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“I’ll bring over an apple pie. She loves my apple pie. It might distract her enough for you to buy a few of her properties.”
“You know, that may not be a bad idea. Be there by eight.”
I laughed and shut the door behind my brothers. It felt good talking to them. They knew me better than anyone else and understood everything I’d gone through in my childhood.
I thought of Laura, and how she never really had anyone in her corner. I would find a way to win this trial for her.
I dialed the number of our private investigator.
“Hey, I need you to look into someone for me.”
“Who is it this time?”
“An officer named Tom Brennon. Find out how dirty he is.” Maybe I could get him to turn.
“Will do. Oh, and I’m meeting with a lead on that man you’re having me look into. The one from your mother’s past.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Officer Brennon is your top priority.”
“Sure, thing.”
I hung up the phone and poured myself another drink. Dropping my head back on the sofa, I stared at the empty white wall over the mantle. I could never decide which piece I wanted there. Nothing felt good enough as the central focus of the home. Was that how I saw the world? Not good enough? Is that how I saw myself?
Ugh, all this psychoanalyzing was giving me a headache. I would do what I always did best.
Seek and mete out justice. And hope the right people got what they deserved.
22
Laura
The guards walked me back to a communal jail cell. I wanted to sit in the corner, pull up my legs, and rest my cheek on my knees, but I knew that would make me look scared and weak. So, instead, I crossed my arms and stared at the distance between the thick steel bars, avoiding any of the other people inside the cell.
How the hell did I get here again?
I had sworn to myself that I wouldn’t let anyone take my freedoms away from me again. But here I was.
I was only supposed to follow my father. I wasn’t supposed to get involved. But when I saw the baseball, I couldn’t stand back and watch my father hand it over to some stranger. Luke would never see that ball again.
I never imagined I would be facing hard time. I should have known better than to cross the mob. Rossi didn’t seem like the type that played by the rules and now I was going to pay the price for my impulsiveness. I should have just walked away.
I should have forgotten all about Ryan and his family.
Then why did I feel so terrible when I had sent him away?
I had done the right thing. For me and for him. What we had was a fantasy. It was fun. It was playful, but it could never be our reality. I had a past. I’d spent time in prison. He was a lawyer.
I want to have a future where I work with those who have done time or are facing time. I am not a socialite. I couldn’t care less about society parties.
I want to change the world, not sip champagne. I’d been given a second chance and I was going to make a difference. I would help kids like me get back on their feet. To start a new life and break free from their old friends and habits.
I saw so many kids go back to their lives only to fall into the same patterns. If we send them back to the same situation time and time again, how can we expect them to make different choices?
Sometimes there was no choice. Sometimes it was your own family that prevented you from making good choices. Maybe it was a parent who had an addiction or continued to break the law. Just like mine.
How are you supposed to get away from that when you’re only fifteen years old?
Just thinking about the injustice made me so angry. I couldn’t be with someone like Ryan. He couldn’t understand what I’d been through or get why I would have to choose to go to the station on a Friday night to help some teenager rather than a dinner party for some rich family.
