He put out his cigar directly on the glass table between us.
“How's your little girlfriend? I heard you had a falling out and she's no longer at your apartment. You always ruined everything, so it’s par for the course for you.
I gritted my teeth, schooling my face, and forced myself to stay in my seat.
Fucking asshole.I imagined ramming my fist into his face and taking the gun from the man standing there and putting a bullet between his eyes.
“Be straight with me for once. Why do you give a fuck about her? And don't bullshit me and say it's because I care about her.”
Wow.I had said the words out loud for the first time. Not exactly anI love you, but he was not the person who should be hearing that from me anyway.
It was enough of a shock for him to look me straight in the eyes. Then he let out a huff, his lips pulling into a smile.
“You're right,” he said. “For once in your life, you're thinking with your head and not those silly little emotions of yours. Do you remember your last year of high school? All those visits from the protective services?”
I remembered it well, especially the last time CPS had been there. They’d come multiple times throughout the year, but just before I graduated, their last visit had been different.
The social worker had showed up at my house again, but she hadn’t been alone this time. Two police officers were with her, and while he had tried to talk his way out of it as usual, that time it didn’t work.
While they had him behind bars, they had interviewed not only me but also my teachers multiple times to gather evidence.
I just wanted to leave for college and forget that ever happened, leaving it all behind, but they wore me down, and I just told them everything. When all was said and done, I was already eighteen and didn't need him anyway.
“You’re getting back at me for putting you in jail, I knew that was coming. Can’t you just move on? It’s getting old.”
He shook his head.
“Do you know what really sealed the deal for them? It actually wasn’t you. I only figured it out a few years ago. A buddy of mine is close with the cops in that shithole of a town. Do you know what they said?”
I gave him a look to get to the point.
“There was awitness. A witness who saw me hitting you.”
There was no way. He was always very careful about the beatdowns. He would stick to hitting my body and not my face, except when he was really drunk, and then all bets were off. And it would happen at home. If that wasn’t possible, never in broad daylight where anyone could see.
“That’s not possible. There were no witnesses.”
He shook his finger at me, a slimy smile spreading across his face.
“That's where we were both wrong. You know who it was, but I'll give you one guess. A little rat who couldn't keep her nose out of things.”
Alarm bells went off in my head. My nails dug into my thighs.No. Not possible.
I didn't want to even think about what he was suggesting. Could it have been …Pearl?
I closed my eyes, trying to fight off the panic, but it only made it worse. When I opened them again and met his gaze, it gave me all the answers I needed.
“That's right. Your little bitch was the one who put me away.”
“Don't call her that,” I snapped at him, unable to help myself.
He raised a brow at me. “You're not in a position to make demands.”
“I was the one who told the whole story to the cops. Who confirmed every allegation against you. Without me?—”
“If I hadn’t taken a plea deal, she was going to testify. For you.”
My heart stopped in my chest.Pearl would've done that… for me?
