything else to stir up the butterflies that were living in my stomach. I thought he would gloat or, at the very least, make me feel bad about what I was doing, but he didn’t. I wasn’t sure if this was a form of reverse psychology; I hated knowing it was working.
“Well?” Elena walked over to me. “Did he give it to you, or should we start putting them back?”
“He gave it to me. He told me to go wild.”
“He did?” She grinned. “I like him.”
22- callahan
My phone went off three times in quick succession, notifications from my banking app lighting up the screen one after the other.
