Just Pucking Money (UNI Lions #4) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 39 - Hunger

Lily

The night in the car was horrible. It was uncomfortable, cold and scary. At one point, I'm pretty sure someone was looking into the car. All I could do was hide under the blanket and keep still, praying they'd go away. They did.

I had a class in the morning I couldn't skip, but then I had the chance for an early shift at Lucky's, which was great, because I wasn't supposed to work today. Sil also let me do the extra work, so that was nice.

I'm meeting Ethan in a bit, and I'm really looking forward to it, but at the same time, I'm no longer sure I can get the 1600 dollars I need by Sunday, so I'm eager to pick up another shift.

I was almost relieved when nobody wanted to give up their evening shift. It means I don't have to feel guilty about spending time with Ethan. And I really want to spend the night with him.

My stomach growls and I reach for my water bottle. All I had to eat today were some leftover fries at work and a cereal bar.

I should buy some more food. I know I should. But if I lose that room because I couldn't come up with the money, then I'm going to hate myself.

For the quickest of moments, I hope that Ethan will pay for some food tonight. Then guilt and shame flood me and I tear up at how much I'm using him. I don't want to take advantage of him, I really don't. But if he asks me to pay for dinner again, I might just have to tell him... something.

I don't want him to know how bad it really is. That would be humiliating. Especially if he thinks I'm telling him to get something from him. I wouldn't do that. But maybe I could tell him something about how I'm on a budget.

We agreed I'd come over to the hockey house tonight. Hopefully, he just wants to spend the evening in his room. No matter how tired I am, the thought of his hands on my body makes me perk up.

I'm a couple of minutes early when I park the car outside the hockey house. Ethan's car isn't here, but I know his friends sometimes borrow it, so he could still be home.

I bite my lip and wonder if it would be strange of me to wait in the car. The anti-social part of me wants to pretend to be on a phone call or something until I know he's home.

With a shake of my head, I get out of the car. I have to learn to be braver.

I make sure you can't see the suitcase from outside the car. I have a blanket covering the boxes, so it just looks like it's a bit messy, not like someone is living in the car. Then, I ring the doorbell.

"Oh, hi." It's the woman with the rainbow hair. What was her name? Morgan? She's smiling at me.

"Uh, hey."

"Come on in. It's Lily, right? Are you here to see Ethan?"

I nod. "Yeah, is he here? He invited me." I don't want her to think I'm stalking him or something.

"I'm sure he'll be right back. You can come and wait with us. I'm teaching JD how to cook."

She walks into the house, and I follow cautiously.

JD, that's the hockey captain, I think. He's in the kitchen and nods at me as I sit down by the island.

"So now I add this?" He holds up a bunch of uncooked noodles. "I think they need to fry for a while to get soft."

"You have to cook them first," Morgan says. "Fill a pot with water." She turns to me. "We're making a stir fry."

"I see." There's a bunch of already chopped up ingredients waiting to go into the wok. Looking at it all is making me salivate, and I hope my stomach doesn't start grumbling.