Out of Bounds [h.s. au]

Chapter 34

My afternoon went by fairly quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to go home. Everyone waved goodbye to me on their way out, and then Geraldine showed me how to switch the phone to night mode, turn out the lights and lock the doors. I followed her out to the parking lot where she patted me on the back and said she'd see me the next day.

Penny happened to be climbing the stairs to her apartment just as I was. She giggled when she saw me, our coming home together a first.

"How'd it go?" she inquired.

"Great," I nodded. "Very pleasant."

"Good! That's just what you need."

I wasn't in the door ten minutes when my phone rang.

"How was your first day?" asked Harry when I answered.

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I said. "I just got finished telling Penny. I guess it just feels great to have people care about me."

"Well, of course we do," Harry conveyed with a smile in his voice. "So I take it it went well."

"Yes, very well."

Before we hung up, Harry said he was on his way to pick me up so we could go to dinner. I knew I needed to talk to him about the thing that was bothering me. And I couldn't put it off.

*

"So Penny asked if we could get together on the 20th," I said as I spread wasabi on my sushi. "To see her band play and exchange gifts."

Harry nodded, taking a sip of tea.

"Yeah, Zack mentioned that. I'm off that night so it sounds good to me."

"Okay. Did he mention the price limit?"

"There's a price limit?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Well...yeah..." I paused. "Twenty-five dollars. But I think it was more for my benefit because Penny knows I can't spend very much."

"Tisa, you don't have to get me anything," said Harry. "You don't have to get any of us anything."

"But I want to," I muttered.

Harry smiled softly, reaching his hand across the table to cover mine.

"I know. I'm just saying you don't have to. Especially if it puts you in a bind."

I swallowed hard before releasing my hand from his grasp and placing it in my lap.

"Speaking of that..." I hesitated. "I need to ask you something."

Harry sat up and looked at me intently. "Sure."

"Um...well...I hate to ask you for a favor. But my car payment is due the fifteenth. That's Monday. And with me just starting this job -"

"Of course, Tisa," Harry interrupted. "I told you anything you need, I can help you with."

My shoulders dropped. "I promise, it's just until I get my paycheck, and then I can pay you back."

He held up his hands. "No worries. It's totally fine."

"Thanks."

"Tisa," said Harry, crossing his arms in front of him on the table, "there's something I haven't told you. Not because I was keeping it a secret, it just never really came up or I just didn't think it was important."

I furrowed my eyebrows as he leaned forward.

"I have money. I'm not wealthy by any means, but I....have enough to live on for now. When I was born, both my parents and my grandparents set up savings accounts for me. By the time I turned eighteen, both were substantial amounts, particularly my grandparents' because they had started putting in double the amount before they passed away. When they did pass away, I was left a lot of money from them. I got half when I turned eighteen, and I get the other half when I turn twenty-one."