The summer of 2017 was going to be
her
summer. The summer when everything changed, when Molly Sue Woodbridge went from being mousy and moderately boring to the hottest girl in town. The stars had aligned perfectly for Molly. She turned 18 in April and, with some spending money accrued from her retail job, she was already imagining the fabulous news clothes and haircut they would buy her. And Molly was right; her life was about to change.
**********
"You're supposed to be here to take me to the grocery store!" Molly complained to her brother Jason, blowing an ill-conceived fringe of bangs out of her eyes for the 300th time that day and pressing her cell against her flushed face. "That was the point of Mom and Dad letting you stay rent free and paying your car insurance."
"Listen, I'm really sorry," he replied, his voice jerking across the poor connection. "Val and I have plans for the weekend. I told her I would be here. Can't you just be cool about this? Having a house all to yourself is the dream of every 18-year-old on earth, for fucks' sake."
"Fine! Disappear like you always do. I'll take the bus tomorrow and spend 3 hours doing an errand that should take 30 minutes. But don't think I'm going to lie for you when I talk to Mom tomorrow night," Molly barked, hanging up the phone.
Molly sucked in a gasp of air and tried to rein in her temper. If her brother had simply texted her earlier, she could've stopped on her way back from her waitressing gig. Now the buses had stopped running for the night, and she didn't want to waste her meager savings on an Uber ride. She resigned herself to a hungry evening.
As she slumped her way upstairs on the way to a much needed shower, her brother's comment about having the house to herself floated back to her. She would have the munchies all night, but maybe she could distract herself.
**********
Michael Randall answered his buzzing phone without glancing away from the road to see who was calling and immediately regretted it.
"Hey, Mikey! How you doin', man?" Jason the jerk-off chirped at him.
"Shit. What the fuck do you want? I told you not to call me anymore," he shot back. Jason was a fair weather friend at best these days, more interested in keeping up with his university crowd than in spending time with old high school pals. Michael grew tired of doling out favors six months ago, when Jason had asked him to cover yet another check at the local bar and never paid him back. Thirteen years of friendship gone over a $150 tab.
"Don't hang up! Don't--it's--it's for Molly! Okay? I fucked up."
Michael pulled over.
How did Jason do it?