Page 29 of Ozzie

I need to talk to someone about everything that’s going on, and Millie will understand. I hit the button.

“Piper? You’re calling? What’s wrong?” Millie answers.

I smile. My sister knows me well. The very thing I’d hoped Ozzie would pick up on the other day—I only text because I normally despise calls.

“Piper?”

“Yes, it’s me. Sorry. I’m not used to calling.”

Millie laughs. “Well, pretend you are texting. What would you say?”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t need to do that. I’m calling because I wanted to hear your voice. Something has happened.”

A door clicks closed through the phone. “It’s John, isn’t it? He hasn’t shown up for work since Thursday, and his parents were out questioning everyone.”

Despite the fact that John is twenty-two, I’m not surprised his parents are aware he’s missing. He works in their business and takes his job very seriously.

“They don’t think he’s just out partying with some new woman?” I wince as soon as I say it.

John isn’t the type to party, unlike Millie’s husband.

“No. They say he would never miss work. His truck’s gone, and no one has heard from him.”

“Well, I guarantee his parents have. He came to find me and was arrested for assault. But was released. Someone paid for his attorney.”

“Millie?” Her husband’s voice carries through the phone.

“Hang on a second,” she tells me.

A door clicks open. “There you are. Hey, I’ve got a work function tonight that’s going to run late, so I’ll probably get a room at the hotel in town. I’ll see you in the morning.”

My sister says nothing.

“Hey, you there?” I ask.

She sniffles. “I’m here. I don’t know why it bothers me anymore. I know he’s lying, and I don’t love him.”

I sigh. “Yeah, but you’re trapped. It isn’t fair what Mom and Dad are doing to you.”

“Or what they did to you?”

“They suck.”

We sit in silence for a moment.

“Wait, you said assault. Are you all right? What happened?”

I fill her in. Once she can get past that he shot me, I tell her about John’s lawsuit against me.

“Do you need money?”

I stare at the phone. “No, why would you ask that?”

“Because you need an attorney, and it’s going to get expensive. John will make sure it does.”

She’s right. And John knows the only way I’d get money from my parents is to move home, take him back, and declare I made a huge mistake. Well, he’s in for a surprise because I’m not doing any of that.

“I don’t need money but thank you for the offer.”

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