Page 46 of The Tryout

“I mean, I get that you can go drop a fat wad of cash on a car and still have plenty left over for a couch and a TV and whatever the fuck else you have over there, but not all of us can do that, Avery.”

His breath is coming fast now, his face still red and full of anger.

“But…but I don’t expect you to. I don’t need you to pay for the couch, or the car, or the gas. I already told you that.”

If anything, he gets angrier, struggling for words while looking very much like he’d like to hit me.

“I’m not your fucking charity case, Avery!”

And with that, he marches down the hall, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

What the fuck was that?

For a moment, I think of following him, barging into his room and demanding an explanation. But thinking of the look on his face, I suspect all that will get me is punched.

Pulling out my phone, I pull up my messages.

Avery Lawson 5:43 PM

I’m gonna go on a walk. Can we try again in an hour?

After a few seconds, the text registers as read, but I don’t get a response.

Welp, I guess we’ll see.

I decide to return the dolly to the parking garage, hoping that along the way I’ll figure out what the hell is up Finn’s ass. But I don’t, and it doesn’t come to me as I head down to the river walk, either. Finally, I decide to call the person I think most likely to have the answer – well, aside from Finn.

“Hey, kid. Nice car.”

“Thanks, Pops. Am I a rich asshole?”

There’s a silence on the other end of the line, followed by Pops whispering to his assistant to hold any calls.

“What makes you ask that?”

I sigh out the breath I’ve been holding since Finn started yelling at me.

“That’s not a no.”

He laughs.

“No, it’s not a no. It’s not a yes, either. What’s going on?”

“Finn wanted us to talk this afternoon, but when I got home, he just started yelling at me about how much money I have and how he’s not my charity case.”

The hum on the other end tells me that, sure enough, Pops understands more than me.

“You bought the car today, yeah?”

“Yeah, and he was trying to offer to pay for gas or whatever, but like, obviously I’m not going to say yes to that. I know what he’s making.”

“Aren’t you making pretty much the same amount?”

Huh. I guess I am.

“Yeah, but…but that’s different.”

“How?”