When we got there, Greg left me in the car with it running—not that that helped. It only made the car hotter. I couldn’t stand the heat. Sweat covered my skin, slid down my spine. I needed air, so I got out and rested my back against the passenger-side door and fanned myself, staring across the street at the Dollar Dayz Inn.

Man, I can’t believe anyone would stay in that dump, I thought, my stomach churning.

Next thing I know, Greg runs out, hollering for me to get my ass in the car.

I was so scared, I had trouble opening the door. My hands were all slick and sweaty. He barely even waited for me to get my butt on the seat before peeling out of the parking lot. My door was still partially open.

He was like, “Why the fuck did you get outta the car?”

Seriously, that’s what he said. No apology or anything.

I was, like, “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to.”

He made some comment about me being a bad partner in crime.

That’s when it hit me. What he’d done. I must have looked shocked when I asked if he stole the cigarettes, because he started laughing then. Said he’d never met anyone as innocent as me. I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not.

I wondered if Millie knew what he planned to do. I hoped not.

When we got back to the apartment, I hurried inside ready to ask her about it. But the question died on my lips, startled by what I saw. She and Mitch on the couch, making out. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.

His hands slid up her back, his fingers playing over her spine as if he was drawing pictures. The way we did. I felt sick. They didn’t even see us. Just kept kissing, their lips plastered together in a sickening way.

It wasn’t until Greg slammed the door behind us that they looked up, dazed. Lipstick trailed up Millie’s cheek. Her hair was messy, tangled. Her eyes were wide. Apologetic.

I thought she would tell me it was a one-time thing. A terrible error in judgment. No way did she want to be with this guy. She was high. They were alone. I suppose I could understand that.

But that wasn’t the case.

This had been going on for a while. They’d just been keeping it a secret.

Now it all made sense. How come she always had a stash of weed and cigarettes. He bought them for her because they were together.

In a relationship.

Boyfriend/girlfriend.

I felt disgusted. Betrayed.