Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
“What is it?” Baker asked from underneath her sheet.
My lips twitched.
“Butter chicken,” I said. “There’s some naan, too.”
“I used to like that, but then I moved in with Joey, and then we never ate anything besides Tex-Mex, barbeque or American food,” she grumbled.
What a twat.
“You should have kicked him to the curb a long time ago,” I muttered as I took another bite.
She threw the sheet down and sat bolt upright, anger lighting her features this time instead of the sadness. “I know! Don’t you think I know? I am the stupidest stupid head ever to walk this planet. I wasted fifteen years of my life with that douchebag. I could’ve gone to college. I could’ve gone to state for distance running in high school, then pursued it in college. I could’ve done so many things, yet I’m here, barely making it, with a baby that hates me.”
“Can’t say that I like running all that much,” I said, ignoring the baby-hating comment. “But I’ll ride a bike next to you. Let’s go do that tomorrow.”
She looked away in disgust. “I haven’t run in months. I had to stop when I was six months because of a placenta previa. Now, I can’t even walk down the stairs without peeing on myself.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
She scrubbed her hands over her face. “Holt came too fast. One second I wasn’t in labor, and the next I was at a ten and he was spontaneously ejecting himself from my body. I tore from my clit to my asshole, and I’ve just gotten to the point where I can take a poop without wanting to scream.”
I shook my head, my lips twitching with that amount of information.
Not that I cared.
I had to take a shit and wank off—though I did try to keep it quiet, but there was only so much you could hide in an eight-by-eight cell—in front of a cell mate for fifteen years. There was nothing sacred to me anymore.
“That sounds pretty terrible,” I said. “Is everything normal down there now, though?”
“Yeah.” She grimaced. “Though I’m scared to test it out. I certainly wasn’t interested in testing it out with Joey, who had never been really great at it in the first place. The thought of his idea of sex—which was slam bam, no thank you, ma’am—didn’t really do it for me.”
I held out a bite of food to her, and she took it without thought, her eyes closing. “That’s good. Even though I’m not remotely hungry.”
I gave her four more bites before taking another of my own.
“Naan?” I asked, offering the bread.
“Sure.” She took the naan and dunked it into my plate.
I allowed it before going for a dip of my own.
“Who made this?” she questioned.
“My sister-in-law and her twin sister,” I said, jerking my finger to inside the apartment.
She looked in, likely seeing Silver with her kid, then looked back at me.
Her bloodshot amber eyes were intense as they took me in. “You just allow her to come into your place like that and hold the kids you’re in charge of?”
She didn’t sound accusing, just inquisitive.
“Trust her with my life,” I said. “Because my brother trusts her with his.”
“You trust your brother that much?” she wondered.
“Don’t you?” I asked.
She thought about that for a long moment before she said, “I did. Before. But then they left me when I needed them the most, thinking that by them not talking to me, they’d force me to leave Joey. They punished me for going back by cutting me out of their lives. My dad was the only one that called daily for updates on how I was doing. Not even my mom called. None of them has been to visit Holt once since he was in the hospital, though.”
“Your dad hasn’t been by?” I asked, aghast.
Shad was never the type of person to ever let his family go.
Not even in prison did he miss a day writing them.
“Dad tried,” she admitted. “When he’d come to the door, I would turn the ringer off on the doorbell. He knocked, but Joey never heard him through his headphones. He always came by on a Wednesday, though, so it was easy enough to avoid him or plan ahead.”
That sounded like the man that I knew.
“So how’s it going to go living with your family?” I asked.
She grimaced. “I’m not going to.”
My brows rose. “Then what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to find a place soon, and hopefully sign a lease.” She shrugged. “But I’m certainly not living with my family. I love my dad, but I’m not ready to forgive my mom. It’s been a hard few months.”
I couldn’t imagine dropping my sister just because of a decision she’d made like that.
Would I have supported her decision had she been in Baker’s boat? Probably not. But I certainly wouldn’t have left her high and dry—especially with a new nephew. I would’ve been there, and shown my silent displeasure. I probably would’ve also beaten the shit out of Joey before he had much of a chance to hurt Baker, because I would’ve been bunking on their couch watching and waiting.