T H R E E
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I had to work again, that Sunday. Somewhere I hoped the Gladers were there, because the movie night had been so much fun. The three boys were super nice, and I honestly wished I could meet the others, too.
Turned out, my wish came true. Frypan even called me over at their table during my break.
Today, the boy with the hoodie and the black-haired girl weren't there. Instead, a blonde, beautiful one sat next to Newt. She looked a lot like him, too. Same nose, hair color, and eyes.
"Quinn!" They greeted happily, except for the Asian, Minho, who I had never really met. He didn't seem interested, either.
"This is my sister, by the way." Newt patted the blonde on her shoulder. She smiled at me. "Sonya."
"Quinn." I said, happy to have another girl in the group. "So, what's up?"
"The sky." Muttered the Asian.
"This." Thomas ignored his comment and lay their map in the middle. "We are struggling to find a nice location. Everyone wants something different."
I shrugged, hesitant, because this wasn't really a question they needed me for. "Then do multiple locations."
"We will. But we don't know a route." Thomas continued. "Like, everything is so far away from each other." He pointed at the marked spots.
I stared at it a few times. The red dots were only drawn in the United States and Canada, nowhere else. "I think it's gonna be very expensive, but another option is to go to Europe... right?"
"Expensive, indeed." Newt confirmed. He rubbed his chin, frowning. "It's like nine-hundred dollars, since it's summer. That's way too much for each person."
Thomas and Frypan both turned to Minho, grinning deeply with twinkling eyes.
He nearly threw his hands in the air. "Oh, no. Nope. Not happening."
I lifted an eyebrow, confused about the situation. Did they expect Minho to pay?
"Dude, you're like, very rich. And so are your parents!"
Minho leaned back in his seat, bothered. "This is rude. You can't just expect me to pay for everything. Get a job yourself."
He had a very good point.
Now that I was closer, I took a better look at him. A nice jawline, glass skin, and neatly styled hair. His torso was dressed with a black Nike sweater, and he wore sweatpants.
Pretty hot— I mentally punished myself for thinking that.
"You never spend your money!" Frypan added. "You won't have to pay for everything, but come on, a little help?"
"No." He said, tightening his jaw.
By the way he moved and tensed, I noticed it was not just about the reason they all thought. They thought he just didn't want to spend his money, but something else was there. In his eyes.
My mind was spinning already, even though it wasn't even my business. Bills? Did he need money for anything else? Important stuff? Probably...
"I'm not doing that." He lifted his head. "I'll pay just as much as you all will."
"But why?"
"That's none of your business." He snapped, obviously not liking the talk. And obviously hiding something.
Newt sighed as he lay his hands on the table. "Okay, fine. This indeed is very rude to ask."
"Thank you!" Triumphant, Minho made himself comfortable again.
His eyes flashed to mine for a quick second. I smiled at him. Just a little smile. He didn't smile back, but his face lit up slightly.
"We can ask our parents." Sonya suddenly spoke up.
Close to looking offended, Newt stared at her. "Ain't no way Dad's gonna allow that. Besides, who said you were coming with us?"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't say that you don't know I will be able to get that money, Newton. Not my fault you're the least favorite."
His eyes narrowed. "Fine, you bloody—."
She cut him off by pulling a strand of his hair. He let out a girly yell, which even caused some strangers to look up from their coffee. I had to cover up a laugh together with Thomas.
"Okay. Parents, we will ask." Thomas assured. "Try and see how much money you have yourself and what you feel like spending. Tomorrow we'll-"
"I have to work." Minho interrupted.
Thomas sighed. "Okay, then we meet in two days and—."
"Work."
"Man, how many times do you have to work?" He spat out. "Tomorrow, eleven o'clock, in here. I don't care, whatever." He stated, pressing his finger on the table. "We'll tell how much money, and then we'll see what we do."
Everyone eventually agreed to that. I still sat there awkwardly, knowing damn well I didn't have money. Not that I was invited, so I had nothing to worry about either.
But out of a sudden, Fry spoke. "I suggest that Quinn comes with us."
My head snapped up. Eyes widened, but I felt a warmth fill my body, feeling appreciated. But no. "Sorry— I, well, I have to take care of my mom." I stuttered, trying not to share too much information about my home situation. "She's doing bad. Can't just leave. But, uh, thanks for the... invitation, Fry. Really."
A few seconds of silence, then, "Oh. That's a pity." Newt looked down. "Then I guess you won't come. I wish we had more—."
"It's okay." I assured, putting on a smile. "I'll be fine just here. Now, sorry, but got to work again. Break's over."
