Never Too Late

Chapter Thirty Two

"Do you think Mom and Dad are going to know you're still sneaking out?" Luke said before taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Not if they find out you smoke first," Johan chuckled. They were hanging out at the back of the school and just passing time. Johan planned on visiting his old friends later and hoped Luke would cover for him again.

"You know, you should be grateful! What would you do without me!?" Luke jeered his brother before putting out his cigarette.

"Yeah, yeah," Johan said mildly annoyed by him.

"Just to think, you're going through all this effort just to meet up with your girl for kisses and hugs." Luke teased him.

"Even more than that," Johan said, picking up his backpack.

"Wait do you mean you've actually..." Luke said stunned as he realized that his brother had more experience in some things than he was.

"Just let them know I stayed back studying alright?" He said choosing to ignore his brother's reaction and walking off. With graduation a month and a few days away, he knew he would be leaving soon and he wanted to spend time with his friends before that happened.

Going to the parking lot, he got into his car and peeled out of school, but right as he was going down the road, he saw Ericka. She noticed him too and waved to him and he pulled over to talk with her.

"It's pretty cool that you can finally drive huh?" She mentioned to him but her eyes told of deeper thoughts.

"Not going to practice today?" Johan teased and she smiled sadly.

"No, not today." The playful smirk he had on his face faded as he realized how crestfallen she was. "I'm tired."

"Do you want me to drop you off at home?" He offered. He wanted to ask what happened and why she suddenly seemed so melancholic but he remained silent.

"In case you're wondering, I decided to start taking your advice." She said capturing his face in her gaze for a moment. "You know, graduation is coming up and I still don't really know what I want so I need time to think."

"Then do that," he said looking back to the road as he felt her eyes on him again. "I've decided to apply to Oxford University. I want to study chemical engineering."

"Wow, when did you decide this!?" She asked, surprised by his choice of career.

"About a week ago." He said, remembering when he had discussed it with his parents.

"I'm happy to hear that, you've come a long way since joining our school." She smiled at him.

"Yeah, while in foster care I would've never believed it was possible." He said with a smile tracing his lips.

"You were always going to excel in life. Some things are destiny." Ericka told him and his smile deepened.

"Thanks," He couldn't help thinking what a pure heart she had. Hopefully, with college putting a distance between them, he would finally move on from her.

"Oxford is pretty far away, though," she noted, and he nodded.

"Yeah, but I think it'll be worth it." He told her right as he pulled into her driveway.

"I'm glad you found what you wanted," she said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the car door. "I only wish we had more time to hang out."

***
"I win again! Pay up!" Johan laughed as he held out his palm and collected a couple of dollars from his friends.

"You know, this is evil!" His friend Tony remarked. "I bet you have money coming out of your ears but you still want to rob the poor and needy!"

"I won fair and square," Johan reminded him as he counted the money he had.

"I'm convinced you're cheating!" His other friend Alex protested. "Come on, six times in a row!"

"I'm no cheater. Just admit that you guys are bad at cards." Johan laughed. "Luckily, I'm feeling generous today, so you two can have your money back."

He hadn't seen them in a while and hanging out again, he felt as if he was reliving his foster care days, albeit the good ones.

"So how's rich life been treating you?" Tony asked but Johan shrugged.

"Come on Johan, you have to admit you got pretty lucky!" Alex said as he took a sip from an alcohol flask he had.

Johan nodded. He was thankful for his family and all the opportunities he was given, but a part of him still felt like it was stuck in foster care. Those years felt like a shadow chasing him, and at any moment, he would wake up and his current life would be a dream.

"So what are you doing later?" Tony asked as he took a sip of his beer.

"I'm going to hang with Liz," Johan said shuffling a deck of cards. He looked forward to seeing her because he simply enjoyed being with her. Not all of their encounters were sexual and sometimes they would just lie together and share their feelings.  Their companionship was not love, just necessity, but it made him happy.

"Liz," Alex smirked. "You gotta be careful with her, she's a liar."

Johan ignored him and handed out the cards he'd shuffled.

"I don't care what you guys think. As a matter of fact, I'm inviting her over for dinner tomorrow." Johan said defiantly. He'd promised to introduce her to his family earlier and now seemed like just as good of a time.

"Ugh Johan, Liz isn't the type of girl you bring home to Mom and Dad," Tony said skeptically.

"I don't have a problem, so neither should you," Johan said as he grew more upset by the way his friends were speaking about Liz. "I saw Asher about a month ago, he looks like he's been through hell. I haven't been able to contact him again since. Have any of you talked to him recently?" Johan said, deciding to change the subject.

Tony and Alex exchanged worried glances before looking back at Johan.

"You don't wanna be in contact with him," Alex began.

"Also, you shouldn't tell anyone you know him or mention his name anymore," Tony said cautiously.

"What? Why?" Johan said caught off guard by their words.

"I heard Asher got himself mixed up with some really bad people and I'm not talking about your everyday, run of the mill guys," Alex revealed. "They're one of the worst gangs around, and their members work for people in high-up places."

"Are you sure!?" Johan asked shocked and unconvinced. "Maybe you guys heard wrong."

Alex and Tony shook their heads sadly.
"Just heed our advice, stay away from him, he's trouble." Tony finally told him.