“Your problem is not my problem.” My best friend, Aaron, yells over his shoulder as he continues to stock the shelves of his bookstore. I pick up my pace to keep up with him as I try to convince him to help me.
“But you owe me.” I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the reaction that I am about to receive. “I’m calling in my favor.”
He whips around, throwing his remaining books on a nearby table haphazardly. “You can’t call in your favor for this.” I can’t believe you’re asking this right now or at all. You let me stay at your place for 3 months so I could hide from the guild and in return,” he pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes, “you’re asking me to help you kill, our boss, the person that essentially controls our futures, and one of the most feared and protected people in the region. Please tell me how that is a fair trade for favors.”
I roll my eyes and give him an annoyed look. He stares right back, waiting for me to break the silence first. I give in defeated, “I know that it’s a lot to ask, don’t give me that look, but you know we would all be better off.” He continues to give me a withering glare.
I slump onto a nearby couch and put my head in my hands, knowing that what I was asking of him was stupid and reckless. I say more to myself than to him, “I just want to be free of him.” His face softens and he comes to sit next to me.
“I know you do, we both want the same thing.” I turn to look up at him just as a lightbulb seems to go off in his head.
He turns to me and says “We should run away. Somewhere far. Maybe even go across the ocean.” His voice gradually gets more excited and he looks so happy that I don’t want to burst his bubble.
I sigh and tell him, “How would we be able to afford that? Actually, that wouldn’t even be our biggest issue. Our biggest issue would be not getting caught before we even get on the ship.” The light in his eyes dims a little but I can tell that he’s not going to let this go.
The conviction in his voice is clear when he responds, “We owe it to ourselves to try to get away. The worst that could happen is that we get caught and go right back to what we are doing now. It can only get better if we leave.
I take a long look at my best friend, who I have known for as long as I can remember, and think about our options. If we run, we could get on a ship and start a new life for ourselves, but if we get caught then we would get dragged back here. He was right, our situation can only get better. I nod, and say the word that will kick off the long and careful planning of our escape. “Ok.”