Page 111 of With Us

“It was moved into storage as soon as we left the building.”

Along with scared, confused, and lonely, trapped was added to the rush of emotions flowing through my body.

“I can fix this,” I whispered, heading for the door.

“Do you want to lose him for years, Dahlia? Not a couple months, butyears? Maybe forever?”

The tears in my eyes spilled over, hurt saturating my voice. “Are you threatening me?”

“No!” Her face softened before she pulled me into her arms. “No, never, sweetheart. I know you think you’re doing the right thing, but I need you to trust me. Trust Theo. Okay?”

My body and mind both felt numb, despite my racing thoughts. Nothing made sense, and I couldn’t seem to get my brain to cooperate. With no other option, and no way to get information, I didn’t say anything.

And then I broke down.

???

In a calm, orderly fashion, I took my place in line behind the other visitors. From infants to the elderly, all ages waited for the guard to lead us back.

The line moved quickly, so I took out my driver’s license.

A guard with a clipboard looked at me. “Meow who’re you here to see?”

Something about his question was odd, but I shook it off. “Theodore Amato.”

Another guard waved the metal detector wand over me, and it started beeping like crazy when it got to my stomach. “Lift up your shirt right meow,” he ordered.

When I did, bowls of milk were duct taped to my stomach.

“Meow you know the rules,” the first guard sighed, shaking his head. “No saucers of milk. Can’t have the prisoners going all nimbly bimbly.” He confiscated the bowls and jerked his head to the side for me to get back into line.

Detective Stabler from the showLaw and Ordercame out from the back, holding the door open and giving us all his signature cocky smirk. “You can go in meow.”

Leaving the check-in, my excitement grew as I followed the group. It was dashed when I saw that, instead of sitting at a table with him, we had to talk through phones with plexiglass between us. I was confused when I saw so many women around.

Still, I grinned when I saw him.

“Cazzo, gattina, I miss you,” he growled as soon as I put the phone to my ear.

I closed my eyes, letting the sound wash over me. “I miss you, too. Why didn’t you tell them?”

“Tell them what?” he asked.

“That it was a mistake. You shouldn’t be in here.”

“I have to. I helped Alex smuggle those drugs. Things aren’t really that bad. I mean, Red’s crazy. Obviously not as crazy as Crazy Eyes, but who is?”

My eyes flew open. I looked at the guard and saw it was Pornstache. Two girls were going at it in one corner, while Red stirred a pot on a counter.

“This is all from the show,Orange Is the New Black. Theo, why are you here?”

“You love me too much to put me inThe Wire?”

I shot awake, the dull glow of the TV lighting the room.

“‘Are you still watching?’” I read out loud, the Netflix screen judging me before I answered angrily. “Yeah, I’m getting the feeling I’ll be spending a lot of nights awake, watching.” I pressed play on a comedy before adding a whispered, “Alone.”

???

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