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I was walking through the streets at night again, my footsteps echoing through the houses as always.
But not just my footsteps.
I glanced behind me, finding a male dressed in all black walking there. He stared at me, his dark eyes the only thing visible. A cap and a part of his jacket covered half of his face, which made me not able to see who it was.
Panic rose in my body, and I sped up my walk. My breathing quickened, but I tried to contain it. No one said everyone walking around the streets was dangerous.
But his footsteps sped up too.
With sweaty palms, I kept my head down, trying to get to my house as fast as I could.
Until he suddenly appeared next to me. I glared at him, my face betraying itself by showing off my fear. I blinked a few times, close to starting my run, but he held out his hand so I couldn't walk further.
My first instinct was to defend, so I already raised my hand. He grabbed it before I even had the chance to swing it.
"Calm down." He said through his teeth, staring me right in the eyes. He removed his cap.
I gasped. "Minho?"
Grabbing something out of his pocket, the grip on my wrist tightened. My eyes widened. It weren't exactly happy memories that were coming back by the way he held me.
"Sorry." He muttered before some money was placed in my hand. "Here."
I stared at it, my eyes opening even wider. I was breathless. "What— why? I—."
"Take it." He closed my fist around the paper.
"I can't just take money. I... I don't even know you. I don't know where you got that money. Where it's been. Or—."
"Take the money." He talked slower now. "Take care of your mother."
"I'll use my own money." I tried to push it back in his hands, not able to just get that gifted by a guy that seemed to find his own money very important. "You said you didn't want to spend too much. Please. I don't need it."
"Yes you shuckin' do." He whispered. "They care about you, so if suddenly you get money problems, they'll all look at me because I wouldn't share or whatever."
"That's not how it works."
"I don't care." Minho looked around, then turned back to me.
"You don't even know me. You don't know what's going on with my mom. You—."
"Yeah, but I do know that you don't have enough money. Because, if you hadn't noticed, it's quite clear that you don't." He paused. "I don't get why you won't just take it."
I sighed, not knowing what to reply, and looked down. So he gave me the money and left without saying anything else.
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I was sitting on the couch, my unconscious mom on the bed. Minho's money was in my hands, along with everything my dad gave me, and the things I had left.
With Minho's money added, I had a total of two hundred dollars. That was... something.
I stared at my mom, knowing sooner or later she would have to go to some kind of addiction clinic. I couldn't stop her and now she had already stole thirty dollars from my salary, to buy more alcohol.
I bit my lip, spreading the bills over the couch. I would spend thirty dollars on food this week, for both me and my mom. Twenty to buy period products... if only that shit had been free.
I saved the rest to pay rent and a clinic for my mom. After dividing that, I took the envelope, filled with a neat letter that had our rent typed on it.
And cursed under my breath.
Seven hundred fifty dollars each freaking month. I buried my head in my hands, knowing I would never get enough salary in one month to pay that. And also knowing my dad wouldn't give anything else.
One person left. The last person I— no. I couldn't. It would bring both me and my mom in danger. I couldn't just unblock his number and ask for money. If he even would give me something, I was sure there would be consequences, too.
A knock on the door. I flinched, jumped up, and opened it fast, not thinking a lot.
It was the apartment owner. The one that delivered the bills and made sure all the electricity was on. The one that sold the apartments.
"Quinn." He smiled, though it wasn't a real one. A stubbly, dark beard was on his face. Golden eyes, short hair, but old. "What do you want to know first? The good news or the bad news?"
"Bad news. So I'll cheer up from the good news." I said, leaning against the doorframe.
He nodded. "Alright. Bad news is, you haven't paid the rent in three months."
Shame filled me. The ground was pretty fascinating as my cheeks caught a rose.
"Good news, someone's interested in buying this house."
How's that supposed to be good news?
"Okay." I swallowed, mentally cursing. "So I will have to sell it, won't I?"
"Unfortunately, yes." He confirmed, seeming quite awkward too. "But you'll get money from selling it, Quinn. You'll come around with that."
"Okay." I said again. "Thank you."
He nodded politely before I closed the door, sliding my back against it to sit down on the ground.
One good thing, maybe I was able to pay for Europe.
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A/N: Ah, will it be Europe or America?
The issue with me is that I love writing so much I get like 2-3 chapters done a day, and then I'm like "should I publish it or not?" Because I'm not always sure if people like that many updates or if they think its annoying they have to catch up each time, etc... lmk what you think!
Hope you enjoyed!! Stay safe <3
x Vera