“And?”
Guilt strangles my voice.
Fuck. What he did to her. WhatIdid to her.
“Nico?” Concern darkens Sofia’s eyes to a forest green.
“He admitted everything.” A heavy weight presses on my chest. “He set you up. He paid the pawn shop owner to say you sold him the jewelry. He paid our housekeeper. The girls at school… shit, I don’t even know how… But he did it. All of it.”
Sofia sucks in a sharp breath.
My head hangs low as I continue, “He framed you, Soph. He did it to…kill two birds with one stone,he said. He needed money for the company but he didn’t want my mother to know. So he sold the jewelry and pinned it on you. To get you out of my life?—”
“He didn’t think I was good enough,” Sofia whispers.
The pain in her voice flays my heart open.
“You were. You are. It was all in his head. You were better than me.” Tears I haven’t shed since I was eighteen burn behind my eyes. “You’re better than anyone. And I… I fucked up. I’m so sorry. Shit. I’m so fucking sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I’m just so fucking sorry.”
“He admitted he set me up?” It’s soft. Disbelieving.
“He did. Earlier, I read this thing about the pawn shop owner. In the police report. How he called the police with a tip about some stolen jewelry the same night you were arrested. It sounded strange. How would he even know you’d been arrested yet? So I asked my friend, Wraith, to track the owner down. The guy admitted my father paid him off.”
“So that made you think I wasn’t lying?”
I lift my gaze to meet hers. Her eyes are pink but dry. “It wasn’t just that. It was listening to you. Seeing you. It didn’t seem right. And then reading your statement from after you were arrested?—”
“You read it?”
“I did. I read everything. And shit, Soph. I wish I’d… I wish I’d done something sooner. I’m so sorry. I was upset and hurt and I believed what my father said. But it’s not an excuse. I don’t have an excuse. I was a horrible boyfriend. I was a horrible friend. I didn’t deserve you, Soph. Not the other way around.”
She plucks at the blanket beneath her. “You never even tried to talk to me.”
“I did. Maybe a month after, I went to your apartment. But you were gone. Your mom said you moved away. She wouldn’t tell me where. She just told me to leave you alone. That I’d hurt you enough already.” I stop. Swallow hard. “I wish I’d ignored her. I wish I’d looked harder.”
“I was in Albany. At my aunt’s. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
Another lash flays my heart. “I’m sorry.”
“She probably thought she was protecting me. My mom. I was so depressed back then.”
Fuck.
“I don’t know how to fix it,” I admit. “I’m just so damn sorry.”
Sofia plucks at the blanket again. “It’s not all your fault, Nico,” she says quietly. “Your father… I get it. You idolized him. And when he said?—”
“I shouldn’t have. He’s not a good man. Not the man I thought he was. I knew he wasn’t perfect. But this… it’s unforgivable.”
“Nico.” It’s sad. “I’m sorry. I know it’s hard.”
“Don’t be sorry.” I shove my chair closer to the bed. Then I reach out to touch the back of her hand. “Don’t be sorry. Notfor me. I fucked up. I should have done so many things, and I didn’t.”
“Nico—”
“But please, let me help you with this. Let me keep you safe. Stay here. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it more comfortable for you. I’m not sure what, but I’ll do it. And I’ll get the company on it. They already are, but I’ll double the efforts. The police, they’re overworked and understaffed. But F & F isn’t. We can figure out who hurt you.”
Sofia looks at my hand beside hers. Her hand is small. Pale. Fragile. In contrast, mine is nearly twice the size of hers and covered with black ink. Finally, she says, “It hurts, being here.”
