My heart pounds and for a moment I worry that they won't agree to my terms. It's strange to be this close to the truth yet so far away. I hadn't known I wanted to confide in someone else this badly until it was right on the edge of my tongue. It's wrong of me to ask them to stand down, but it's the only way I can guarantee their safety. Because otherwise, the second the secret is out of my mouth, there's no telling what Silver and Alec will do.
Alec is absolutely the more level-headed of the two, and the least criminal, but I wouldn't put it past him to drive over to Ricardo's house and do something that would result in Alec's imminent death. What kind of person would I be if I allowed that to happen?
"I can't agree to that," Silver tells me, his expression set in a straight and unwavering manner.
I stand from the spot on the couch and train my gaze on Alec. "Can you take me home?"
"Yeah, of course." Alec hops up and it's then that I see the blanket and pillow tossed aside.
Did he sleep on that loveseat all night?
"Sit down," Silver commands. "The both of you. You're not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what's going on."
Alec glances at me but I remain in place.
"Thank you for coming to get me last night," I tell Silver. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." I move toward the kitchen. "It won't happen again."
"Damn it, Cora," Silver says. "Fine, I won't do anything. Now sit back down and talk to us."
I smile but don't let him see that. Instead, I wipe the grin off my face and return to the spot next to him.
Alec settles into his seat, too, his hair a bit of a mess and sleep lines on his face.
"I need your word, too," I say to Alec.
He nods. "You have it."
I breathe in deeply. "I don't know where to start."
Silver lowers his voice again and says, "Start from the beginning."
And so I do, start at the beginning, as best as possible.
"My dad was in trouble, he owed him some money."
"How much?" Silver cuts in and asks.
I shrug. "I don't know. But it wasn't just that, Ricardo had done him a favor."
"What kind of favor?" he questions.
The answer isn't overly complicated, but I can't bring myself to say it out loud. Because if I do, it somehow makes it more real than it already is.
Alec leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "You can tell us, Cora, it's okay."
A single tear rolls down my cheek. "My mom is sick." I bite at my lip and continue, "My dad found an experimental treatment and went to Ricardo to get my mom in. I guess my dad couldn't pay him back, so he came to our house and threatened him. He was going to shoot him." I wipe at another tear. "That's when he saw me and said that he'd trade the debt for me."
Silver doesn't react. He just sits there sort of staring off into space. Is he in shock? Did I break him with the truth?
"What?" Alec blurts out. "What does that even mean? Can't we pay him off? Cover the debt your dad was in?
Silver slowly shakes his head. "It's too late."
I wait for him to elaborate, my skin prickling at the seriousness of his tone.
"If the deal has been done, there is no dollar amount that will make him change his mind," Silver tells us.
"But like, Miller is loaded. He has more money than he knows what to do with. Surely there's a price he'd be willing to accept." Alec inches closer and frantically looks between me and Silver.
