I was in deep shit. I’d known that the moment he took an interest in me. I understood why he bothered with me. I was easy prey for a guy like him. I had no choice but to obey him. I was weak, and I needed help...

And that was why he made the deal with me...!

I was so incredibly stupid!

“This isn’t happening...” I was almost hyperventilating already.

Deon drove off, but I knew he’d be watching me. He’d beat me up if I tried to run away. I just stood there for a minute, shivering and fighting back my urge to start crying again. If I got caught with a bag full of drugs, my whole life would be ruined!

I trusted the wrong person again. Why did all these things keep happening to me?

I noticed people were staring at me, so I started walking toward the intersection where the guy was supposed to meet me. I wished really hard the guy wouldn’t show up. My whole life depended on it. I kept scanning my surroundings for anything unusual while trying not to look suspicious at the same time. I was sure there were cops hiding behind every corner, watching me...

I could feel a thousand eyes watching my every move...

And then I arrived at the intersection. There was an empty space on the side of the street, and I reluctantly made my way closer to it. My whole body was stiff with fear, and I felt like I had a neon sign above me, letting everyone know I was doing something very wrong.

Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like years. I broke into a sweat, and it was getting hard to breathe. The streets were quiet without a lot of people around, but I still felt claustrophobic. Every loud noise made me jump, and I nearly ran when I heard sirens somewhere deeper in the city. They were moving away from me, so I stayed put.

But to be honest... I was more afraid of Deon than of getting caught. If I did get caught, I could always tell the cops that I was forced to do it. Maybe they would understand me, or at least be gentle with me if I told them about Deon.

And then I saw it. The black Mercedes.

I stood frozen to my spot, unable to breathe while the car came to a halt next to me, and the driver opened his window. I readied myself to get face-to-face with a crime-hardened gangster...

“Are you Theo?”

I got a little confused when the middle-aged man spoke my name, but stepped closer. He didn’t look like a criminal at all. He was around his forties; he had thin, pale-brown hair and kind eyes, and he was wearing khaki pants and a polo shirt with blue and white stripes on it. He honestly looked like a soccer dad.

“Y-yes,” I hesitantly admitted when he raised his eyebrows at me.

“Here’s the bag,” he said and gave me a black backpack. “You’ll take this straight to him, right?”

“Y-yes, sir,” I said, and took the bag.

“Okay, good. Tell him I said hi,” the man said. “I need to hurry now. Thanks for taking care of this.”

“N-no problem,” I stammered and tried to smile to look more natural.

The man nodded and closed the window before he drove off. I stared after him for a moment and then turned my attention to the bag. It was heavy, and so full that the zipper looked like it was about to break at any second.

A bag full of drugs.

When I heaved it up on my shoulder, I could hear a light sound of pills rattling inside their bottles, and I gulped again. When I made my way to the coffee shop, I tried to keep my steps light, so the drugs wouldn’t make any noise. I must’ve looked weird because people seemed to stare at me. Or maybe they knew what I was doing? Did I look like a criminal already?

Once I reached the door of the coffee shop, my heart felt like it was exploding from anxiety and fear. I stepped inside, expecting to get tackled by a bunch of cops, but the small cafe had only a few customers. One of them was Deon, sipping his coffee. I walked straight to him and tossed the bag at his feet.

“Our deal is off,” I said shakily.

I didn’t care how he’d react. I didn’t care if he beat me to death. I never wanted to do that ever again, and I definitely did not want to have any part in his illegal business.

“Did he suspect anything?” Deon asked, taking the bag.

“He didn’t – what?” I asked. “Why would he suspect anything?”

“Oh... right...” Deon smirked and put the bag away. “I forgot to tell you he’s my dad.”

“Your... what?” I asked in great confusion.

“Yeah, I spent the weekend at his place, but I forgot my bag there,” he explained and shrugged all too casually. “There’s books I need for school.”

“You... What?” I asked again. I was having a hard time understanding what he was talking about. “You said there were drugs! I heard them!”

