"Ya' know, I had no idea you were actually gonna show up. I guess you were serious when Sheena told me about you, huh?"751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZdFdx9h5b
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"Well," Faith said carefully, "like I was telling your friend Tracy back there, I'm...considering it as a potential option."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgr1mCAef3s
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"Okay," Aaron nodded approvingly. "Well, first of all, welcome to my establishment." He briefly gestured around his office before asking, "So what've you and that boyfriend of yours been doin' with yourselves lately? Or let me guess...he's why you're here to begin with?"751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgGinCCPJv
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"Wait, how do you--? Ugh, never mind." It hadn't even been a minute in here and she was already becoming flustered. "We're doing alright, I guess." Allow him to think you trust him. Just tell him a little bit. "Thanks to him I've got some medical bills to pay off and they're due really soon. I'm just hoping it won't eventually lead to jail time being on my record because I can't pay them." 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnKO67jhAv
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"Gotcha," Aaron nodded. "Well before we start, you...want some water or anything?” He gestured toward the water cooler which had some small paper cups stacked on top of it.751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXPlEgbdHL
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"That's alright," Faith said, not typically being one to consume anything from anyone she didn't fully trust. “I had some tea before I left the house. Thanks, though.”751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpNLTl0KQF
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Aaron leaned his head back and laughed a laugh that may have sounded normal and good-natured in any other circumstance, but here it reverberated in Faith’s ears. "What, you think the water's drugged or something?"751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHv3QXId8sT
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"Oh...don't take it personal. I get like this with just about anybody I meet."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqT64ljNvD
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"Sure," he said smarmily, reaching into one of his desk drawers and pulling out a book which he proceeded to open. "I can see you wanna get straight to the point, so that's what we'll do." Upon glancing at the exposed pages, Faith realized it was a logbook of sorts that appeared to display names, addresses and other information for different people. "How much, sweetheart?" He spoke with disgustingly fake compassion now, and his pen hovered closely to the first remaining empty line on the page. 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4bycgoet2
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She had done all of the math back at home, along with some limited research on what somebody like Aaron might charge, so she had an idea how high an amount she might be willing to borrow--if she even went through with this at all. Unlike whoever Aaron was on the phone with a few minutes ago, she actually had somewhat of a plan. Once she stated her chosen amount to him, Aaron seemed surprised. 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GJH2WUukN
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"Are you sure that's all?" he asked. Faith expected him to crack a smile to show he was joking, mostly because it felt like a lot to her, but he seemed to be asking a serious question. "People come in here every day and borrow five times that much. Just saying. If you need it, I've got it."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbT7GpxPcPG
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"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll let you know if I need more, though," Faith replied, pretending to humor him. "Now," she added, "before I agree to anything, what are the interest rates and how soon will you expect me to pay you back?"751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7LZbM54Rz
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"You're gonna need to pay me weekly. As for the interest amount, I can let you know about that in a few days. But you need some money now, right?" He glanced out the window before turning back to her and, when she only gave him a cautious look in response, added, "It's just you mentioned being scared of havin' to do jail time, and I'd really hate that for a delicate thing like you, ya' know?"751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH760hb1AGp
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That was all Faith needed to hear regarding whether Aaron was still the same person that he used to be. "Well, it's kind of late, and my boyfriend might start to worry about me. It was nice catching up, though. Guess I'll just keep shopping around," she told him, keeping her tone as harmless and naive as she could. 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9K0OKQjXo
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Faith picked up her purse and rose from her chair to leave, not planning to let him completely out of her eyesight until she made it fully out the door, when Aaron piped up suddenly. "So that's it? Ah come on, wait. Please." He held his hands up innocently, almost frantically. 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDmPdAuciD
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Faith paused, her eyes continuing to watch him. "Yes...?" 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqkhuitDS5
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"We can uh, talk things out. We got off on the wrong track, that's all. Could we maybe start again?" 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyvSfM0KFo
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Faith paused, propping her hand on her hip before slowly let her hand slide down her side until it went down into her partially unzipped purse, feeling for the safety setting on her gun...just in case. She wouldn't turn off the safety just yet, but she wanted her hand to be conveniently close to it. "Maybe. But only if we can be real with each other."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSawJKJwDZa
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Aaron raised his eyebrows. The amused twinkle in his eye had returned. "What's 'real'?" He glanced at her hand inside her purse, and she innocently pulled a comb out and proceeded to brush through her straight brown bangs a couple of times. 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8THgetMGZu
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After putting the comb away and once again letting her hand hang down inside her open purse, she responded hesitantly, "Okay, so I'm just gonna stop playing dumb here. That way we can just have all our cards on the table."
