I Told You, Eli Oxley

Chapter Seventeen

I'm going to take a moment right here to remind you that I hadn't yet forgotten about my dad and his secret account, nor had I forgotten about my plan to get to Colorado next year. In fact, you could say that all the stuff happening with Al, my dad and the 14:21 crew were leading me right where I wanted them to: a way to uncover more of my dad's secrets with the help of 14:21, and maybe even siphon that money off for my own use. Why would I do that? I don't know. Why would my dad lie to me and my family about getting his pay cut and then refuse to take out any student loans for me? Betrayal, I say! If he could do shit like that, then so could I. Sure, it might have been a stretch of my character, against how my parents raised me. But they taught me to always pursue my dreams. They also led me to believe my entire life that I could go anywhere to college, that they would help me attain my goals and dreams no matter what. So I had decided to just continue with the plan. Maybe in a not-so-legitimate way, but then again, I would just be stealing my dad's own money, which was, if he were planning to help me get to college in Colorado, really my money.

What about Al? That's a tough one. I was basically in love with her, and we had kissed, which was a tentative step outside the friend-zone, but we hadn't even talked about it since, which made me believe she regretted doing it and was going to pretend it didn't happen so that we could go back to our normal, ultra-platonic relationship. I decided I was going to give her another couple of days to bring the up the kiss. If she didn't, I would man up and do it. My plan from there was to play it by ear. If she wanted to stay friends, I would pursue going to Colorado, with or without her. If she wanted to take our relationship further, I would first kiss her again. Then I would do what I could to get us both away from Crockett, out of Tennessee. I'm sure there would be enough money in my dad's account for at least one semester at CU for both of us.

And how does Kara fit in? I know you didn't forget about her, did you? You know, the forward one who needed help with studying. Well, at that point, she scared me. It was only a couple of days after I hacked my way into 14:21 when she sent me the first sext. I didn't know what to do or how to respond. What are you supposed to say to something like what she texted (no, you perverts, I won't repeat it)? I was a virgin. Inexperienced. Unsure. Add on me being an introvert, and you've got the perfect storm of "What the hell do I do?" So I responded with the vague "Oh yeah?" But what was this turning into? I will be completely honest, though. I was turned on. Which made me forget about Colorado and Al and my dad all at once.

End of Part One