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By the time ere done it was after three in the afternoon and there was really no point into the scrap yard, they liked to head off at about four anyway I lingered in Brett’s office with hih I’d only o His usual payout day was Sunday, so I had a few days to go yet

I frowned and he looked atit on his coat rack

"What’s up, you don’t usually linger So me suspiciously

I shook my head and decided to just ask; he could only say no, it was no big deal "I ondering if I could get an advance on es Not the one for the boost, just the weekly rate My first payment is due soon and I want to have the hts ofaround o wrong Having that money early would just take so sobehind a picture on the wall I watched as he pulled out 2,000 and sla the other boys I did that, I don’t want the That was the only exception, and only because it was you Understand?"

I sratefully and felt some of the tension loosen from my shoulders as I shoved the money into the inside pocket of my leather jacket "Thanks, Brett I’ll see you toht before the boost" He waved ers so I headed out quickly before he thought of anything else he wanted ht I barely slept at all All I kept thinking about was Ellie getting hurt I knew I should break it off with her, I shouldn’t be dragging her into this seedy world with me, she deserved better than that But I couldn’t let her go; I just needed her to keepso hard? There was no freedom without her

I decided to see hoent Hopefully now that I’d shownin and I would have the money to pay Tony off within a couple of weeks Then all I would need to worry about was not letting her know the real et so day tomorrow I had a full days work at the scrap yard, then her dance, after that, the boost I wasn’t looking forward to bailing on Ellie toave me; she was an incredible person so I think she would I laid onthe shadows dance across the ceiling I pushed rabbed the calendar off of the wall and a pen, circling the last date that I had agreed to work for Brett I kept that circled date in my head as I laid back down and finally drifted into a shallow sleep

Chapter 16

~ Ellie ~

"He’s gonna do it tonight, I just know it," I hed and rubbed her hand across oodness sake, Jaet a hold of yourself? You’re going to ruin yourmy hands away from my face with her other hand

I looked up at her and willed myself to believe her, to listen to the words that she’d been cooing over and over for the last week - but I couldn’tto break up with me soon, I just knew it He’d been so distant lately, everything was changing between us Maybe he was realising that he was better suited to soue

"Stace, seriously, we’ve barely even spoken lately He just goes off daydreaets this look on his face that tells me he doesn’t want to talk about stuff when I ask what’s wrong

He juht that I can’t stay at his place on Saturday night because he has and I quote ’plans with Callu aith his family this weekend, I’m positive he said that was this weekend!" I explained for the hundredth time

She shook her head and plopped down onto the bed next toabout it Whenever I see you two together you’re laughing and flirting You’re constantly talking on the phone, do you kno rare that is for people to just be able to talk on the phone to their boyfriends for tentheir interest, yet you can talk to Jamie for an hour and still have more to say to each other I can’t do that with Paul, not even close You’ve probably got your weekendsaway sos because you’re getting scared"

I frowned at that Jareat we really did, and if the last week hadn’t happened then I wouldn’t be thinking anything rong But Jamie had just become more… quiet, reserved even He didn’t pay et this look on his face, like he was so, and it HAD to be

She raised one eyebrow at ly "Yes you are, I know for a fact that you’re crazy about that boy and that fact scares the life out of you because of how Mark turned out You’re scared to let yourself fall for hiet too close You’re hoping to convince yourself that it’s going nowhere so that you don’t end up getting hurt in the long run," she stated confidently