Another Lifetime

Chapter Thirty-three:

**** Saturday ****
Monse's POV:
It's test run day so I'm at Money Bunny with Lola, Cesar's at RollerWorld with Ruby and Jasmine, and Jamal and Odessa are at the joint. "Let's do this shit." Lola squeezes my hand and we walk in. Jamal and Cesar put the money in and gave us the code so all we have to do is hand over the paper. "Welcome to Money Bunny how can I help you bitches?" Eby says and I try to not look surprised. "Act like you don't know me." She whispers. "I have a confirmation number." I slide her the paper and my ID. "Thanks... Laura Diaz?" Eby furrows her brow and tilts her head. "Yup." I nod. "Here you go have a nice day or whatever." She gives me the envelope. Once Lola does the same thing we go to the back parking lot to get my car and Eby's waiting for us. "I saw Jamal this morning. Had to explain why it wasn't a good idea for him to transfer the money at the same location you were picking it up at." She explains. "You work here?" Lola asks. "No, I just love standing behind counters so much! Venom knows the manager here and she got me a job." Eby tells us. "So you're helping us?" I narrow my eyes. "Obviously." She laughs. "Switch out your groups everyday but come everyday. I'll put the wrong amount so you can give me a thousand and it'll look like a hundred. This is just for Monse's money though, I can't do this long term." She explains and we both nod. "Yeah, RollerWorld and the Joint are good for the rest." Lola says. Now we're full blown felons... if we get caught.

**** Sunday ****
The joints closed for renovations so we're all at RollerWorld. Me and Lola are wearing the ridiculous uniforms, a crop top that ends at my boobs with a gnome on it and shorts that show way too much. "Our girlfriends are hot as hell." Jamal says and he high-fives Cesar. "Don't be gross." I throw a pen at Jamal. We're switching out bills at the end of the night and going to Money Bunny during our break, but for now we're mainly just hanging out. The guys, Jasmine and Odessa are skating around while we watch the register. "Can I get change for a hundred?" A costumer asks me. "Of course." I reach for his bill and I can see the moment he notices my tattoo. "This might be Prophet territory but the Santos own this place. Get the fuck out before something happens to you." He grabs my wrist and I slam his head on the counter. "Take your damn money." I give him one of the marked bills. "Wow... honestly, that was hot." Lola says and we both start laughing like crazy.

**** Monday ****
"Morning." Lola slides me a white envelope when she sits at the table with me and Cesar. "Thanks, I'll look later." I whisper and put it in my bag. "Ok so today we're going to be-" our teacher starts but Ruby cuts her off. "I'm here!" He runs to our table and kicks his backpack to Cesar. "It's all there. The Joint and Money Bunny." He whispers and Cesar nods. "Oh my God... everyday I wonder why I didn't leave Freeridge after I graduated." The teacher runs her hands over her face.

**** Tuesday ****
"We're gonna get caught." I tell Cesar. "Relax, no one's gonna find out." He moves my hair out of my face. "And if they do?" I laugh. "They won't." He smirks. I pull off my shirt and go back to kissing him. "We're just supposed to wait for Odessa to slide her money under the door." I remind him while he kisses my neck. "You wanna talk? Let's talk about that thing you won't tell me." He says and I roll my eyes. "I like what you have planned better." Why should I ruin the last couple days we have together? I lean back in and he grabs my ass. "Fuck." I say under my breath. "Oh there's the money." I get off his lap when I notice the envelope. "Oh my fucking God!" I try not to scream. "What's wrong?" He stands behind me. "Dude there's like five grand." I hold up the six envelopes she slid under the door.
"Is that from everybody?" He asks and I nod. "Yeah, besides what I got from Money Bunny this morning." I say. "Thank God for Eby." He laughs.

**** Wednesday ****
"Eighteen grand... are we doing this too fast?" I ask Cesar. "No but you should probably put that away." He says when someone knocks on the front door. "Ok." I pick up all my money and put it in the safe. When I get back, my dad's there. "lil Spooky said you missed me. Good to know you didn't forget my old ass." My dad laughs and I run up to him. "Cesar, I... thank you." I don't let go of my dad and I cry a little. "What am I gonna do without you?" My dad puts his hand on the back of my head. "Wait, you know?" I ask. "I told him." Cesar explains. "I'm so sorry, I should've you." I wipe my eyes. "I just want you to be safe, and happy, and away from all this shit. Being a Prophet was my problem I shouldn't have put that on you." My dad apologizes.

**** Thursday ****
I buy my bus ticket to San Bernardino but I don't tell anyone where I'm going. Cesar and Spooky are playing with Kyrie and it's breaking my heart. I don't wanna go but I have to.

**** Friday ****
"I can't believe we only have ten hours until you're gone." Cesar says while we lay in his bed. "We'll be ok. I'll call you the second I get where I'm going." I kiss him and he smiles. "Yeah but we can't do that over the phone." He laughs. I lay my head on his chest and he rubs my back. "I love you, Monse." Cesar tells me. When I don't respond I can feel his mood change. "You said you had to tell me something... it wasn't that, was it?" He asks. "I'm so sorry." I say and he sits up. "This might be our last few hours together." He reminds me. "It's not that I don't feel it, Cesar. I just don't think I should say it yet." I say and he shakes his head. "So what'd you have to tell me? You wanna break up or something?" He sounds pissed off and I panic. "Yes." I regret it the second I say it.