“Fucking tell her, Vinny, or I will.” Lincoln’s tone was ice.
My heart lurched, panic clawing at my throat. I turned on him, words coming out ragged. “You knew?” My fingers dug into the blanket, trying to push myself upright. My chest felt too small again, breaths stuttering as if the air itself recoiled from me.
Lincoln’s eyes went wide, and he was at my side in an instant, cupping my face with both hands. “No. I knew nothing.” His voice was urgent but steady, grounding. “Just—When my memory came back, I pieced some things together, and I looked into it. I wanted to tell you after your pitch…” His thumbs brushed over my cheekbones, grounding my breathing. Truth and tenderness poured into his touch.
His hand trailed back into mine, tightening around my fingers, thumb stroking over my knuckles. My pulse pounded weakly against his grip, but I didn’t pull away.
“How could they?” I rasped, my nails digging into Lincoln’s palm. Each breath stirred the plastic of the cannula. “Legally—how did no one catch it? There’s—there’s guardianship courts, financial audits—” My voice dissolved into ache, pounding between my lungs.
Vin’s gaze dropped to the floor, shame heavy enough to bend his shoulders.
“Own it for once in your life. If you rile her up and she has another attack…,” Lincoln said, sharper this time, his blue eyes hard as glass.
Vinny swallowed hard, his voice low when he finally spoke, cutting across Lincoln’s words guilt edged into every syllable. “My parents passed off the debt as your dad’s,” he said, staring at the floor instead of me. “They used your inheritance to pay it off, and the judge signed off without blinking. A few months later, my parents deposited a large amount—courts thought it was from your parents’ assets. Mom and Dad couldn’t argue against it without giving away my mom’s gambling.” Vin faced me, his eyes meeting mine. “Judge forced my folks to allocate some for you. Thirty grand because Dad said you were expensive, about to go to University of Michigan.”
“I never even applied to Michigan.”
“But I did.” He dragged a hand down his face, guilt twisting his expression. “On paper, we were loaded. I got no aid. But that cash?” His mouth curled, bitterness clinging to his words. “That was part of my mom’s ‘lucky day.’ So they told the courtyouwere going there, showed them the deposit to explain where the money went. And they just accepted it.”
My skin prickled. They’d used my parents’ money to erase their mistakes.
Vinny’s shoulders sagged further, as if saying it out loud took something out of him. “Mom had a really bad run before decision day. Right before your NYU interview.”
A tremor ran down my spine. My chest burned, my ribs still tender from coughing so hard earlier. The night before the interview, I rehearsed until I passed out. Cars came and went as I answered questions in front of a mirror, memorizing every student organization I wanted to join at NYU. The next day, I’d lost it in the school parking lot before even going in the school when I saw my box of mementos in Lincoln’s car.
“I didn’t think I’d be going anywhere for college without financial aid, I was fine with that, Nins,” Vinny said, his voice rough. “But you had options. I was proud of you, Nina. I reallywas. But the cars…. Mom was desperate. With your thirty grand locked under court order, she got desperate. She started tearing through the house for anything worth money.” His throat bobbed. “You had that unopened LP. Your dad’s. I knew how important that was. I tried to help you, protect it from Mom. I took it to hide it. I didn’t think?—”
“Soyoutook my box,” I said, my voice low, bitter.
Vin winced.
“Put it in Linc’s car…”
“And you let me take the fall for it?” Lincoln stood, the chair legs screeching against the floor. His voice was low, dangerous. “You knew what my father did to me. You let me take that hit, and you just stood there—” His voice cracked, relief and anger colliding. “That’s why I couldn’t remember it. It wasn’t me blocking it out—I never fucking did it.”
He raked both hands through his hair, pacing and muttering half-formed curses under his breath. There was rage there, yes—but under it, I heard relief. There was a line he hadn’t crossed, a wrong that wasn’t his to right.
It was hard to breathe again. Vin had been my closest thing to family. He’d sucked, yes, but he’d also watched movies with me. We had dinner sometimes. And when it was just the two of us…, I’d felt less alone. And he’d lied. For years.
Vin stood, shoulders hunched. “Just,” he said hoarsely, “I’m so fucking sorry.”
I shook my head to shut him up, not trusting my voice. My throat ached, tears stinging behind my eyes, but I wouldn’t give him that.
“Anything else?” Lincoln said, stepping forward, his body between us.
Vin’s face twisted with shame. “Things with Mom are bad again.I’ve done everything I can to help them. My life is allsmoke and mirrors, Nina. If you press charges…, they won’t survive it.”
The room felt too small. My chest rose and fell too quickly again, the hiss of the cannula loud in my ears.
“Lincoln,” I managed, barely above a whisper. “No more.”
He didn’t need more than that. Lincoln grabbed Vinny by the arm and walked him out, his voice sharp enough to cut. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Lincoln and me alone, heart pounding in my ears.
He sat on the edge of the bed, his indigo eyes storming. He wrapped my hand in his again again, anchoring me. I thought back to Carmen’s question. She didn’t think people could change, but looking into Lincoln’s conflicted expression, I realized he’d hurt whoever hurt me. I then realized I knew one person who could change. Him.
“You said you had a choice for me to make.”
Linc nodded. “I do, and you will. But not now, not after all that bullshit.”
