Rich Man

"Hey... Ray?" Avery's small voice echoed from the foot of my doorway. I lounged back in the comfortable seat of my desk and turned her way, leaning back in the chair and twiddling my thumbs.

"Yeah?"

"Got a sec? There's something that's kinda... On my mind," she whispered yet again, sheepish eyes darting behind her with a skewed sense of worry that officially had my inquiries on a leash.

I shifted in my seat, fingers intertwined as my head tilted slightly. Eyes affluent with superstition, mouth tight-knit... She's frustrated, concerned. Something's wrong. Fuck. Discomfort ruffled my loose t-shirt, one leg crossing over the other the second I realized that what I could be hearing may or may not have involved Winrey. "Take a seat," I shoved through my teeth, "And tell me what's eating at you."

"It's um," she began, gliding over to my bed and simply leaning on the frame, "I just.... Milan's been acting weird all day and I just heard he and Matty arguing.... And it sounded.... Bad."

"Did you hear what it was about?" I asked slowly, studying her carefully, but her expression remained the same: stirred.

Shaking her head, she replied, "I don't know what I was hearing, but it sounded really bad. At one point Matt shouted something at him, but it was so fast that I couldn't really make anything out clearly. And then their voices got really low... I just..."

"What's bothering you most about it?"

"I think I heard 'Tera' in their muttering..." Her eyes snapped up to meet mine at the drop of her name. Fear twisted in her eyes as she continued, "She can't be back, Ray... I mean I didn't hear a lot but... What if she's back? Me and Lex would never reconsider her friendship after the shit she put everybody through, but... I don't know about the guys. She and Matt were really close friends back then. I know he was super bummed to see her go... I mean what if--"

"Relax, Avery," I stated firmly, "Look even if she was back, what's the worst she could do?" To you guys, anyway...Assuming I was never here.

"I just.... She was the reason tensions here were so high for months before you came along. The only reason we all snapped out of it and started acting like a family again was because at one point, Milan got a new girlfriend for a short time and then you arrived." She stopped for a moment and sighed, fingers sliding against the blackened bed frame. "The argument itself happened almost an hour ago, and when I asked Matt about what happened, he refused to talk about it. Same with Milan. The kid is way off... I'm just scared, man."

"I understand," I whispered in reply before my voice chose to rise, "For now, keep this to yourself. Don't tell Lex, don't talk about it to Matt or Milan. If Matt chooses to open up to you about it, let me know what he says, but do not alarm the others. If this is truly about Tera, then let me handle everyone."

"What are you going to do?"

I smiled. "Wait and see what's really going on. If it is her, then the whole group will work together accordingly to get to the bottom of this. I, myself, can't control people," I felt as though I were lying to this girl's hopeful face, "But what I can do is advise you for now to keep quiet and help me gather answers simply by listening and observing."

---

"Because tonight, kid, I have a lot I need to tell you about. And not a lot of time to work with."

"Okay.... Shoot then," he replied slowly, inquisitively staring at me with an eyebrow arched upward, not so sure what he was in for. It was obvious that he thought my behavior was strange--enough of that was specified by his body language to keep the two of us quiet for most of the ride home. He even prompted me to wait for him in his room, to speak in private.

But I took the time to tell him that I had one last shred of business to take care of, just one little piece of a rather flustering puzzle. And while he didn't understand my taciturn behavior and my shady demeanor, he remained obedient and told me that he would wait. "After all," he said, "I'll be up for awhile anyway. I can sleep in tomorrow."

Blake stirred in the living room, Lex already asleep on the couch. Avery was over at Matt's for the night, where apparently Milan and Krej were having some sort of videogame rematch of the ages that no one really understood but the two of them. Regardless, it was the opportune time for me to chat with Blake. Really, whether everyone was over or not, I was going to have this word with him.

This was my last chance to spare Patrice a burden I wasn't sure he was metaphysically prepared to bear. 'Should I succeed here,' I thought to myself, approaching the shaggy-haired boy filling up a glass of water in the kitchen, 'I won't have to go through with Plan B.'

"We need to have a little chit chat, Blake," I stated coolly, leaning against the counter. This would be difficult. I wasn't permitted to spill the beans about who Tera was, but I had to just somehow, in some way, convince him to help me.

"Yeah? About Tera, let me guess."

"Right on the nose."

He leaned against the counter top and faced me. "So what is there to talk about? I thought you guys had a decent time the other night."

"Save for the fact that she's complete and utter bad news," I replied sharply, "Girls have a way of putting up a front, Blake, and she's put up one for you that you wouldn't believe. I understand that you've known her longer and more intimately than you've ever known me, but you've got to end this."

His eyes narrowed. It took several muscles more than usual to constrain himself from slamming his glass on the counter beside him. Instead, he set it down rather shakily and shook his head. "Not gonna happen. She's not hurting anyone! So yeah, she had a rough patch with the guys, but she's over that. It was the past--"

"Blake, listen to me--"

"No, Captain Psych, you listen. I know you're supposedly some mind-reading genius or whatever, but keep in mind that you can't just come in here and tell me who I can and can't hook up with. I'm not going to marry the girl, but I damn well think I'm really falling for her."

