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"No." Foster holds his arms out and flexes his biceps like he's stretching and preparing to fight.
"See? He's after money. He cased the joint back then. He's probably been planning this a long time. Get close to the daughter. Do some business with the son. Get an invite to Sunday dinner." Donnie points at Foster.
I can't believe it but it makes sense. Foster isn't denying being the waiter, the boy in the pool I just told him about.
"You didn't say anything?" I say to Foster's back. "I talked about the boy in the pool and you didn't say anything?"
He looks back at me over his shoulder and the sadness in his eyes breaks my heart. "Not my brightest moment."
I'm confused. I liked Foster so much. He seemed so genuine. I thought his rough exterior was just a facade. Could he really be manipulating me to get to my dad? He'd asked a few questions, but he didn't seem to be prying.
But he's delivering drugs for Donnie? And he didn't tell me?
I'm hurt. I'm hurt he didn't trust me with the truth.
I'm angry he had connections with my family behind my back and didn't tell me. I thought he was separate from that. I thought I could trust him, but I can't. He's just like all the other guys I've dated. They always have ulterior motives. It doesn't matter. Summer is over anyway. It was just a fantasy to be with Foster. And now he's not who I thought he was at all.
"I think you should leave now, Foster."
Pain and regret fills his eyes and his palms relax. He's not fighting anymore. Now he's fighting the pain I'm inflicting. Maybe he expected me to accept all this, but how can I? This whole thing with him wasn't what I thought. We weren't connecting. He's not a fantastic person. Even if he was beinghimself, his motives were bad. He wanted to get something from me.
My dad spends so much time protecting me physically but this guy infiltrated my barriers and now I'm scared. My dad couldn't protect me from him or my own stupidity.
"Mila…"
"Just go, Foster. I can't trust you anymore."
"I'm—"
"It's too late now. You had plenty of chances to tell me the truth and you didn't. So just go. Goodbye."
He gazes at me for a while longer, hope in his eyes I'll change my mind. The bitter regret I see there isn't because he's losing me. It's because he got caught trying to work his way into my family's business. He's exactly the kind of man my mom warned me about before she died.
Make sure he's genuine, Mila.Make sure he is who he says he is and he won't change for nothing.Because if you tie yourself to a man who fools you into something, you're stuck there forever. There's no way out.
He stares at me with those haunting moss-green eyes, but I'm not changing my mind. I cross my arms and plant my feet.
"Fine," he spits out.
Oh yeah, he's angry at me for not giving him a chance. Too late. No second chances. He looks from my eyes down to my legs and up again. "Watch out for coffee tables."
I hold my breath and try to stop my imploding heart as he turns and walks down the sidewalk next to the pool. The same sidewalk where he fought with Donnie when I was fifteen. He swipes up his shirt, steps out the door of the solarium, looks through the window like he did the night of the hurricane, and then he's gone.
"You don't need that guy," Renzo says as he walks closer to me. I hold up my hand because I don't want him near me.
"I'm going to get dressed. Please forget this happened and don't tell my Dad. Agreed?"
Donnie and Renzo both nod. I know they won't tell because they don't want me to get a beating again.
I don't say anything as I turn and march up the stairs to my bedroom.
I haven't taken the sunflower fairy lights down yet. Maybe somewhere deep inside I was hoping Foster and I could kiss again in my room one last time.
I turn the lights on and stare at my bed. We would have been making out right now if Donnie hadn't come home.
This sucks. Why does my life suck so bad? Why can't I have anything that's mine and safe and good?
With several strong tugs, the fairy lights crash to the ground.
