I closed my mouth.
“It’s…I can’t…” He drew in a deep breath.“I can’t explainhow hard it is to be this close to him and not—”
I framed his face in my hands and whispered, “Honey.”
“The shit that I’ve made of my life—”
“We can—”
“Baby, let me get this out.”
I shut up again.
“If anybody knew about him.About you.They could hurt me.Through you.And I don’t give a fuck about hurting, except they’d hurt you.”
“Whatever you’re into, we’ll get you out,” I said.
I mean, he was this “bad dude,” but you could just stopbeing a bad dude.Other people had turned their lives around.I couldn’timagine it was easy, but it wasn’t like he wouldn’t have support.He’d have me.My family.His family.Eddie and Lee.
“I’m in now—” he began.
“Okay, so—”
“And I can’t get out while she’s still in.”
She?
Who wasshe?
“She?”
“Aunt Shirleen.”
“Miss Shirleen?”I asked, shocked.
I couldn’t say I knew his aunt as well as I did his mom, butshe’d been around.She was funny.She gave good hugs.Though, she seemed…removed.Like she was isolated, even when she was with people who loved her.
And I’d never quite understood, with how loving and sweethis family was, why she always seemed so sad.
“It’s him.He got me into it.He got her into it.And heisn’t…niceto her.”
My muscles got tight.“He isn’tnice?Who’s he?”
“Leon.”
“Your Uncle Leon?”
Leon was Shirleen’s husband.I’d met him, once.
He was all expansive smiles and grand gestures.He gave methe creeps.
Darius nodded.“It happens less because I’m around now.Butit still happens.If I get out, it’ll happen like it used to.All the time.”
“Then both of you get out.”
“She can’t.”
“Why not?”
