Free What Goes Around by Denene Millner Page A

what her stepfather was talking about.
    â€œSomething like that,” Jason answered vaguely with a slight smile Sydney couldn’t figure out. “You ready to go?” he asked.
    â€œYeah, my shoes are at the door,” Sydney answered as she headed to the front door in search of her black-and-silver Gucci ballet flats.
    â€œCool,” Jason said. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Duke.” He turned and offered his hand again.
    â€œI’m sure,” Altimus responded drily and walked away.

6
LAUREN
    Lauren felt around the bottom of her purse, reaching past her makeup bag, iPod, two notebooks, a few tubes of M.A.C Lipglass, a compact, a couple of purple pens, and a gaggle of school papers, until her fingers hit the pile of coins collected in a jingling lump beneath a piece of stale, half-opened Orbit Bubblemint. She peeled off the quarter that was stuck to the gum and rolled the coin between her fingers. Honestly, she didn’t even know how much it cost to make a local call from a public phone these days; heck, she didn’t even know public pay phones still existed, really. But there was one, right there at the corner of the McDonald’s parking lot, as ancient a relic as Uncle Larry’s house, which she was about to call to warn its owner that she was on her way over. He wouldn’t be happy about it. Never was. But visit she must.Lauren needed some intel, and right about now, Uncle Larry was the only one in the family she could turn to without repercussions or a cuss out.
    Lauren pulled up Uncle Larry’s contact info on her iPhone and punched his number into the sticky keys on the pay phone. As she raised the receiver to her ear, she secretly wished she was afflicted with Sydney’s perpetual (and annoying) habit of carrying antibacterial hand sanitizer and wipes everywhere—Lauren was sure the phone harbored some kind of nasty toxic cootie that would make the side of her face break out into some kind of funky, incurable rash. She held the phone as far away from her ear as she could without ruining her ability to hear. Uncle Larry answered after the second ring.
    â€œHey, Uncle Larry, it’s Lauren,” she said.
    â€œOh, hey, doll, how you been?”
    â€œGood, good,” Lauren said. Cutting to the chase, she quickly added: “You up for some company?”
    â€œUm…”
    The hesitation in Uncle Larry’s voice made Lauren immediately regret asking permission to visit; he was two seconds away from shutting down her drop-by. She was going to have to do some fast talking. “Look, Uncle Larry, I really need to see you. I have some interesting updates for you—things you need to know.”
    â€œLauren, now isn’t a good time, sweetie—” he began.
    â€œI promise, I’ll only be a few minutes,” Lauren said, cutting him off. “I’m right around the corner at the McDonald’s. No one knows I’m here, and I called you from a pay phone so that the call can’t be traced…” Lauren insisted.
    â€œLauren, this isn’t a good time,” Uncle Larry repeated simply.
    â€œLook, Unc, I’m going to just come over to your house for a few minutes…”
    â€œNo!” Uncle Larry shouted. “Don’t come here, okay? I need you to stay where you are.”
    â€œBut I need to see you, Uncle Larry—I really need your help.”
    â€œThen I’ll meet you where you are,” he said. “Just don’t come here. You said you’re at the McDonald’s?”
    â€œYes,” she said simply.
    â€œWhat you driving?”
    â€œA black Saab.”
    â€œI’m on my way. Don’t get out of the car, hear me? Not even to get fries. Just pull around toward the back and sit tight. I’ll be there straightaway.”
    In no time at all, Uncle Larry was easing his black Cadillac into the space next to Lauren’s, which was hemmed in by an oversized Dumpster