Page 57 of Disobedient Pawn

My brain couldn’t even compute what he just said with who I knew him to be or at least thought he was. Myles was goofy and funny and, yes, even sweet, but muscle to collect on debts…no.

“Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not what I would’ve chosen to do with my life, but it’s the family business.” Myles gave me a hard stare. “Ya really don’t have a clue about the school, do ya?”

I didn’t say anything as my brain reeled, skidded to a stop, and then started again.

“Snowflake, you only get into Wayward if your family is involved in crime. That means either your Ma or your Da has ties to a connected family. You’re not able to step foot on the property otherwise.”

It felt like the blood drained from my body. I was suddenly lightheaded and shaking.

“No, that…that can’t be. My father is a jerk, but a crime family? No way.”

Myles shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell ya. It’s the school’s rules, and they are very strict.” I covered my mouth as tears sprang to my eyes. Had my father done something to get my mum killed? Was that why they were at the house in the first place? Is that why there was no real investigation? Is that why he whisked me away to this academy and dumped me?

Myles laid his hand on my shoulder. “Are ya okay? Do ya need me to pull over?”

I shook my head, but the tears were falling like rain, and I couldn’t speak as the possibility that my father had caused my mum’s death raced around in my mind. I was gulping for air as I tried to hold back the pain and stuff it down as I’d done so many times before, but it was getting more difficult.

I didn’t notice that Myles stopped the car until he pulled me into a hug. His arms were warm, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I hugged him back.

“I got ya, Snowflake. Whatever it is, I’ve got ya.”

NOVEMBER 9 – WEDNESDAY 5:23 PM

Ren

I looked down at my hand, still linked with Myles. He refused to let go, and like some sort of trick device, the more I tried to pull away, the tighter he held on. He didn’t say anything after my little breakdown, but something had changed. He seemed more serious, and I was pretty sure he thought I’d gone insane and was worried I was planning on jumping out of the moving vehicle.

I finally gave up asking him to let go of my hand, and swallowing my embarrassment, I leaned back and stared out the side window.

All I could think about were the hundreds of conversations with my mum over the last five years. If she knew about my father, she never said a word. I didn’t understand any of this, and it felt like I’d just stepped into an alternate reality. There were two things I knew for sure. First, if I wanted out from under whatever my father had going on, I needed to be more dedicated than ever to my studies. Second, I needed to re-evaluate everyone I’d come into contact with since arriving at the school.

Fear tickled down my spine as I thought about the look Nash had given me this morning. Had he killed before? I thought he looked lethal, but now I didn’t know why he was sent to the school in the first place or what he’d done since. The idea of being surrounded by criminals made me feel like I was floating on an island of my own. Glancing at Myles, I just couldn’t see him dragging some guy off into a dark alley to beat the shit out of him.

“You sure you still want to go shopping? If you don’t and want to go back to the academy, I’ll turn around,” Myles said.

“No, I want to do this. I’m not sure I want to go back there at all.”

Myles looked at me like I’d hurt him. “We’re not all bad people, Ren.” I noticed he used my name and not the nickname. I thought it bothered me, but I was disappointed when he didn’t use it.

“I know, I’m sorry, that was a jerk thing to say. I just…this is a huge shock for me. I had no idea my father was involved in anything criminal. Now every time I hear a siren, I’m going to wonder if it’s coming for me because of something he did.”

“Well, I don’t know what family you’re part of, Davies is not a name I know, but it doesn’t matter. I will look out for you, and I know the guys can be asses, but they will too. Okay?”

I chewed on my lip as I stared at the side of his face. What did looking out for me mean? Would he hide evidence? Lie to teachers or police? Sneak me out in a getaway car? Beat the snot out of someone? Did I even want any of that? Did I even want to know?

“Thanks,” was all I said. There were too many things to unpack to make a logical decision.

“Well, here we are.” Myles pulled into a parking lot of a giant store with a car sized fish on the sign. The parking lot was busy, and we ended up in a far corner taking up two spots so that no one parked too close. Myles squeezed my hand as I reached for the door handle.

“Are we okay?” Myles asked.

“You mean because of what you said you do?”

He nodded, and I stared out the front windshield at the people coming and going from the store. Completely oblivious to the shit I’d just learned. I wished that I could go back and not ask about the nickname. A finger touched my chin, and Myles made me look at him.

“I’d never hurt ya. Please don’t think that or worry about it. I’m not some psycho who loves to hurt people, and you’re the last person I’d ever hurt.”