My heart slammed against my ribcage at the thought. Getting out of this would leave Blake hurt indefinitely, but it was far better to save the whole at the expense of one rather than completely devastate the entirety of the group. They would never see each other the same way again. And it would be entirely on Blake, Lex, and I.

I could do nothing more than shake my head, body prepared to tremble. "For the sake of your friends, you can't keep doing this. You remember the turmoil that Tera caused... She was the reason why Milan and Patrice were nearly done with each other only months ago. If she comes back--"

"She's not 'coming back'--"

"You don't know, then," I began quietly, "Blake when you took me to meet her, you do realize you gave her the impression that coming back was an option, right? I may be a new friend and not part of the original problem, but that doesn't mean that the original issue is going to just melt away."

"Why can't we just forget the past and move on?"

"Because no matter how long ago it occurred, the past still dictates the actions and reactions of the future."

"Cut your philosophical bull--"

"Cut your ties to her or come clean."

His once enraged, caged tiger of a facial expression completely fell from his face. "Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm giving you two choices that could save every friendship you've had in this house. It's utilitarianism, Blake. Think about it. One girl potentially severely damaging your ties to several close friends? Or cut her off and never tell anyone what you used to be doing and just let it all fade to black; no one gets hurt except for a brief heartache on your and probably her part as well that'll simply melt away with time."

Shaking his head, he murmured, "You're unbelievable, Ray... Look, I'm not just going to drop her, okay? I really like this girl, no matter what she did."

Closing my eyes tight, I swallowed and turned my back to him. "Then so be it, kid."

---

"Raaay!" Lex's voice erupted from down the hall, "Ray we're heading out for dinner! Come on!"

"Be right there!" I cried back, exchanging my t-shirt for a black babydoll top and my turquoise hoodie. Only an hour after Avery left my room with her interesting news, the entire mob of friends decided that a group dinner was in order. Matt and Blake had apparently chosen a good place they frequented, so it looked like I was going to be dragged along. Which is probably a good thing... All things considered, I need to observe everyone tonight. It's no telling what Winrey did to Milan or Matt... Or what they could say tonight. Whatever happened, I need information and I need to be ready.

The seating arrangements worked well in my favor. We occupied a long, rectangular table. Half of us, myself included, sat on a bench-like booth while the other sat across from us in regular chairs. I positioned myself at the center of the table, Savvy and Nathan to my left and Krej and Vladdo to my right. At my left's head of the table sat Patrice. At my right, Johnny Boychuck. Directly across from me sat Blake. To his left sat Milan and Lex. To his right were Avery and Matt.

I kept a keen eye on Matt in particular, pondering the various ways he could be used. But thanks to a far more lucid understanding, it was obvious to me the many ways that Winrey could manipulate and use him as a route into the group. However, it was her tactics of doing so, and plan to get there, that frightened me. Her ultimate goal was to ruin me. And to do that, she would have to not only weasel her way back in and proceed to destroy all that I had built, but she would also have to reveal me for what I truly was, knowing that they would all believe her.

God damn this has to stop before it can start, I mentally fired, the beads of sweat on the back of my neck beginning to form. There was no plausible way out of the situation should she succeed in even befriending a single one of them. There would be no choice but to admit defeat and plead with her to spare them their naive little world in exchange for my admittance of defeat. And while that seemed to be my last resort of a plan, I knew she would not oblige. She was out for revenge. There was no room for survivors.

About half way through the meal, I gave up trying to figure Matt out. He seemed perfectly fine, like nothing had happened. Even Avery texted me every now and then, reporting the things she would be whispering with Matt, their dark conversation dressed with smiles and flirtatious body language to disguise its true value.

He finally told me... Tera's in town. And she tried to talk to him the other day, I guess. She apologized to him for everything, treated him to a cup of coffee. They even exchanged numbers. Ray, he's seriously considering letting this girl back in, just because she gave him some deep talk about how she's changed and how the past is the past...

The texts dragged on and on from there, but the rest was no mystery. The more I analyzed her, the more predictable Winrey was slowly becoming. But being predictable did not necessarily mean that she could be easily handled. Just because you know you're facing a God of Winter and that you need fire to kill it does not make it any less of a Goliath against your David's sling. I was the fragile, the mortal. Not she.

Patrice and I exchanged several telling glances over the course of a moment. It was as though we were reading each others' thoughts, directing the traffic of one another's eye sight toward the target of our worry. He led me to focus on Blake whereas I led him to focus on Matt.

At that point during dinner, I had made every move I could make; said every word and smiled every smile I could force. There was no shaking the tumultuous worry in my stomach. The time to act was upon me, was upon us.

Who knew that just three days prior to that night, five words would change everything?

"Patrice, my name isn't Roark."