Page 75 of Shatter

"Come here," he says, sliding his hand down my arm and lacing his with my own. He opens the sliding glass of the patio and pulls me outside. The air is cool, but not freezing.

He sits on one of the recliners he has around a firepit and tugs me to lay down with him, tucking me under an arm and holding me against his chest.

The sounds of the city are louder out here. Car doors slamming, old AC units fighting for their lives, a siren off in the distance.

"I sometimes come out here when life feels too heavy. You can't see the stars, but the sounds of the city remind me that I'm merely one in a city of millions. It makes my worries not feel so important in the grand scheme of things."

I let that sink in. I'm anxious about fighting with my mother, but a couple in the next building over could be having a miscarriage. Someone's mother might have just been diagnosed with cancer or Alzheimer's. Someone else in the city could be overdosing right this moment.

He's right. Verbally fighting with my mother is nothing. It's going to be stressful, but it's nothing compared to what others might be going through. And it's a necessary step to getting everything I want.

I let my fingers trace random designs all over his chest, until I eventually fall asleep, blissfully feeling small in the grand scheme of things.

Chapter forty

Harrison

Iwake up to a muffled pounding on my door, but this time it's not in my dreams.

"DCPD, open up."

The police?

"What is it?" Abby asks from next to me. We'd both fallen asleep on the lounge, listening to the soundtrack of Washington, DC.

Groggily, I rub my eyes, but carefully stand as the pounding continues.

"Coming!" I shout, not wanting them to break down my damn door.

I unlock my front door to chaos. Two uniformed police officers are standing there, with a fire-breathing Athena and a stormy-looking Chris behind them.

"He's the one! He's the one that kidnapped Melody!" Athena screeches, pointing a boney finger in my direction.

How the hell had they been let in? Probably behind the police officers.

"Please place your hands behind your back," one of them says, pulling out handcuffs. I comply, and cold metal tightens around my wrists.

"What are you doing!?" Abby shouts, terror in her eyes.

I shake my head. "It's okay, Little Bird." I don't want to ever see her afraid.

"We got a report of a kidnapping," the other officer says.

"A kidnapping!?" she screams.

"How dare you!?" Athena hisses, pointing a finger in my face. I reach out, snapping my teeth shut inches from her finger like a rabid dog.

"Ma'am, if you could just..." Officer number one asks, holding an arm across her chest to push her away from me. All this before coffee. I turn and rest my ass against the stool in my kitchen.

"I haven't been kidnapped!" Abby continues.

"Is this true?" The police officer asks, breaking out a notepad. "I'll need to make a statement."

"My statement is that I'm here, of my own free will, in my boyfriend's condo. And that my parents are insane!"

The officers look at each other, gauging their next moves. "Can I see some ID, miss?"

Abby stomps over to the entry table, pulling my ID out of my wallet and her ID out of hers, handing both to the police officer, who jots down our information.