AllFreeNovel
Share Us
TEN
KILLIAN
We ride around in Courtland’s car for what feels like a decade. I don’t know what all he’s wrapped up in, but he’s kept it tight lipped except for showing me tonight, some of the stops that he makes to collect from the different stick-up kids that are pushing drugs in his territory. I’m almost positive that he’s a part of some gang, but I don’t ask.
He shows me all the different stops and the different kids to meet up with to collect the cash from. After I do that, I’m supposed to put it in a manilla envelope and hand it off to him. What happens after that, I don’t know, nor do I care to know.
It’s probably better this way anyway. The less I know, the less I can be held accountable for. I don’t want to be wrapped up in all the shit that he’s in. I just need to make a few quick bucks. Courtland can use me as his runner and lighten his load.
It’s a win-win, as long as he doesn’t drag me down with him.
“Can you pull over so I can use that payphone?” I ask Courtland as we near a red light. “I forgot my phone in my bag.” I almost missed the phone from the corner of my eye, but it caught my attention just in time.
Courtland grunts in response, waiting until the light turns green before stepping on the gas. He pulls the car over, letting the engine idle as he throws it in park and I jump out. I fish out two quarters from my front pocket that I found on the street earlier today when we were out. They effortlessly slide into the hole and I pick up the receiver before dialing the number that I want to call.
“Hello?” Her voice is meek and broken.
I take a deep breath, inhaling as much courage as I can. “Hi Raina.”
I hear the sharp intake of her breath. “Killian?” Her voice breaks, like she can’t even believe it. “Is Ainsley with you? I’ve been so worried about both of you but since you’re eighteen, the cops can’t do anything about it.”
“She’s safe.” I pick at the chipping paint on the side of the box. “But there’s something that you should know about Ainsley.”
Raina falls deathly silent. “Please tell me that she’s okay.”
“She’s addicted to heroin.”
Those four words are all that it takes for Raina to completely break down. I give her the watered-down version, knowing that if I tried to explain it all, we would be here all night. I make sure that she understands just how bad it has gotten though. She needs to know the truth, especially after all this time of Ainsley hiding it from her parents.
“You need to bring her home, Killian.” Raina sniffles. “We can protect you from Ezra and his family pressing charges.”
I scoff. “I’m not even worried about that anymore. It’s Ainsley that I’m worried about. I already tried to get her to let me bring her home and she refused.” I don’t give her the details of how she went into the bathroom and shot up.
“What do we do? An intervention? Force her into rehab?”
I shake my head, peering through the window of the phone booth as I see Courtland tapping at his wrist. I’m taking way too long now. “We have to wait for her to be ready.”
“Killian, I need you to bring her home.” Raina’s pregnant pause fills the air. “Let me take care of my little girl. Please.”
“I will see what I can do,” I promise her. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Stay safe, Killian. And please keep Ainsley safe.”
I nod, knowing that she can’t see me before abruptly ending the call. I drop the receiver back on the hook and stride out of the phone booth, feeling even more unsettled than I did before. I never should have brought Ainsley along with me. I should have left her at home, where she belonged.
“You good?” Courtland asks as I climb back in his car. He eyes me suspiciously, but doesn’t ask who I was on the phone with.
I shrug. “I don’t even know anymore, man. Shit is so fucked.”
“Tell me about it,” he mumbles under his breath as he puts the car back in drive. “This is the life we live.”
I don’t bother responding as his words hang heavily in the air. We both had shitty lives when we were in the system, but that didn’t come close to touching where we came from. It’s hard to envision it now, but seeing how far we got—or didn’t—in life is even harder to stomach. We’re fucked up, steadily traveling down the wrong road.
I can only hope that one day it goes up from here.
* * *
When we get backto Courtland and Amethyst’s apartment, it’s quiet inside with only the soft hum from the TV. playing some bullshit reality show. Amethyst is knocked out, snoring with her head tipped back on a pillow. Ainsley is on the other side of the couch. As my eyes land on her, my stomach sinks as I see her unmoving, not blinking, just staring blankly at the TV.
