I swallow, then say, “Is that a problem?”
“You would need a parent’s signature to open another account, or someone over the age of eighteen who is a family member can sign these forms before you?—”
I bite my lower lip, and the burn behind my eyes swells. I know I’m about to cry, but I must hold it in. This is embarrassing. “But, uh…” I swallow the lump forming in my throat. “Could you please? It’s important.”
Her expression softens, and she leans forward. The “do not place their hands behind here” sticker on the counter is inches from her dark skin. “You don’t want your parents to know you’re opening a new account, do you?” My eyes widen. Her smile falters as she leans back and scans the screen. “If you can get a friend or family member eighteen or older on the phone and agree to the terms and conditions, I’ll open the account for you.”
I take out my phone to find Andy’s number. My thumb hovers over the call button when I breathe in the familiar scentbehind me. I jump and hide my phone from view as Conner leans forward with a smile on his face. “Hey,” he purrs.
I look away bashfully, settling my focus on the woman. “Um…is it okay if I come back tomorrow?”
“I don’t work tomorrow. I’m sorry.” She then looks at Conner. “Are you eighteen?”
A shallow breath escapes my parted lips.
“Yeah, why?” Conner straightens up and steps forward, although I wish for him to take a step back.
I grab his arm and say, “It’s nothing.”
“If you sign these forms, I can open an account for Noya,” the lady says as she pushes the papers over the line.
“Sure,” Conner shrugs.
My hold tightens on Conner, and I pull him away. “It’s fine. Sorry for wasting your time.”
Conner doesn’t resist and walks beside me. It might have been because my grip is firm, and the embarrassment of the lady asking Conner to sign forms burns through my cheeks and peels at my flesh. Yet, I’m grateful he questions nothing, and we walk back to the car.
The ride to work is silent. I’m unsure how to explain myself, and I’m also certain he is turning the gears again and putting all the dots together.
Conner reaches for the volume on “Untravelled Road” by Thousand Foot Krutch and turns it up. As he leans back, I notice a smile on his face. Oh. Maybe I was reading too much into this, and my silence is the reason Conner isn’t talking. It looks like he doesn’t care what happened in the bank or has questions tormenting him.
Perhaps he’s giving me the silence I need.
“I like this song,” I say to break it.
“Yeah? Maybe you should plug your playlist in so I can listen to your music.”
“Maybe,” I say, but internally disagree. Some dark songs are within there that screamsomebody save me, and I’m not ready to express that to Conner…or anyone, really.
“Where did you go while I was at the bank?”
“Just a store around the corner.” He shrugs. “Hey, random question. When is your birthday?”
“Uh…November twenty-second,” I answer. “Why?”
“Ah,” Conner frowns. “It’s still a month away. I thought it would have passed.”
“No, because of where my birthday falls, my parents took me to school in the year after. But why?”
Conner shrugs and says, “I wanted to know.”
I narrow my eyes and say, “Well, when is yours?”
“February twelfth. Are you excited about turning eighteen?”
I shrug.
“Are you going to university?”