« You’re responsible. I trust you, » he said. « Do this for me, and I’ll make it worth your while. »
I said yes, because yes was what I always said, and because the money would help my mom.
The next night I borrowed my uncle’s car and my only suit and drove to a house much bigger than mine.
Roland met me at the door looking more nervous than any father taking prom pictures should look.
Harper came downstairs beautiful and smiling — and the second she saw my face, the smile fell off of it.
She barely spoke the whole drive.
I decided she was a rich girl embarrassed to be seen with the help, and I stopped trying to fill the silence.
Then we parked outside the venue, and she didn’t get out.
She turned and looked at me the way you look at someone you’ve been studying all night.
« Wait, » she said. « My dad didn’t choose you by accident. And it wasn’t for my sake. »
