I Know What Sin Is

Chapter 17

I laughed. He stared at me. "You can't be serious," I said. "A cartel? With... four people? I thought the whole drug lord thing was a joke. Since, you know, you work at Walmart and all."

"I like Walmart," he said.

"I like Walmart too, I just don't-"

"Oo-kay," Michael interrupted in a cheery voice. "Let's move on, shall we? Literally. Let's start moving."

Rolph turned and did some hand signal and in a fluent motion, everyone began walking. Everyone except me, of course. Michael grabbed my arm and dragged me along. "So," said Rolph, falling into step beside me. "My boy Mikey tells me you're interested in the trade."

"Yeah, don't turn my young, impressionable roommate into a drug dealer," Michael said. "Thanks."

"Hey, man, you're the manipulative one, not me," said Rolph.

"I don't manipulate any-"

"Real heartbreaker he is," Rolph said, patting my arm. "Makes all the ladies cry."

Michael sighed. "I don't try to break hearts, it just-"

"It just happens?" I guessed, looking down at my feet as I walked. Everything made sense. I bet he'd been overjoyed when he heard the news he would be housed with a freshman. Even more overjoyed when he saw me and decided he found me attractive. It all worked out perfectly too, because I turned out to be the most insecure, attention-starved, easily-won-over person alive.

Like winning the lottery.

"You're lucky you got Mikey here to take you under his wing," Rolph told me. "Stick with him, and you could get anything you want. Booze. Dope. The finest selection of puss-"

"I don't want that," I muttered.

"Whatcha want then?"

I didn't answer and instead walked up to Buck. Everyone deserved a second chance, right? "So," I said. "Ever killed anyone?"

He kept walking, seemingly oblivious to my existence. "They don' talk to people they don' like," Rolph said.

"Why don't they don't like me?" I muttered.

"Takes a while for 'em to accept ya. Not everybody cut out for this life. For the things we gotta do."

"What exactly do you do?" I asked.

"You know, party hard, live well, all that." He flashed me a huge toothy grin.

"Not everyone is cut out to go to parties?"

"You can't just show up. You gotta look like you got something to offer. You know, bring a couple grams and show 'em off. Then you watch. Slip somethin' in your pocket when no one's looking. Split as soon as you arrive. I don't be seeing you, you don't be seeing me. We seeing each other, we got a problem. We take what we find. Meds. Cash. Lots of old lady jewelry."

"You go to parties and rob them," I clarified. He nodded excitedly. "And you never get caught? Like on a security camera?"

"Nope. Never have, never will."

I wasn't so sure about that, but I didn't want to crush his dreams.

More importantly, I didn't want Buck to crush my windpipe.

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╰-°—✞—˚✧❨✧˚—✞—°-╯

We snuck up to the house like the FBI in a raid, which was actually kind of ironic. Michael shoved his way to the front of the pack to ring the doorbell.