He had; he was a whole lot braver than I was, that’s for sure. I knew the nice thing to do would be to tell him that I might be starting to have feelings for him too, to tell him that he hadn’t done all this for nothing, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to follow through on what could come after that. I was too worried about the whole Blocked Sender situation to think about what I could finally acknowledge was my own stupid crush. “I really am sorry about all this,” I said instead, hoping he understood at least some of what I was trying to tell him.
“I wish you guys had just talked to me,” he said. “But those text messages are scary. I can’t really blame you for not telling me.”
“If it helps, it was partly because we didn’t want to get you in trouble,” I said, which was sort of true.
“Too late for that now. But maybe I can fix this. I’ll start selling again, and then maybe this Blocked Sender person will leave us both alone.”
“No way,” I said. “You didn’t want to get into this in the first place, and now you’re out. Staying out is good. Besides, do you really think Blocked Sender is going to drop all this, just because he’s got you back? He’s got another person on the hook now.”
“He’ll probably just come back to me anyway. Why settle for just one dealer when he can have two? Or more?”
He was right. Once Blocked Sender had us, there was no reason for him to let us go. “What are we going to do? At least you have the option of just getting back in if he forces you to. I’ve been given this mission and I’m not going to be able to complete it.” I didn’t want to remind him that it was because I’d failed to steal from him.
“Will this help?” He reached behind him and got his wallet out of his back pocket. Inside, folded up into a tiny square that he opened like a paper flower, was a prescription. For Novalert. Already signed and everything.
Relief swept over me, followed by guilt, followed by the knowledge that he’d brought it with him, even before he’d heard what I had to say. He was a better person than I’d given him credit for, and a much better person than I was. But I knew I shouldn’t take it. “You said you weren’t going to do that anymore.”
“I’m not doing for it myself,” he said. “I’m doing it to help you. You’re right that even if I started selling again, it’s no guarantee that this Blocked Sender person would leave you alone, and I don’t want you to have to take the risk of finding out what happens if you don’t do what he says.”
I looked at the prescription, with its wrinkles from where he’d folded it. Now I actually had to go through with it, whatever it was. “I’m scared.”
“You’d be foolish if you weren’t,” he said. “How about we resolve to find a way out of this, somehow? Make it be over?”
“Without us getting in trouble?” I asked. “Without our secrets getting out?”
“If there’s a way,” he said. “If there’s a way, we’ll find it.”
He reached over and squeezed my hand, like I’d wanted to before, and I really did feel better.
Until the next day.
Time to fill that prescription. Walmart, Redwood City, between 1 and 5. Await further instructions.
And one more text, after that.
Tell no one. Or face the consequences.
16.
“What am I going to do?” I asked. My voice sounded whiny, even to me. As soon as I saw the text, there was no question I’d ignore the part about not telling anyone; it was much too late for that. I’d called Alex and she came over right away. She’d never been to my house before, but we needed a quiet place, and her parents were home while mine, as usual, were working. We sat in the living room while I drank cup after cup of coffee as if I needed it to keep me alive.
“I don’t see what choice you have. You do what the text says. Unless you’ve come up with some way to get around it.”
“I’m not sure I can go through with this,” I said. “Getting the pills just for me was one thing, but this is a whole other level of trouble.”
“I understand,” she said. “But you need to think through what will happen if you don’t do it. Get out your logic brain and let’s figure it out.”
I sat up straight, or as straight as the couch cushions would let me. “Okay. We’ve only seen Blocked Sender threaten people; we’ve never seen him come after someone who didn’t do what he said. Although . . .” I told her about my conversation with Raj, how he’d stopped doing what Blocked Sender asked and how he assumed that was what had sent Blocked Sender to me. “I hope it’s okay that I’m telling you—Raj doesn’t know you’re involved too yet, right?”
“No, but he should. We should get him over here.” She texted him and we waited for him to respond.
Be there in ten.
I had a panicky moment when I realized I was practically still in pajamas, with only enough makeup to cover the monster, but I had to let it go. There were more important things to worry about at the moment.
“Do you think there’s a chance Blocked Sender would let it go if I just didn’t do it?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “But if Raj bowing out sent Blocked Sender to you, then it only makes sense that the least bad thing that could happen would be Blocked Sender picking on someone else.”