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Swiping her face finally, Addi bites her lower lip, as if stopping herself from speaking.
She wants me to talk, and she’s not going to risk cutting in.
“The day I beat him nearly to death was the day we both got out of there. That’s also when she started seein’ Darth. At first, he was good enough to her, but soon I figured out they were up to no good. When Darth offered to cut me in on sellin’ shipments, I agreed. Had no fuckin’ money and he was rakin’ it in. I had no idea what they were really movin’. I just organized it, made sure the containers were there and made sure no cops found out.”
Chest clenching, I fight back the wild feelings inside as I recall the day I found out what they were doing.
“When I found out what she was really involved in, I lost it. I told her to come with me, we had enough money and we’d start somewhere else, but she was so fuckin’ obsessed with him. She couldn’t see past it. He was slowly creepin’ up higher on the ladder and with that came the kind of power he thrived on. I gave her an ultimatum, me or him. She chose him. I walked away and never looked back. That day fuckin’ haunts me, the words she said, they will forever tarnish my soul.”
Clenching my jaw, I think back on that day.
“He’s sellin’ people, Clara. Fuckin’ people.”
“They’re not good people, Cade. It’s probably a better life for them.”
Shaking my head, I step up closer to her. “You’re fuckin’ delusional. You’re takin’ away their freedom. What the fuck is wrong with you? I spent my life protecting you from the very thing you’re putting them into.”
She looks down at her feet, then back up at me. “I know what it’s like to live in poverty, to be starving, to have nothing. You do, too. Darth is giving me a better life. We are going to buy a house, have a family, and I’m not going to struggle again.”
“You think that this world comes without danger? You think you can just go live a happy fuckin’ life? You’re out of your mind. Eventually, you’ll get killed. What the fuck are you thinking?”
“Darth matters to them, we’re safe.”
She’s lost it.
“I spent my life protecting you, tryin’ to teach you better. I’m not going to ship innocent people away for money. I’m out.”
She stares at me, her eyes growing cold. “Then go, Cade. I didn’t ask you to protect me. I didn’t ask you to be my fucking hero. I don’t need you, and I don’t want you. If you want out, then leave.”
She can’t be serious.
“Come with me,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm. “We have enough money, we can start somewhere new. You can get a career, meet a good man ...”
“Darth is a good man.”
“No, he’s not,” I roar. “He’s going to get you killed.”
Shaking her head, she takes a step back. “If you’re asking me to choose, I choose him.”
It feels like a knife to the heart, after everything I’ve done for her.
“After everything, you’re willing to just flick me out of your life. If I walk away now, I’m never comin’ back. Is that what you really want?”
“What I want is freedom, and Darth gives me that. Living with you is exactly the same as living with dad. You want to control my life and everything I do. Go, let me be, and find your own life, Cade, instead of obsessing over mine.”
No words could ever hurt as much as those.
Not a single fucking sentence could crush me as that did.
Addison stands when I’m done talking and moves around the couch.
“I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”
Sorry for what?
Me having a sister that decided I wasn’t worth fighting for, after I spent my life fighting for her?
Yeah.
