“I need a job,” Monika blurts out.
Wait, what? I don’t think I heard right.
“A job?” I say, practically choking on my words. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m not.” Monika straightens. She directs her attention to Isa. “I don’t know much about cars, but I can come by after school and on weekends. You won’t even have to pay me much.”
“No,” I tell her.
Monika looks at me with daggers in her eyes. “I can do this.”
Isa looks her up and down, like she’s assessing her abilities just by looking at her clothes. “Do you have any experience working on cars?”
“I know how to drive them,” Monika mumbles, then perks up. “But I promise I’m a fast learner. I need this. Please.”
I can tell Isa is considering it.
Oh, no.
“She can’t work here,” I blurt out. I don’t want her here. It’s dangerous. On top of that, it’ll be torture working with her. She’ll never be mine. How long can I pretend I don’t want to hold her and touch her and kiss her? “Monika has cheerleading practice. She’s obviously under too much stress and isn’t in her right mind if she thinks she can work in a dirty garage. She’s a cheerleader, Isa, not a mechanic.”
Isa pushes me out of the way. “You can’t tell me who I can and can’t hire.”
This is the one place where I can escape thoughts of Monika. With her here…
I point to the white lace top Monika’s wearing. “Look at her, Isa. She’s into lace and designer clothes, not cars and dirt. She’s got diva written all over her. Besides that…” Time to go for the jugular. “She’s got some medical issues.”
“I’m fine,” Monika snaps. “I’m not a diva. And my medical issues aren’t going to be a concern. Don’t listen to him.”
“Why are you doin’ this?” I need distance from her.
Isa seems very entertained by the turn of events. The smirk on her face is an indicator that my life is about to get much more complicated than it already is.
“Because you and the guys said I couldn’t do it, and I’m going to prove you all wrong. Listen,” Monika says to Isa. “If you hire me, I’ll work for free while you train me.”
Isa holds out her hand. “You’ve got yourself a new job.”
Oh, hell.
I just got myself a new problem.
Chapter Twenty-two
MONIKA
Taking a day off school for my infusion treatments sucks, especially when I’d rather be in school. But this weekend is homecoming, and since my entire body has been aching, my doctor wanted me to fit in a treatment before the pain overwhelmed me.
So I’m sitting at the hospital, waiting to get poked and prodded by the nurses.
One of the nurses comes in the room with a cheery smile on her face to match the splattering of cherries on her top. “How are you doing today, Monika?”
“I’d rather be somewhere else,” I tell her.
She laughs heartily as if I just said a joke.
My mom, who’s sitting in the chair next to me, is frowning, and her brows are furrowed. It pains me to see her so worried.
“Mom, go to work. Your meeting with your client is in ten minutes. I’ve been through this a thousand times before.”
Mom settles into the chair while clutching her purse on her lap. “I want to wait until the IV is in. I can be a few minutes late for my meeting,” she says.
The nurse has the needles and tubes set in front of her. “So I hear homecoming is this weekend. Do you have a date and a dress?”
“I have both,” I tell her.
“How exciting!”
I shrug. “I guess.” I don’t tell her that my boyfriend and I broke up but I’m still going with him to keep up appearances.
The nurse tries to make more small talk as she starts the IV. I’ll be here for two hours, which sucks. But afterward the inflammation and pain in my joints will subside, at least for a little while. I’m excited about that.
I’m not excited about the side effects of Remicade, the medicine about to drip into my body. Last time I puked and had a headache for days. I also wanted to sleep, because I felt like I had no energy and couldn’t even keep my eyes open. I hope this time is different.
The nurse puts the IV in my vein. I turn away, but my mom watches as if the medicine will cure her daughter. There is no cure though.
As soon as my mom leaves and the medicine is dripping slowly into my body, I settle back into the big leather recliner at the hospital and close my eyes. Being here makes me feel like I’m incapable of living a normal life without meds. I don’t know how anyone in their right mind would take meds if they didn’t need them.
Like Trey.
Leaning my head back, I imagine I’m anywhere else but here.
“I don’t understand how someone who can hardly move without meds wants to be a mechanic.”
I quickly jerk my eyes open at the sound of Vic Salazar’s voice. He’s standing in front of me, staring at the Remicade drip. Ugh. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured I’d keep you company,” he says, sitting in the chair my mom abandoned a few minutes ago.
“How… I didn’t… you shouldn’t be here, Vic. I told you not to tell anyone about my condition.”
“Relax. I didn’t blab.”