Page 59 of Robbin’ the Rich

“Because I hate her.”

A huff of laughter left me as I looked back at her, half expecting her to be joking, but her face was anything but jovial.

"I know I've talked about Lila before."

I nodded and squeezed her thigh with silent reassurance.

“Well, me, her and Jess were all best friends. They both attended Ascension Fellowship."

My heart dropped. Hard. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. Luckily, Robin wasn't looking at me. If she had been, she might have noticed.

There was a part of me that wanted to blurt it all out. My father runs Ascension. The confession sat at the back of my throat. I needed to tell her. I know I needed to tell her, but I just couldn’t seem to make the words come out.

Then she kept talking, and I let the moment pass. I could try and convince myself that it was bad timing, but I knew better. I knew I was a coward. Robin's gaze remained fixed on the road ahead.

She had shared some of Lila’s story with me, and it was heart breaking. And also, not new. Sadly, I’d grown up hearing stories just like this one. This was one of the things I’ve always found hard to reconcile with the faith, if you want to call it that. It goes against everything they claim to believe and they’re too blind to see their own hypocrisy.

"Jess was the one who told Lila’s parents about us. It was right after they came home from church camp. I hated her for it. I still hate her for it." she admitted quietly.

I swallowed. I needed to tell her. I needed to tell her that my family took over that church a few years ago, but all that came out was. "I understand."

Robin looked over. For a second, I wondered if she could somehow see through me. Could she see what I was hiding? Would she stop seeing me when she figured it out?

“I know I should be over it by now. And I mean, I am in a way. I wish her no ill will anymore, but I can’t ever forgive her for what she did. Not only did she ruin my relationship, but she ruined our friendship too. In one night, I lost my girlfriend and my best friend.”

She took a long breath and stared out the window. “I guess that is why I was being weird in the corn maze. It’s just with Ariel at Lantern House, running into her, and my parents starting to attend that awful place I just couldn’t take it anymore… I had to do something.”

She stopped talking, I waited but it was a long pause.

“Nevermind… I’m being stupid.”

“No, Robin, you’re not being stupid. Sometimes things happen where there is no coming back from. Sometimes someone hurts you too much. Sometimes there are rifts that sorrys and time can’t fix.”

We continued home, my heart racing. I was used to this feeling around Robin, but it was usually in a good way. This was not good. I needed to tell her who I was. But what would happen when she found out that I wasn’t just Micah, the bassist, nerdy, science teacher, but also the pastor’s son of the church that had ruined her life. Even if he wasn’t the pastor when all that had happened, I can’t imagine it would make much of a difference.

The warmth that had filled the car earlier had turned into something heavier as the road stretched endlessly ahead of us. Outside, headlights cut through the darkness. Inside, silence slowly settled between us.

And for the first time since meeting Robin, I found myself wondering if I was already in too deep to get out without breaking both our hearts. The lights of Briar Glenn gradually appeared ahead of us, scattered across the darkness like stars. I was halfway convinced I'd ruined the mood entirely when she suddenly spoke.

"You know… You’ve seen my place, but I haven’t seen yours."

I glanced over. When I caught her face in a passing streetlight I could see she was grinning a little mischievous smile that usually preceded trouble. The traffic light turned red and I stopped the car.

"Do you want to?"

Robin's grin widened then she nodded.

That was all it took. I flicked on my blinker. "Okay."

Ten minutes later I was pulling into the driveway of my house and trying very hard to be cool, if I ever even knew how to be. The small two-bedroom house sat on a quiet residential street lined with mature trees and modest homes. Nothing fancy. Nothing impressive. The porch light clicked on automatically as we walked up the path.

Robin took one look at the house and smiled.

"It's cute."

I unlocked the door and stepped aside. The moment she came in, I started seeing the place through her eyes. There were guitars hanging on the wall next to shelves full of books. A couple framed concert posters above my record player and collection of vinyl.

Then there was the Star Trek memorabilia. She knew I was a fan, she knew I had the sleeve to prove it, but looking at the tiny con in my house could send her running. There was a two foot USS Enterprise, signed posters practically acting as wallpaper, and so. Many. Figures.