Chapter 10

                                    

                                          
I laugh, "Whatever"
                          
"Damn bro that was all yours at one point?" I hear Jack say
                          
"Yeah. Whatchu tryna Say?" Micah replies
                          
"All I'm saying is you had a queen and you let that shit slide...damn you may not be as smart as I thought" Jack chuckles
                          
"Fuck outta here you don't even know the reasons behind everything" Micah huffs, "And shes got a boyfriend. I'd rather be her bes- her friend. We're close you know? If we dated and broke up it might ruin what we have"
                          
"You never know-"
                          
"I do know." Micah interrupts
                          
As I pull out my notes to study for finals the guys talk a bit more before Jack has to go make a deal.
                          
5:15 pm
                          
As my mom, Micah and I sit at the dinner table eating, I decide to tell my mom about Los Angeles and picking up Diego. Originally I was gonna tell her about Adym and I but I chickened out. I told Micah I was gonna talk to her to he's ready to jump in and help me just in case. 
                          
"So mom" I start in, "Um on the last day of school..
I um.. I was wondering if I can fly or drive to LA to pick up a friend."
                          
"If you want an answer from me T you gotta explain some more" my mom glances up at me while taking a bite of food
                          
"So basically my friends in the hospital and I told them-"
                          
"Them?" She looks at me
                          
"Him.." I correct myself, "I told him I'd pick him up when he was released. He's going through a lot right now and I told him I'd be there to pick him up and bring him home-"
                          
"So basically" my mom sets her fork down, "You want to spend the money to get to somewhere in LA where this guy is just to take him home? To basically be a chauffeur?"
                          
"No- well- not exactly" I say, "I wanna be kind of a support system for him and you know, let him know I care for him and I'm here for him when he needs me. I also kinda promised him.. and ugh.. told him I was gonna be there to pick him up. But listen, when I told him that I figured I'd still be in LA"
                          
"Tori-" my mom sighs, "I- Okay first of all, where's the money coming from? Where the fuck are you getting the money? Where in LA? And how long has he been In there? Because the way you talk about it you make it sound like he's been in there for a bit."
                          
"Back home in LA literally the hospital by our old house" I mumble, "He's been in there for a little bit.."
                          
Look I'm not lying. I'm not specifying what hospital
But I mean there's like three by our old place..
                          
"You're dodging the questions" she eyes me, "You answered one question but you're- I don't know am I not understand this or Are you leaving things out? Tori fill in the blanks and answer the questions please so I can understand this completely."
                          
"I have money" I answer, "he's been there for a few months."
                          
"Alright" she nods, "So this boy.. is he like your boyfriend?"
                          
"No" I reply
                          
"So he's not you're boyfriend yet you wanna go all the way to LA to pick him up and take him home and basically be a fucking Uber driver. This doesn't add up. Why?" She asks
                          
"He's just a close friend" I avoid eye contact
                          
"He's just a close friend" she mimics me, "Tori this just doesn't make sense. You wanna spend all that money to go take him home. Like are you coming home that night? Are you trying to stay? Where are you gonna stay? why is this promise so important? Promises are made everyday and they're fucking broken because not all people mean what they say- they- they fucking lie and promise you to just tickle your ear- make you happy- you know what I mean."
                          
She's talking about my dad when she talks about promises.. my mom takes a deep breath and looks me in the eyes,
                          
"Sorry.Tori you're not trying to explain this to me which makes me question it all and wanna say no-"
                          
"No please don't" I interrupt her, "He's my ex but I-
I still worry about him. We're still friends. We're cool. He's just in a bad place right now and I wanna be there for him. I was thinking I could spend the night and hang out with him-"
                          
"Just you going?" She questions
                          
"If Micah wants to go he can" I answer
                          
She looks at Micah who's eating. He looks up at my mom and nods.
                          
Once he swallows his food he says, "I'll go if possible so I can see my mom."
                          
My mom drinks some water, "where are you staying?"
                          
"Maybe with Micah's mom?" I murmur 
                          
"And you haven't checked with her before making these plans?" She continues, "Alright look, I'm not giving you guys an answer-"
                          
"but school ends in a week" I plead
                          
"That's not my problem that's yours for not telling me sooner. I don't even know the guys name-"
                          
"Diego" I tell her
                          
"Alright well to me it just sounds like you assumed all this was gonna happen and never ran it by me. You don't even know where you're staying, let alone how long, you don't have an adult with you, and you couldn't fully explain what's going on without me asking questions and trying to find out the full story. I shouldn't have to ask all those questions to find out the whole story. I'll think about it and give you guys an answer but don't get your hopes up." She explains
                          
"Alright" I nod
                          
As I start cleaning up, Micah gives me the look to bring up Adym while taking a bite of food. 
                          
"Also mom" I mumble, "I ugh.. I wanted to tell you about something.."
                          
Tbc