Permanent in the Stars

4: Oliver

Both of Aurora's parents are walking towards me. We haven't talked much and I assume they want to hear the crash from my perspective. I walk to meet them in the middle, ready to answer their questions.

"Oliver," her mom says. "Thank you for coming to say hi today, and thank you for calling the police and stopping to help Rory, we didn't get to say that properly last night."

"You don't have to thank me for that Mrs. Bakker."

"Just Bella, please. We didn't just come to thank you though, we have something to ask you. It might sound a little weird but just try to look at it through a worried parent's perspective." I nod my head for her to continue. "We're willing to pay you to keep checking up on her. To become her friend and make sure that she's healing properly." My eyes widen at the request. "I know it sounds silly, but she really doesn't have any friends and it makes us fear for her well being."

"Don't you think Aurora would be upset if she found out?"

"She would never find out. We would obviously keep it our secret. We'll pay you $300 a week until she's fully recovered."

"Then she's fully recovered and I just stop being her friend?"

"If that's what you chose to do. We think you'll want to keep hanging out with her, she is an amazing person," her dad chimes in.

$300 a week sounds very enticing as a college student, but the situation still feels wrong. "I don't know if this is a good idea."

"If you want to stop at any time, you can. Just try it out for a week?" I hate asking my parents to send money to me for groceries and other necessities. My dad has never been into the idea of me pursuing a career in hockey. He thought it was a bad idea to come to Daxton to play because of how much time it would be taking up. That's why I majored in computer science. He begged me to because of the fast increase of technology in our lives. He thought it was more practical than professional sports. It makes it hard to ask him for money because he always likes to rub it in my poor decision in my face; that I wouldn't be asking for money if I had a job. Being on the hockey team, it's hard to find time for a job though. This would be perfect, all I'd have to do is to stop by and talk to a girl for a little. And Aurora is cooler than I expected, I feel like we could have intellectual and philosophical conversations without it being weird. There is definitely a chance for us to be friends and worse ways to make money.

"Ok, we can try it for a week, but I'm not promising anything."

"Thank you," they say with twin sighs of relief.

As I exchange numbers with her dad, Aurora's mom walks back to the hospital room where her daughter lies.

"This isn't the go ahead to mess with my daughter's feelings," her dad warns. "She's a good girl, so if you know that this is only for the money, don't let her get so attached, understood?"

"Understood."

~

When I checked my phone after practice, there was a notification for a $300 online transfer to my bank account. I don't know how this whole thing is supposed to work. If they need me to somehow prove to them that I am actually checking up on their daughter, how am I going to navigate that? It's not like I can just say to Aurora that we need to take a picture together so her parent's know I'm keeping good on my end.

There's also the fear of Aurora finding out. I don't have any loyalties to the girl, but I can imagine it would be a shit position to be in. A college student whose parents have to buy her friends. Not to mention the fear that Aurora doesn't have friends for a reason. She could be a total weirdo for all I know.