Page 54 of Hooked on Trouble

I’m about to answer, when I notice her mouth. Gone are Rose’s perfect teeth, an ochre-stained smile in their place. I run my tongue over my gap, the space Nico finds sexy. The space that always made me feel inferior. For years, I’d imagine her grin brightening up a room like a silly toothpaste ad. Now it’s gone. Or did I remember it wrong? How much of our relationship have I fabricated?

I clear my throat. “It’s a long story, but Russ said he thought you’d be here.”

“Russ? That asshole?”

I wince at her biting tone and shrug. “He seemed nice enough.”

She waves a hand. “Sorry. There’s history there. So…are you living here now? In Vancouver?” Her eyes dart as she speaks, landing on me and flitting about. Restless. Wary. Must come with living in places like this.

I nod. “Almost two months. Heard you moved out West and figured I’d poke around. Do you mind that I’m here?”

She shuffles her feet. “It’s fine.”

The worst word in the English language. Fine is pissed off. It’s passive-aggressive for “mind your own damn business.” I used that word for the majority of my teen years. How odd, after all this time, after all my visions of this moment, to be here, facing Rose, talking to her with words like fine. I can’t even bring up my ninth birthday. Can’t fathom what I’d say.

Unlike with my grandmother, there’s no hug. She hasn’t made a move to wrap her arms around me. No tears collect in her eyes. Mine dry up, awkwardness filling the void. She may not be mad I turned up, but she doesn’t seem overjoyed.

“I wasn’t sure if I should contact you, you know, since you never called.” The bite in my voice surprises me. And God, where does my anger even come from? What right do I have to be mad?

“Living in that house was a bad scene for me, Raven. It was either get dragged down or move on.”

My resentment cowers under her harsh tone. We both lived in that house. We suffered through the drunken fits and unpaid bills. But I unleashed my father on her, the final blow. I’d have run far and fast if I’d been her. Never looked back. “I’m sorry. This is all just…weird.”

“You’re telling me.” Her attention drifts behind me, her dark eyes narrowing. “You here on your own? Not married or anything?”

Twisting, I follow her gaze. A blond man in army pants and a wife beater stares our way, right at Rose. He doesn’t blink. Doesn’t bother to hide his perusal. He tongues a tooth, revealing a gap much larger than mine. If Nico were here, I doubt this guy would have the balls to stare so openly. I move to block Rose from view.

“I’m seeing someone, but we’re not married. You know that guy?” I gesture to the creep with the crooked nose.

She shakes her head quickly. “No.” But she smiles at me, really smiles. Her teeth may be stained, her top front tooth chipped, but the gesture melts the strain between us. “Sorry. This was just unexpected. I’m not exactly proud to be living here. But…” She grabs my shoulders, hesitates a beat, then pulls me against her chest. “I’ve missed you.”

My remaining apprehension thaws, because this. This. This.

But there’s another reason I’m here. Gripping her back, I gulp down my hesitation. This could be my only chance to speak with Rose. She could disappear again. We could go our separate ways. It’s now or never. “I took the brooch,” I say, “that day. I took it and said nothing.”

My pulse chases out the words, leaving my heart pounding in my ears. I don’t remind her of the horrors she endured. Don’t tell her how terrified I was. I doubt she’s forgotten.

She doesn’t answer at first. My throat burns, like each swallow is barbed. Then she runs a hand down my hair. “I know. I always knew. You think I’d have let him touch you?”

Oh God, she knew.

I choke on a sob, the messy kind. A garbled, wretched sound. She knew all along. She took those blows for me. Protected me. It makes the whole ordeal worse and better. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

She stiffens but doesn’t release me. “Don’t apologize for that man. Don’t take the blame for what he did. I’m sorry I left you there. Wish I’d been strong enough to take you with me. But don’t go thinking anything in that house was your fault.”

Sounds so easy, to shift the blame. Rational even. But I know what I did. I also know so much in that house wasn’t right. There’s plenty of blame to go around. I’ll own mine. Live with it. Finally have the chance to pay Rose’s actions forward. I wipe my runny nose, and we go back to standing near but far, discomfort returning.

The line of people has thinned, but more appear to add their names on tomorrow’s list—too many in need, too few beds. If Rose weren’t here, maybe the elderly woman in line wouldn’t have to sleep on the street tonight. Mid-September means cooler nights, the kind frail bones don’t tolerate well. My apartment is a palace compared to this facility. A beige palace, but roomy nonetheless. I came here to find my sister, to have her in my life.

Why not start with offering her a bed?

Her attention is back on the guy behind me. Another reason to get her away from here. Away from people like that. Whatever knocked her off her feet, she deserves a second chance.

“Move in with me.” I’ve come this far, no point tiptoeing around the subject.

She chews her lip. “I couldn’t.”

“Sure you could.”