19. Deal Breaker
Mina
I didn’t try to be quiet when Ben dropped me at home. He stayed a few extra seconds after I’d gotten my bike out of the car, as if thinking about coming in with me, and I had to wave for him to get away while he could.
I wouldn’t have bothered trying to get back in through the window even if my mother hadn’t conspicuously pushed the living room curtain aside to look out at us. Bag over my shoulder in plain sight, camera within easy reach in the front pocket, still shivering and dripping river muck with every step, I walked straight inside the best way I could—through the front door.
Mom was sitting on the couch the way she always did, as if it were a throne and even stiffer and more uncomfortable than it was. She had spread paperwork all over the coffee table, and
