Page 90 of The Wright Man

I heard Alicia in the background yell, "Tell Mr. Nobody I said Hellooooo!"

Angelica let out a mortified groan. "Lord. I'm so sorry."

I smiled for the first time all day.

She disappeared for a few seconds, the camera jostling as she walked through the salon. Then the door shut, the noise dulled, and she reappeared in her little office, cheeks still flushed with embarrassment.

"Okay," she said, flopping into her chair, breathless. "I'm alone."

I nodded. I didn't say anything right away. Just looked at her.

Her face softened. "You saw him?"

"Yeah."

She didn't push. Just waited.

I exhaled. "Still Kareem. Still talkin' shit. Still got that same wide-ass grin like none of this fazes him. But..."

She leaned forward a little. "But?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "It's in his eyes. The tiredness. The weight. He's not broken, but... he's bruised, Ang. Deep."

Angelica nodded slowly, her lips pressed together in that way she does when she's feeling too much and trying to keep it all contained.

"And how are you?" she asked softly.

That question hit somewhere sharp.

I looked away for a second before answering. "It never gets easier. Seeing him like that. Watching them take him away again—it's like getting ripped in half all over."

She didn't say anything, just gave me space to say the rest.

"But I'm not giving up," I added, straighter now. "I'm still working with my guy. Still pushing. I know we're gonna bring him home. I don't care how long it takes. I'm not done fighting."

Her eyes welled, but she smiled, full and proud.

"Then I'm fighting too. Right beside you."

I looked at her for a long second. Felt my heart swell and twist at the same time.

This girl. Always there. Always knowing.

A beat of silence passed, heavy with everything between us—our grief, our history, our hope.

Then she tilted her head and squinted at my screen. "Wait... are you in your old room?"

I glanced around and nodded. "Yeah. Finally getting around to cleaning up in here."

"Oh boy," she said with a smirk. "You find anything tragic yet?"

I lifted an eyebrow and pulled a stack of DVDs into view. "How about this: Dragon Ball Z, full Buu saga. The tragedy? You being in love with Vegeta."

She gasped. "Excuse me—respectfully, I still am."

I shook my head. "You said he had 'aggressive baby daddy energy.'"

"Because he does! You think I imagined that tight black jumpsuit, brooding, and rage issues?" she fanned herself dramatically.