The pieces click together in my mind, forming a picture so ugly I almost can't bear to look at it.Scott Sullivan isn't just corrupt—he's destroying an entire community, using the same man who nearly killed his son to do it.
"So let me get this straight," I say, testing the words to make sure I understand."He's using your dealer to terrorize families out of their homes and is also the one probably supplying narcotics to people throughout town?"
Nate nods.
We drive in silence for a few minutes, both processing what we've just witnessed.Nate pulls up outside Camilla's house, but I don't immediately get out.
"I'm sorry," he says, looking out the windshield instead of at me.
"For what?"
His shoulders hunch, and I can see the guilt settling over him like a familiar coat.
"For all of it.For what he's doing.For who I'm related to."
"Nate, you need to stop doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Taking the blame for everything Scott does."I reach over, cupping his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me."You are not responsible for his actions."
He leans into my touch like he's starving for it, but I can see the doubt in his eyes.
"Can I ask, where are you going?"I ask when he starts to shift back.
"I need to stop by and see Jay."He leans over to kiss me, but it's distracted, his mind already moving toward whatever conversation he’s about to have about what we just saw.
"Be careful, please."
He nods, and I get out of the car.As he drives away, there's this sick feeling in my stomach—like something's shifting, like we're standing on the edge of something that's going to change everything, again.The intimacy from earlier feels like a lifetime ago, replaced by this growing dread that I can't shake.
Camilla takes one look at my face when she opens the door and immediately pulls me inside.
"What's happened?"
I collapse onto her couch, suddenly exhausted.The whiplash from this afternoon—from the desperate intimacy with Nate to the horror of South Side—has left me feeling emotionally raw.
"Are you not sleeping again?"she asks, settling beside me with that careful way she has when she's genuinely worried.
"It's not that."
I can’t keep all this in anymore.So I tell her about what we saw, about Monty and the woman crying on her porch.Camilla listens without interrupting, her expression growing more horrified with each detail.
"Shit, Nora.That's..."She shakes her head."That's actually fucked up."
"There's something else I need to tell you.It’s about the accident."The words taste like metal in my mouth.I can see Camilla shift closer, giving me her full attention."It was Scott.He was the one driving."
Camilla goes very still."Wait, what?"
"That motherfucker!I swear to God if I ever see that smug piece of shit—" She stands and starts pacing the room."Wait, what did Nate say when he?—"
"I haven't told Nate yet.I don't know how."
"Nora."Her voice is gentle but firm."You have to tell him.If he finds out from anyone else, if he has to piece it together himself, I don't think he'd be able to handle that.Not after everything else."
"But if I tell him, if he knows it was Scott on top of everything else Scott's currently doing..."I meet her eyes, letting her see my fear."He'll go after him, Camilla.And that thought scares me more than anything because of what happened last year."
She reaches over to squeeze my hand.
