"Jason, what in the world?" I whisper.
The boy looks back at the alley and then at me, eyes wide. He doesn't utter a word but gestures for me to follow him, which I don't. I give him the most disappointed look I can muster and run back to the other side of the road and to my house, glancing back every few steps to make sure I'm not followed.
I'm overflowed with relief when I reach my front yard and attach Lucky's collar to the leash.
We're safe
I run in my room and make sure to lock the window. Laying on my bed I take out my phone to check the video I was recording. Jason can be recognised with some effort, which means that with the slightest enhance the police should have a clear image.
Damn Android cameras, I should switch to iOS
I lay with my face buried under my pillow, thinking how could Jason do something like that. How can the same guy who calls me Strawberry Shortcake smoke weed, much less distribute it? How long has he been doing it?
I take in a big breath. I shouldn't be thinking about these. I'll do the right thing, which is to contact the police and tell them what I know. Then, hopefully, they'll do something with it.
When I wake up the next day I'm met with a text from Jason, asking if we can meet up. Without a second thought, I screenshot it and send it to Kal.
all.time.kal: idk, if you like him go ahead.
Then I remember Kal knows nothing about last night, so I ask him to meet up before deciding what to do with Jason. Ten minutes later we're in the kitchen, stuffing our faces with strawberries and pretending talking about Maze Runner until my parents leave.
When my dad finally leaves, Kal gulps down his food and says "I really hope you didn't drag me here for dating advice."
"I saw Jason yesterday," I blurt. "He was with them. I saw him coming out of the alley, the van was parked in the front again."
Kal's jaw drops so much it might fall on the table.
"Yeah, so he saw that I saw and now he wants to talk to me."
Kal shakes his head. "Why did you go after them? How did you even find them?"
Waving my hand, I say, "It was an accident, really. The important thing is, what do we do? Do we tell the police about Jason or stick to the plate number? Do I meet Jason? Do you think he might try to convince us not to talk?"
Kal scratches his jaw. "Yeah, probably." A huff escapes his lips, the air lifting up the hair falling on his forehead. "But we should talk with him first, too. After all, if we turned him in he'd just go to jail for a few years and have his life ruined while the real bad guys would only replace him."
I take a sip of water from my cup. "Okay, sounds good. Where should we meet him? Open space so he does no funny business or a closed one so we can have more privacy and not let him escape?"
Kal laughs, almost spitting out the strawberry he was eating. "Sum, he won't try to kill us or anything."
I drink some more of my water, my fingers almost sliding on the condensation before hey regain their grip. "If he does, I'll use you as a shield."
"I'll make sure to wear a shirt with a pocket and put a Nokia cell in there, then."
I snort. "Great, there was a chance you might die and you're ruining it."
"Hi kids, how's it going?"
Looking away from Kal, I notice Eliza walking towards us. Her hair is pulled up in a tight ponytail and she's wearing a T-shirt with the University of Pennsylvania logo on.
She was running and her face looks more like she fell head-first on a box of highlighter than sweating.
"You know, the usual. Were you with Christopher?"
Eliza rolls her eyes. "Right, as if." She winces. "No offence, Kal."
The tan boy chuckles. "None taken, he gets on my nerves, too. And by the way, I'm on your side about that Geometry test in freshman year. He won't ever stop saying how he didn't mean to copy from you but we all know he sucks at anything that has to do with Math."
Eliza lifts her hand up and Kal high-fives her. "I like you, even though you hurt my little brother."
I had no idea Eliza was so protective of Alex, or anyone at that.
Kal's face pales. "Eliza, I never wanted to-"
The girl waves her hand. "I don't want to hear it. I know what happened, Summer made sure to present to me all sides and I believe all of you had the best intentions at heart. The only thing remaining is for time to pass. It does heal all."
"You're in pre-Med and you say time heals all?"
Eliza rolls her eyes. "I'm only a junior." She swipes some sweat from her forehead. "I really need a shower, see ya."
We wait for her to go away before we continue with our plan, even though I'm sure she knows even the latest updates.
"So, we meet Jason at Parfait?"
I nod. "Yeah, there are lots of people so he won't do any funny business and he can't just take off, plus we're going to stay inside so someone should be walking in or out and block his way. Sounds..." My shoulders slump down. "I can't."
Kal frowns. "Why?"
"I don't want to be seen with you."
"Wow, thanks."
"I mean, what if Olivia or Alex are there? What if they find out?"
Kal's jaw drops. "Oh, right. You haven't talked to them yet."
"I have talked to them, just not about that one thing."
Kal nods, his fingers drumming against the table. "Okay. You can meet with Jason and I can be nearby, just in case."
I sigh. "Okay," I say as I grab my phone to text him.
sum.mer.41: ok meet me in parfait in 10
He replies almost immediately.
jaseg: see you there
After locking my phone I stuff it in my back pocket and slip in my flip flops. Kal pops one last strawberry in his mouth before following me out of the house.
