Shit. But Jesse was pumping iron in the living room and the others didn't mess much with me. That was a good thing about being Jesse's. There were other women around, some of them just girls, but they were usually stoned and there for the drugs. Emily, who I'd actually liked, had been a criminal justice major before she dropped out of college and had OD'd a couple weeks back. Her old man dumped her at a hospital in the suburbs and that was that. The word ‘relationship’ took a beating around here. Besides that, this was the kind of place where people used different names and nobody asked why Annie became Lily, especially when there really was a Lily and the person asking for Annie was a parent.
"Mom? What's wrong?" I went from the kitchen onto the back porch. Rain slanted past the overhang onto the dead grass of the backyard.
There were tears in her voice but she wasn't actively crying. Crap. I'd hoped when dad went I wouldn't be on this assignment any longer.
"Your father had a heart attack last night." Translation: You should already be here, all your sisters are.
"What hospital is he at?" Translation: Don't you dare tell me he's already gone.
Miraculously, she flat out told me where he was, and without hysterics or histrionics. I'd have to put up with Sarah, Melanie and Gina and whichever of their children they couldn't leave behind, but I hadn't seen my sisters in forever. Maybe it would be all right.
I went in and found Jesse and told him I had to go. I lied about where my father was and didn't bother calling once I was out the door to set up a cover, someone in the hospital somewhere else who would answer to another name to keep my cover secure. No real need. If Jesse let me go, he wasn't going to check up on me that way.