Page 19 of Pocketful of Shame

"Because I'm still mad at her."

"For getting with Chris?"

Yes."No." I cleared my throat. "For lying to me for ten months. For keeping the truth about my brother's death a secret. For making me feel crazy. For making everyone else think I was losing my damn mind. For not trusting me to do right by her. She could've called me that night, man. She could have called either one of us, but she didn’t. She made a decision and the consequences are crippling."

"What would you have had her do, Sketch?" he asked, turning to face me. "She thought she was protecting you. She made a promise to Chris."

"I know," I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "And I get that, okay, I do, but I can't change how I feel about it."

"All I'm gonna say on the matter is Romi Dillon is a good girl. She is, man, and you know it. She's loyal and faithful, and the girl adores you. Always has. So, apologize, own your shit, and make it right."

"I just…" I blew out a harsh breath. "I need the whole picture, you know? Right now, everything's all jumbled up and nothing makes sense. If she could just hold it together and explain how they ended up in that car, I think I could make some sort of peace with it."

"You know we can't take her back there, right?" he said then.

I locked eyes with him. "Back to Pocketful?"

He nodded slowly. "Her father will send her straight back to Tully House, or worse, somewhere further away. You'll never see her again."

"God, I hate that man," I hissed, jaw clenched, as I turned back to face the ceiling.

"You've gotta help her, Sketch," he added. "And I don’t just mean break her out of prison. I meanreallyhelp her. As in, the pick up the pieces, healing kind of help."

"How can I heal her when I'm the one who broke her?" I asked quietly.

"No idea," he replied. "But you've gotta try. I've been withdrawing the maximum limit at the ATM from both of our bank accounts for four days. That leaves us a little shy of six grand. It's more than enough to get by without leaving a paper trail behind once we leave Houston. We'll make it work until I figure out our next move."

"She jumped from the treehouse," I confessed, biting down hard on my bottom lip. "She didn’t fall, she wasn't pushed, she just…quit."

"Shit," he muttered.

I sighed heavily. "Yeah."

"And you're worried?" he offered knowingly. "About her state of mind?"

"I'm more than worried," I admitted, turning to look at him. "What if she tries it again? We can't leave her on her own once we break her out, Pres. Not for a second. Plus, she's in a cast – or a boot, or whatever the hell they call it. She's totally fucking wounded."

"She's traumatized," he stated. "She knows more than she's letting on. She's the key to this, Sketch. I'm telling you, she's the fucking answer to everything and the sooner we get her talking the better."

"You think that'll help her – talking?"

"Can't hurt."

"I hope you're right."

"Well, it's not safe for her at home right now – and it's not safe for you either," he said after a long pause. "Not until we put a name and a face to the asshole/assholes behind Chris's death and figure out what he was trying to protect us from. So, I suggest you and Romi find a way to heal those wounds you've put in each other and build some kind of bridge. Ya'll need each other and I need you both. The past needs to stay in the past."

"Yeah," I replied, brows furrowed. "You're right."

"I'm always right," he chuckled, checking his watch and then springing off the bed. "Now, are we gonna do this or what?"

"I'm ready." I sat up and watched him flitter around the room like a caged butterfly. "Are you sure this is gonna work though, Pres?"

"That's Dr. Hardy to you," he replied, a mischievous glint in his eye as he placed the lanyard with the swipe card he'd snagged earlier around his neck. "And trust me, I've seen this work a million times on TV. We go in, you distract the nurse, I'll free the patient, we stuff her in your cart, and then we roll the hell out of dodge. Easy as pie."

"You saw this work ontelevisionso now you think it's gonna work inreal life?"

"Sure did and sure do."

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