"Alright." The look on his face told her that she'd better make this good.
"Sheena pretty much made you sound like Mother Theresa when she described this little money-lending side venture of yours. Now, you and I both know that probably isn't the case here, but nonetheless I'm not here to make waves. It's just I'm in no position for games, and I want to make sure I can hold up my end of this deal. I'm not here to get you in trouble."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvqEKVM5qj
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"Oh, you mean like...with the police?" Aaron inquired, raising his eyebrows at the last word of his question. "Don't worry about them. Some of 'em are easier to work with than you might think. And if we're bein' honest here, I'd like to keep it that way. However, if these...wild, crazy rumors start circulating that I'm this scary dishonest sort of guy, and enough people start believing those rumors, that could be bad news for me and my staff. Are you feelin' me so far?" 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiWLQjIIop
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"Yeah. I am." That claustrophobia was beginning to return, but she knew running wouldn't be a good idea. If he had a loaded gun himself somewhere that she couldn't see, it would take longer for her to get to the door and through it than for him to pick it up and fire it. The safety on it could already be off; the safety on hers was still on. "I'll compromise with you, Aaron. If you tell me exactly how much interest you'll want from me every week, I'll tell you why you don't have to worry about me getting you in any trouble."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxACojVXIs
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Picking up an ink pen from his desk and beginning to toy with it, he leaned back in his swivel chair and glanced back at Faith's seat opposite him and then back to her, as if telling her to sit back down. "Well, I'm listenin'."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgDwp5oQo8
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Faith felt her heart begin to beat faster as she did so, reluctantly taking her hand out of her purse and sitting it between her feet. There was no turning back, at this point. "So...five months ago, Rowan got in trouble for some drug-related charges but got off with just a fine. This part is hard to explain, but he--has some people after him that don't like him, and I'm pretty certain they framed him for all of it. And then one night, about two weeks ago, Rowan came home from a supposed 'outing with friends' with a broken arm, and insurance wouldn't cover it because he got it while supposedly committing a crime. He's begged me not to look up his record or ask anyone about it, and as stupid as it sounds...I really don't want to anyway. Because I already know it wasn't him."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJS5lQqJeYI
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"Right..." Aaron mumbled with an undertone of sarcasm. 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KYChtCkCN
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Balling up her fists, Faith asked, "Do you actually think you were my first resort here? I've tried going to the bank for a loan, but...they just wanted to know too many things. As for my parents and Rowan's brother Chance, that's a story for another time, preferably never."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0hiWZ5ZRp
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"Ah, Chance. Haven't seen him in a while. Great guy. Heard he became an accountant." Finally beginning to look a little less skeptical, Aaron continued, "But all that aside, what you're telling me is, that hospital hit you with one of those 'illegal act exclusions,' and basically you came to me because I wouldn't turn you down or tip the authorities based on Rowan's uh, history."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbkvGrfmVW
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"Basically. Look Aaron, I'm too busy trying to keep myself and Rowan alive to go around trying to get other random people arrested, okay? The police aren't my friends any more than they are yours, at least from the sound of it." Sure, she was exaggerating somewhat, but Aaron didn't need to know that. The Faith inside Aaron's office would need to differ somewhat from the clean-cut upstanding Faith that most people knew her as.751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kgSY2MbT4
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Aaron now placed his ink pen down, clasping his fingers together. "Well Faith, this is your lucky day, 'cause I've met Chance's kid brother, and I can actually see somethin' like that playin' out. Now I happen to be in a good mood tonight, and I've always been able to trust you in the past, so I'll play along this once and lower your interest a little."751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbeOplTJKC
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"How much is a little?" 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkI5uJb31hm
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Aaron sighed. "Look, I ain't goin' under 20% per week, and I hope you know how charitable I'm bein' to you right now. Take it or leave it. And whatever happens on these premises, stays on these premises. Alright?" 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYjo6ArEjH
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Faith nodded. It was the price she would pay, if it meant Rowan not getting them into any more trouble. She would skip a few meals, if she had to. Not that she was even that hungry most of the time lately. 751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRFsf2yFy3
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"So then, we've got a deal?"751Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvH2Y6Vio2p
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Before she could overthink herself into a frenzy, she finally uttered the word: "Yes."
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