Page 4 of Broken Pieces

He holds his hand out to me and I look at him in question. “Give me the fake ID then.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

He laughs a short quick one. “Rae that is far from what I am gonna say. But it’s the easiest. Hand it over.”

I roll my eyes and set the peas down. I see my bag next to the couch and dig through it until I find the ID. He grabs it from me and shoves it into his pocket.

“What about Logan?” he asks.

I brush my hair back and put the peas back on my face. “What about him?”

“Does he know you are here?”

I shake my head. “I never told him where I grew up. And after I went back to Memphis last year, he dragged me out of Tennessee. Said we were too close to you.”

“Why would it matter how close I am?”

“I think he was always afraid you would take me away from him. And then he would have to fend for himself,” I say matter-of-factly.

Easton studies me. “So he just let you walk right out the door?”

“I left before he got home from work.”

He just nods as if he’s processing all this information. I glance between him and the house I grew up in. I feel like a stranger being back here. It has been three long years and too many bad memories left in this house. I can still feel them suffocating me.

A few minutes pass and he finally starts to talk again. “Okay, Rae. I get it. Maybe not entirely but I do. I would rather have you here than with him or on the streets somewhere. But this is my house. And I make the rules around here. You are welcome to live here in your old room, or Tacoma’s, whichever you prefer. But there will be absolutely no drinking or drug use in here. I am no longer going to be giving you money every month since you are under my roof now. But I will talk to Ivy about giving you a few shifts at the diner so you can get out of the house every now and then. But that’s it. If you ain’t working with her or Harper, then you are to be in this house. I can’t keep an eye on you at all times and I don’t want you to feel like you’re a teenager again, but I can’t trust you at this point. I’ve given you a lot of opportunities to change, to ask for help, and you’ve turned almost all of them down. This is your last chance to clean your act up, or I’m done.”

I burst into tears. Easton has given me so much and I have been a terrible sister. I don’t know what would happen if I lose him for good this time. He is all I have left.

“Okay, I promise I—I will try to do better, th—this time,” I sniffle out. He wraps his arms around me again and presses a kiss to my forward.

“I know Raely, I know. I can’t lose you either, that’s why I need you to do this. Not for me but for you.”

I don’t know how long we sit holding each other but for every minute that passes, I feel a little bit closer to home.

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