she’d swallowed daggers instead of her smoothie. “Shh.” She
cautioned. “I know it’s unorthodox and maybe it’s not legal,
but my dad would lose everything otherwise. We wouldn’t
even have a house or a place to go. I’d have to drop out of
college. This seems like a small price to pay.”
Elva scowled, but she didn’t argue. Haley had made it clear
at the start that it was her choice to go. Her father had given
her an out, but she wouldn’t let him sacrifice everything he’d
worked his whole life building. Then, there were her own
selfish reasons. She didn’t want to drop out of college. She
didn’t want to be homeless. The thought of having no
prospects at all terrified her. Poverty terrified her.
“Dude, as long as you’re okay, I guess it’s okay,” Amy said,
still not losing her hopeful tone. “I’m glad you could get away
and tell us, though. That’s pretty fucked up.”
“I thought you said it was romantic,” Elva shot back.
Haley held up a hand. She wasn’t going to let them get in a
fight over this. “It’s not romantic and maybe it is messed up,
but I’m going to get through it. The six months will pass
before I even know it.” No, it won’t. It will feel like a thousand
years. “Crazy Lady—” the term her friends came up with for
Claire had a nice ring to it, “—she’s hardly ever around. I
don’t even have to deal with her. The rest of her staff is nice.
The housekeeper is a sweet old lady who reminds me of my
grandma and the cook likes me. My bodyguard is an ass, but
he hardly says anything so that’s tolerable. It’s not terrible. It
could be so much worse.”
“Yeah, she could chain you up in her basement and use you
as a sex slave,” Elva hissed.
Amy laughed. “Come on. No one does that in real life.”