“Keep your voice down, or people will think we’re doing something illegal,” Deon said, nudging his head toward the other customers. “There are drugs in the bag,” he continued and lifted the bag onto the seat next to his and opened it.

There were clothes and schoolbooks in the bag! Deon shoved his hand deeper inside it, pulled a white bottle of pills from it, and tossed it to me.

“These are... antihistamines?” I said with a frown.

“Yeah. My dad has cats, but I’m allergic to them,” Deon said. “Sit down. They’ll bring your ice cream soon.”

I dropped down onto the empty seat, still staring at the bottle of pills.

“You... You played me!” I said and looked up at him. “I thought... I thought...! I was scared shitless!”

“The look on your face was priceless,” Deon said and chuckled. “Deserves you right for thinking I could actually do that to someone. Do I look like a criminal to you?”

I stared at his bad boy looks in disbelief. “Yes!”

“That hurt my feelings,” Deon said with a serious look in his eyes.

“Oh... Sorry...” I muttered, feeling bad about it.

“I’m just kidding,” he said, now laughing. “I don’t give a shit what you think of me.”

I closed my eyes and bit my tongue in frustration. “You are horrible. You know that?”

“Like I care,” he said with a wide grin.

Oh, he was so damn proud of himself...

I shook my head and opened my eyes just in time to see the waitress walking to us with a big bowl of ice cream in her hands. She placed it in front of me and gave Deon a smile before walking away.

I stared at the dessert. Deon had ordered me three big scoops of strawberry ice cream, real strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate chips. It was the biggest dessert I’d ever seen! Part of me wanted to thank Deon for buying it for me, but a bigger part was still pissed at him.

“Why couldn’t you just go get the damn bag yourself?” I asked, grabbing the spoon.

“Because he thinks I’m at school. He’d throw a fit if he found out I skipped classes again, and then he’d call my mom, and she would throw another fit and ground me for the rest of my life,” Deon explained.

“Why didn’t you go get it after school?” I asked in annoyance.

“Because he’s leaving for a week-long seminar,” Deon said. “He did offer to bring it to my mom’s, but this was much funnier.”

“You’re just... You’re so horrible,” I mumbled and sighed.

“You have to admit I got you really good,” he said with a chuckle. “I should be an actor.”

“Definitely,” I snapped sarcastically.

He just laughed and took a sip of his coffee. We were silent while I ate my reward. It tasted really good, and I did start to feel better. And honestly... I should’ve seen it coming... Deon was a prankster, not a criminal. I’d been too eager to think badly of him just because people kept spreading mean rumors about him. I really wasn’t any better than the rest of them...

“So... Your parents are divorced?” I asked.

“Yeah. They are still friends though,” Deon explained. “They didn’t want to force their relationship, and I get that. And they’re both happier now.”

Even though he talked like it didn’t bother him, I could tell it actually did bother him...

“At least they’re both alive,” I muttered.

“Yeah. Dad lives close by, so I get to see him often. I’ve got nothing to complain about,” he said slowly, then hesitated before he dared to speak again. “I heard your mom passed away.”

“It was years ago,” I murmured. “Five days before my birthday...”

“Now that’s just shitty,” Deon said empathetically.

I guess that was his way of saying his condolences. I shrugged and continued eating my ice cream. I didn’t feel like talking about my mom, so I tried to think of something else to say.

“That was a good prank,” I admitted.

“That’s what I thought,” he said with a chuckle.

“Jerk,” I muttered, trying to hide my smile from him.

“Bitch,” he said, laughing.

It was funny how a guy who hated everyone could so easily make me feel better...

I wasn’t even that upset about Beau anymore. I was still hurt by his stunt, but I felt better, and that was because of Deon. Maybe we were friends. At least I wanted to believe so. I really wanted to smack the guy for making me believe I was doing something illegal, but I had to admit that being around him made me feel stronger – and better about myself.