You're Kind of Gangster

"See you Wednesday?" Ean asks as I open the door. I can't place the tone, but it sounds almost hopeful. Like he's looking forward to this Wednesday.

I look down. "Yeah. Sure. Just don't throw a fit this time, okay?" His gaze shoots away from me. "I promise not to ask about that stuff again. Deal?"

His attention comes back to me, "Deal-"

"Shailene Caron!"

My eyes widen when I place the voice. "Goddammit. Go." I close the door behind me and he leaves after that, speeding down the street.

I turn to face Sam, already dressed in his uniform, about to leave. "Who was that?" he asks, following me inside.

"Just... a friend, Sam. That's it."

"Have I ever met him?" he asks, still trailing behind me. I shrug off my backpack by the stairs.

"How do you even know if it was a him? Look, Sam, I got in a fight with Matt and one of the hockey guys who lives nearby offered to drive me. That's it. I already don't have Matt's trust, don't make me think that I don't have yours too. Please?"

He softens when he hears Matt and I got into a fight. We've been inseparable since we met freshman year, all of our fights petty and forgiven within an hour. “What happened to your nose?” he asks, completely disregarding the fact that he needed to leave five minutes ago.

I shake my head, “Team sports.”

I follow him in to the kitchen as he gathers his things, getting ready to leave. There's a stack of mail on the counter and I scan through it as I wait. I see an envelope at the bottom from an address in Minnesota. The return address doesn't have a name included. I rip it open and find a letter, folded into thirds

"Anything good in there? I haven't checked," Sam asks, turning around. He notices the envelope on the counter. His eyes widen and he practically rips the letter out of my hand before I can unfold it. "Business," he stutters out nervously. "Classified." I shake my head, shocked by his outburst, and go upstairs to start homework, with nothing better to do.

-

The next morning, I wake up at the same time I normally wake up for school, even if it's Saturday. I pick up my phone from my nightstand and start a text to Matt before I remember what happened yesterday. I hold down the backspace button, frowning as I drop my phone on my bed.

I go down the stairs to the deserted first floor, Sam already gone for the day. The fridge is close to bare, so I decide to go out for breakfast. I change into warmer clothes, then grab my keys, wallet and phone. As I'm about to walk out the door, the house phone rings. I close the door with a groan, then go into the living room to answer it.

"Hello?" I ask, annoyed.

"Shai." I can practically hear Ean's smirk in his tone.

"Why do you call me that?" I ask, avoiding the obvious question about how he got this number.

"You said not to call you Lene, so... that's my substitution."

I think about telling him- telling him that Shai was Beau's nickname for me. I think about telling him that it hurts every time he calls me that, but somehow, it's a little comforting. I decide against it, still not ready to face it.

"You still there?" he asks when I don't say anything else. "You aren't going to freak the fuck out about how I got your number?"

I snap out of it when he says that. "How did you get this number?"

He laughs and I can tell he’s enjoying this. "I found the piece of paper I got when I was assigned you as my tutor shoved in the bottom of my backpack. It has some pretty valuable information. For instance, I've actually known your address this whole time. And you gave them your cell number too."

My eyes widen and I race upstairs to my desk where I put the tutoring sheet and see Ean's right. On it, it has his full name, address, and house phone. The cell phone number isn't included, but as I look at the number on the caller ID, it's different from the number displayed on the piece of paper. This must be his cell phone.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"I'm hanging up," I say. He says something else, but the phone is already away from my ear so I don't hear it. I click the off button on the phone, then put it on the table by the steps. I'm able to leave this time, and I can hear the phone ringing again as I shut the door behind me.

Just as I walk out of the neighborhood, my cell phone starts ringing. I groan, but answer it anyway, knowing he's going to keep calling until I answer.

I can't even finish saying hello before he's talking, his voice laced with demeaning sarcasm. "It's rude to not answer the phone, Shai."

"It's rude to continue calling when I said I didn't want to talk anymore."

"I called two more times, and you finally answered, so clearly you do want to talk," he counters.

"Do you want me to hang up again?" I snap.

"No, but you don't want to either."

"Bye, Ean," I say, getting ready to disconnect the call.

"See you Wednesday, Shai," he calls loudly to make sure I hear before I hang up.

-

When I sit down in the diner, my phone begins ringing again. I groan internally, ready to hit the reject button as I look at the caller ID. But, this time, it's Matt. I stare at the screen as the phone rings, answering it on the final ring. "What?" I snap.

I hear him mumble she answered. Then, I hear Jo's voice in the background, "Don't be an ass, Matt."

"Hey, Lene," he finally says.

"What?" I repeat, not ready to get over my grudge.

"I'm sorry, okay? I don't mean to treat you like you can't take care of yourself, I'm just trying to help you if you need it. I guess I stopped caring if you needed it or not when Ean got involved."

"Just stop treating me like I'm a little kid, okay?"

"Yeah. Of course. If anything, I’m the little kid.”

"Good. I'll see you Monday?" I laugh.

"Yeah." I can practically hear his smile.

-

I dial the main number for the police station, and on the third ring, the receptionist, Emily, answers.
"Hey, Emily, is Sam there?"

"Yes. Do you want me to get him for you?" she asks, her voice fading as she looks behind her to Sam's desk.

"No, I'll be there in about twenty minutes. And don't tell him I'm coming."