matter to either of them. They were going to different colleges,
but both pursuing music.
“So, you basically live in a gilded cage,” Elva said. She was
always direct, and Haley was thankful for it now. “Even
though this crazy lady says it’s not a prison, if you’re not
really free to leave and it’s messing with your head and every
other aspect of your life and you have a babysitter constantly,
then it’s a jail.”
“What’s she like?” Amy asked. She sighed, like the whole
thing was romantic in some way. Amy liked reading dark
romances. She was crazy for mafia stuff especially. She hadn’t
had very many boyfriends, so she still had space to think
naively.
“Uh, I don’t really know. She’s never around.” Haley sipped
her chocolate banana smoothie. It was delicious, even talking
about her distasteful situation. You know. You know all about
her. She’s the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen. Classy
and elegant in a way you hope you can be when you’re older.
“She’s younger than my dad, probably thirty-four or thirty-
five. She’s not motherly at all.”
“Maybe she’s been wounded in other ways before,” Amy
suggested. “In ways of the heart.”
“Oh my God. Amy!” Elva didn’t like that. She was friends
with Amy through Haley, and they all liked each other and
hung out together often, but Elva was so practical and Amy
was so dreamy that they rarely agreed on anything. “It’s not
romantic. It’s illegal, is what it is. I’m pretty sure you can’t
hold a person against their will like that in exchange for a
loan.”
Something frantic stabbed at Haley’s stomach. It felt like