The sun is up already, making every light-coloured surface blindingly bright. If I cracked an egg open and let it fall on the concrete it would have been cooked in no time. Hell, it would have been cooked even on my skin. I'm not out for a minute and I already want to run back inside. Glancing under the lemon tree, I notice Lucky is sleeping inside the old oven pan we use as her water bowl.
"I'm going to take my skateboard and you can have my..." I wince. "Alex still hasn't fixed my bike." I scratch the back of my neck. "We can both walk so you're not the only one?"
Kal smirks. "Or I could take Eliza's bike and none of us dies of heat."
I get on my board and slide faster than usual, desperate to get under a roof as soon as possible. Usually, there would be a light breeze now, pushing back my hair and cooling my face but now there's nothing but heat. I hear the double ring of a bell and turn my head to the side only to see Kal passing me by, flashing a smile as he's ahead so quickly.
Letting out a huff, I push the skateboard harder, determined to be ahead again. Kal notices, if him hunching down and pedalling faster is a sign. I want to speed up too, but my feet are already slippery on my flip flops. Kal also manages to cross the intersection before the lights turn red, and by the time I do as well he's nowhere in sight.
Me being late works out, though, since Kal got there before me and no one would guess we came together. I open the door in the shop I've spent the biggest part of my summer so far, welcoming the cool air. I wave at Bob, one of the guys that do most of the shifts we don't, and place my skateboard in the storage room. Kal is sitting at a table at the far end of the shop, sipping on what looks like ice tea. He nods towards the couch area, where I soon spot Jason looking over at me.
I walk to him and sit on the chair instead of in the couch next to him. "Speak up, what do you have to say for yourself?"
The boy averts his grey eyes from me to the table. "It's not what you think," he mumbles.
My jaw clenches. "Oh, really? So you weren't with the people that killed Jack Andrews?"
Jason looks up at me suddenly alerted before scanning the place. "Who told you that? How do you know about Jack?"
"I was-" I stop myself from blurting out information he doesn't need to know. "I'm not in the business too, if that's what you're asking."
Jason crosses his arms. "I'm not in the business either."
"Then what were you doing there?"
He looks around again, his irises moving back and forth before settling on me. "Look, Kal is here, too. This is not the place to talk about this stuff."
"Then why did you agree to meet me here?"
"Because I thought..."
"That I didn't know what's going on?"
Jason shrugs. "If you do, then why don't you report me to the police?"
I bite the inside of my cheek but don't say anything for a while. "I can't believe you're this kind of person. I kind of hope you have a really good explanation for all this."
Jason's gaze drops to the table again. "I'm afraid I won't satisfy you, then."
My heart drops to my stomach. I want to be wrong about him but he's not helping the situation at all. He's a junkie and he might be distributing drugs too. He's in contact with murderers. How can this be the same boy who laughed every time I called him Strawberry Blond and baked cookies for fun?
I clear my throat. "Since when have you been doing..."
He shakes his head. "I don't. I don't even drink or smoke, I'd never... I just... you know, give."
I can't help a desperate "why?"
Jason crosses his arms again, shrugging in the process. "Sometimes we need to do things we normally wouldn't, and then these things follow us."
"How did it start?"
"Same as everyone, I needed the money."
My face falls. "Why didn't you ask someone else?"
Jason lets out a small sarcastic laugh. "I didn't need pocket money."
"And there's absolutely no way out?"
"Aside from the Jack way, no," Jason mutters, rubbing his eyes. "They have trust issues, I suppose. They know our word isn't worth a lot but some of us know things about them, and we can talk."
That last bit sparks my interest. "So, say, if someone gave a tip to the police about them they'd automatically think it was one of you and hunt you down?"
Jason's blond locks catch the sunlight as he shakes his head. "What do you know, Summer?" Before I can say anything, he raises both hands. "Actually, don't tell me. Just... think about it, before taking it to the cops."
"Jason," I whisper-yell. "This needs to stop!"
"I want it to, believe me," he says quietly, "but there's no way someone innocent won't get hurt in the process."
"What if we go to the police? Together? You can claim being a witness and that they saw you, the police will offer you protection, right?"
I can see it all coming together: Jason will tell us everything he knows, and combined with our circumstantial evidence the police will take us seriously.
"I-I don't know about this," Jason stammers. "It sounds like a long shot."
"Jason, do you want to deal drugs for the rest of your life?"
The boy shakes his head.
"Then we're going to help you get out of it," I say, even though I'm not sure how exactly I'm going to do that.
...............
I think I'm going to be updating every Friday from now on, it's not a huge commitment but I still will be active in this story.
Soooo what do you think of Jason now?
And why on Earth had I never watched Sherlock before?