I keep glaring at him.
“How about one million? That’s more than enough.”
“Nope. You’re getting five.”
We argue about it some more, but he finally takes it.
Now that I’ve settled that issue, on to the next; the meeting to decide Garret’s fate. I already know what the outcome will be and now I just want it over with so I can attempt to move on.
Monday comes and goes and I don’t hear a word about what happened. I didn’t expect that I would. The meeting was at night and Garret’s dad said that afterward, a vote would be taken and the outcome would be discussed by a smaller group of higher level members. That wouldn’t happen until Tuesday. After that, Garret and his dad would be called in for a private meeting in which they would be told the final decision before it was announced to the entire organization.
If they decide to go ahead with their plan, Garret will have to spend the rest of the week learning what will happen next. They’ll start training him on the basics of being a politician, like what he can and can’t say in public, how he should dress, who he’ll be dating. He won’t be allowed to call anyone. Even if he could, the members think Garret broke up with me months ago, so he couldn’t call me anyway, which is why we said our goodbyes in the woods.
All day Tuesday I wait to hear the decision. The plan was for Pearce to call and tell me but he never said when he’d call. And he said if he was unable to call, he’d send me an email or a text. But I haven’t received anything.
Even though I’m completely on edge I try to act normal in front of Frank and Ryan, who know nothing about what’s going on. While I’m a nervous wreck, Frank is more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. He’s always had to worry about money and now he doesn’t have to.
I love that I’m able to do this for him. He can rest and take care of his health and not worry about finding freelance work. And Ryan can quit his job and focus on school. Frank isn’t going to tell Ryan about the money until he has it in his own account, which he will once I figure out how to access the money in my trust fund.
Around 11 I go to bed realizing that I’m not going to hear from Garret’s dad today. There must be some delay. Either that or his dad doesn’t want to have to tell me the bad news. But I wish he’d just call and get it over with.
I can’t sleep. I toss and turn, then check the clock and repeat the process every couple minutes.
Then at 12:14, my phone rings. I don’t recognize the number but I answer it anyway.
“Hello?”
“Jade, it’s me.”
My heart stops when I hear his voice. Why is he calling me? His dad was supposed to call me, not him. What does this mean? He doesn’t sound happy or excited. He doesn’t really sound like anything other than tired.
“Garret?” I shove the covers off me and stand up. “Is it really you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“So they’re allowing you to call me? Why? Did they give you one last phone call to say goodbye?”
He’s quiet and I get a sick feeling in my stomach as I sink back down on the bed. I’m not prepared for this goodbye. I can’t do this again. I thought our goodbye in the woods was the last one, and now he’s calling me to say one last final goodbye? Why is he doing this to me? I don’t even know what to say to him. I finally hear his voice again.
“I’m not saying goodbye. And this isn’t our last phone call.”
“What are you talking about? What does that mean?”
“They let me go.”
“Don’t joke about this, Garret. I swear I’ll—I don’t know what I’ll do to you, but something really bad for playing this sick joke on me.”
“I’m serious. The plan wasn’t approved. They didn’t have enough votes for it to pass.” Now he sounds happy. Why the hell didn’t he sound that way when I answered the phone? I was having a freaking panic attack here!
“Wait. So it’s over?”
“It’s over.”
“But how? What did—”
“How was the flight to Des Moines?”
His sudden topic change is a sign that he can’t talk about what happened over the phone. Someone might be listening. I don’t know who or why, but in Garret’s crazy world there’s always a possibility someone’s listening.
