make you stay (g.d.)

fifty-four

elizabeth:

we sit around the kitchen table the next morning, anxiously plotting.

"there has to be a way to figure all this out without having to turn him and go to court and stuff," ethan groans. "can't we just bribe him?"

"with what, ethan?" grayson spits. "nothing. we have nothing to offer."

"grayson's right, e," charley says, turning to him. "we can't take this to the authorities, and we can't keep hiding forever. we have to cut him a deal."

"a deal?" i ask, straightening up in my seat.

ethan nods. "a deal."

"what kind of deal?" grayson asks, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "because i don't think i'm willing to negotiate anything with that man."

"he wants money," i say dully. "that's all he's ever wanted."

charley's eyes spark. "so we give him money."

the rest of us look at each other questioningly, and ethan asks what we've all been thinking.

"and where are you going to get that money?"

she smirks. "relax, silly. we don't actually give him it. we trace him back, get his information, call him up, and say we have a deal. we offer him cash in return for him to leave elizabeth alone and pretend he never had a daughter in the first place."

i furrow my eyebrows. "i don't understand how that's not giving him money..?"

she frowns, sitting up. "you guys clearly don't watch enough action movies."

"just tell us!" ethan exclaims.

she smiles wickedly again. "we send the decoys: ethan and i."

ethan scoffs. "why us?" he argues.

she shrugs. "you can probably take a punch or two, and i'm smart. anyway, we give him a briefcase filled with—"

"wait," i cut in, scrambling for pen and paper. "i have to write this down."

she waits for me to poise the pen over the notepad, and continues.

"anyway, ethan and i negotiate a price with him. you said that's all he's ever wanted, right? play money," she smirks, running her tongue over her teeth.

"what next?" grayson whispers.

"we give him the money, but it's not actually money. we fill it with fake US dollars."

"where are we going to get fake US dollars? in australia?" ethan questions.

charley shrugs. "i know a guy."

so apparently my roommate lives a secret life, but it's seeming to work out in this time.

"okay, then what?" i ask.

"he'll want to see you, i'm sure of it. but you'll be with grayson in the car, waiting for us to return."

"what if he notices the money is fake?" ethan whispers.

"he won't," she assures. "but if he does..."

all eyes turn to me. "just run."

                                          *******

"ethan i don't think that's how you track a package," i warn, furrowing my eyebrows at his useless scrolling through the post office's international website.

"i'm looking for a number to call, idiot," he mutters.

"don't call her an idiot," grayson cuts in. "especially since you're the one that doesn't know how to work a computer."