Page 88 of Sing Me Home
Charlie yanked her hand free and hugged herself like she wished she could shrink down small enough to slip through the cracks in the hardwood. No doubt, if she wasn’t wedged in between me, James, and the table, she would’ve made a break for the door.
I’d figured out a few common sense things since Charlie revealed her secret to me. Like she must’ve been in the hospital for a long while, had months of doctor’s visits, suffered excruciating pain. But never—not once—had I entertained the thought that she’d come anywhere close to dying.
My eyelids fluttered rapidly. She’d gone through all of that without us ever knowing?
“Charlie?” Theo asked, horrified. Everyone else stared at her in shocked silence.
Her gaze darted around the room as if looking for an escape.
I wrapped my arms around her, letting her know that wouldn’t be happening. She stiffened and pushed against my chest, trying to break free.
“No,” I whispered, one hand rubbing the back of her neck. “No more running. No more doing it alone. It’s you and me from now on, remember?”
She tensed for a few more seconds. Then she crumbled against me, her face buried against my neck.
Cassidy was still rambling on, “According to sources, the victim was discovered in a Las Vegas pool hall, collapsed near the entrance. An employee on duty called 911 after witnessing the attack.”
Cassidy looked right into the camera with the expression she wore just before she passed judgment. “The truth is… maybe Charlie Dupree didn’t want to be found. Or maybe the Duprees didn’t care enough to go searching.”
Griffin snorted like those were the most outlandish words ever spoken. They were. We’d searched high and low. Dad and Ashton had even flown to Charlie’s last known whereabouts, searching for her—Salt Lake City. They came back empty handed.
Cassidy chewed her bottom lip as if in thought and batted her lashes. “The truth is, maybe Charlie wasn’t some innocent little country girl. Maybe she was running a con, and it finally caught up with her.”
Cassidy sighed. “The truth is maybe she didn’t want to be found because she didn’t want to explain what she was doing in a Vegas pool hall, alone, with no ID. Maybe she had secrets she couldn’t afford to let the Duprees dig up.” Cassidy let out a little sigh. “The truth is there’s still so much to uncover here folks. This is just the beginning.” It cut to commercial.
“None of that is truth,” Bowen scoffed. “It’s all speculation. Somebody needs to give that lady a lesson on using grammar correctly.”
Theo launched out of his seat, his eyes burning with barely restrained fury. “Is that why you disappeared?” When Charlie didn’t answer—only whimpered—his eyes flashed to me. “Did you know?”
“I knew she had an acid burn on her stomach. I found out a few weeks ago.”
Everyone’s eyes dropped to Charlie’s stomach. She shrank back as if they could actually see through her shirt.
Theo’s expression was a storm cloud ready to crack open. “So it is true?”
I pulled her tighter against me.
She nodded.
“You’re going to tell us right now,” he hissed. “Who did this? Why? When?” His hands balled into fists but there were tears in his eyes. “Every. Single. Detail.”
“You’re scaring her,” Maggie said.
He was scaring more than Charlie. Sage had her shirt pulled up to her nose and Ella was half hiding behind Liam, probably wondering what kind of family she’d entangled herself with.
“Everybody out,” I said, commanding but calm. “Everyone but Theo.”
But my cousins sat there, unmoving.
“No,” Griffin said. “She’s our Charlie too.”
“We deserve to know as much as you do,” Liam said.
Bowen looked stunned, pupils dilated, rubbing his fingers over his mouth.
James reached over and squeezed her leg. “We love you. All of us. You can tell us the truth.”
“You know what?” Maggie said, pushing back from the table. “Sage, Ella, and I are going to run to Food Lion.” She snapped her fingers. “We needed more chips and salsa anyway, right?” She looked at Griffin.
