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He rubs the hairs at the base of his neck and shifts his legs around. "Give me a minute. This is hard as hell."
"All right."
We sit in silence for a beat. His chest rises with his deep breath in. "When Donnie pushed me in the pool, my glasses came off. I couldn't see. I didn't know how to swim. I was terrified." He turns his knees toward me and his eyes are worried. He's struggling with reliving the memory. "I realized I was in the shallow end, saw something on the step and grabbed it. It was your bracelet. My glasses were there too so I took them both in my panic. I got the hell out of the pool, ran out of the solarium and down to the catering tent. The owner of the catering company fired me right there, said he wouldn't pay me."
"Oh no."
He swallows and his Adam's apple rocks with the effort. "And when I looked up the slope, you were standing there. Your father and your brother surrounded you. Your dad looked furious. Your brother and Renzo mocked me by pretending to be drowning."
"I am so, so sorry for that." I hate that my brother and Renzo did that to him.
"I met Henry that night. He picked up my sopping-wet ass off the sidewalk and gave me a ride back to his place in Queens. When he found out I was homeless, he let me stay with him."
"You were homeless?"
His shoulders bend forward and he looks down. "For a while, yeah. Was trying to save up some money to get a place." His voice is quiet and sad.
He gradually inches closer to me. Our knees touch and I don't pull away. "I always wondered about you."
"On the ride to Queens, I told Henry how it all went down. He told me he'd help me to fight back next time I was bullied. He helped me get contacts and taught me karate. I worked out. I got bigger. I started winning tournaments."
"I can't believe I didn't recognize you. You look so different."
His chin lifts and he straightens his back. The confidence I'm used to seeing returns to his eyes. "I am different. So I had the bracelet all this time. I kept an eye on you on the internet, but you're sort of a quiet type for a girl who throws society parties." He takes my hand and places the bracelet in my palm.
"Yeah."
He curls my fingers around the bracelet and holds my closed fist in his warm hands. "Donnie showed up at a fight. He was taking bets. I knew he was your brother. I approachedhim and told him to come back again, I'd throw the fight for him."
"You did?"
He nods and then shakes his head, a wry grin on his lips. "I was just messing with him. I'd never throw a fight. I wanted to get back at him somehow, and I couldn't beat his ass unless he got in the ring."
"That's sneaky."
"I never expected him to show up with you." He lowers his chin and levels his eyes on me, which have grown darker as we talked.
Wait. This is all making sense now. "You winked at me."
He smiles and squeezes my hand tight. "You cheered for me."
"I did. I thought it was an amazing fight."
"I heard you screaming for help. Got that Rocco asshole off you and I realized it was my fault Rocco was angry at Donnie."
"No. It wasn't. Donnie shouldn't be making big bets on underground fights like that." Is that why Donnie asked me to go with him to the fight? He was making deals and wanted me there to attract guys like Rocco? No. Donnie makes bad decisions, but he'd never put me at risk like that. He's always saying how much he cares about me.
Foster lifts the bracelet from my hand, opens it, and fiddles with the clasp. He laughs when he can't get it open, but it's a tiny hook and clasp. Foster isn't deterred. He never is. He keeps trying until he gets the lock unfastened then wraps it around my wrist. Closing it is easier than opening it and he lets it go.
He looks at it on my wrist as he starts talking again. "After the hurricane, Donnie texted me. Asked me to deliver a package. I knew he was setting me up for something, but I did it. A connection to you."
"So you delivered drugs for him?"
"Yeah, but he set me up. He sent me to guys he owed money to. Every delivery was a fight for my life."
"Oh no. I had no idea Donnie owed so many people money."
He looks at me doubtfully like how could I not know this about my own brother? But he really doesn't tell me what he's doing most of the time. "Anyway, I earned Donnie's respect by winning all the fights against his enemies. He said his dad needed someone like me working for him. This was after they caught us in the pool. I was shocked."
