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I didn’t have time for that crap anymore.
The drugs. The money.
It was all a part of my past, and I didn’t want it to be my future.
“No,” I snapped, leaping to my feet and standing in front of him. With him sitting and me standing, I actually had a couple of inches of height on him, and I was going to use it. I leaned in, glaring down at him. “I am not responsible for your debt, Ali.”
He looked up at me from below with a heavy, knotted brow. “Aren’t you? Because I sure as hell remember that one time I went to jail because you suddenly decided to grow a moral compass and go and check in on that old lady.”
“Here, drink some water.”
Officer Hartley placed a plastic bottle of water down on the table. She was the young female officer who’d been put in charge of looking after me. She was kind, but there was no mistaking the way she was trying to get on my good side, trying to be my friend, hoping it would help me open up to her about what happened.
Hoping I’d say something they could use.
“You ready to talk about it?” Officer Hartley pushed again as she took a seat. “It could really help your case if you just explain what went down.”
“My case?” I questioned, feeling my throat close up a little.
Officer Hartley sighed heavily and leaned back into her chair. “Shay, that woman had a heart attack. They’re not sure she’s going to make it. And from what it sounds like, it was caused by you.”
My heart stopped.
I stared at the water bottle in front of me, fighting the urge to vomit.
Did I kill that old lady?
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered, my voice catching on the tears building in my throat. “It was an accident.”
She picked up her pen and leaned in. “Okay. An accident. So tell me what happened.”
“Shay!” I looked up at the sound of Ali’s voice. Two male officers were dragging him through the station, his hands behind his back and his eyes wide. “Shay, don’t say anything… not a fucking thing!”
I didn’t have time to answer or tell him I was sorry and that I loved him. He was pulled down a different hallway, disappearing within seconds.
Officer Hartley reached over and put her hand over mine. “Shay, listen to me—”
“You stupid fucking bitch!” Jason screamed as they practically dragged him into the room. He was fighting the officers, throwing his body weight around, but his eyes were on only me, dark and menacing, even more so than normal. “You fucking idiot, Shay. You dumb little bitch.” He let out a loud cackle of laughter, the manic sound breaking through the anger.
“Shut him up!” Officer Hartley snapped.
The male officers finally managed to haul him away, though I heard him cursing me and screaming drama queen for a long time before everything went silent.
Usually, Jason didn’t scare me. But his family’s power did, and a few seconds later, when his parents rushed through, two men in suits beside them, I knew when this shit show came crashing down, Jason would walk out of the rubble unscathed.
But Ali and I would probably come out with wounds we might never be able to fix.
I stared at my brother, unable to form actual words, tears balancing precariously on my lashes.
In a way, he was right. After that lady had a heart attack, I couldn’t sleep or eat, knowing that I might have killed her, so I went to the hospital and found her room.
Only the police were there too. They took one look at the state of my torn-up hands, compared the clothes I was still wearing with the description from the day before, and arrested me on the spot for conspiracy to commit a crime. Not only that, but they added on a handful of other thefts like this that had been reported but that they’d never been able to pin on anyone.
“I went to jail for six fucking years, Shay.” I flinched at his harsh tone, one I didn’t hear very often. “Because they needed someone to make an example out of, and I didn’t want that person to be you. I gave up my life and my freedom so that you could have yours. So you could do all these amazing things you’re working so hard for. All I’m asking for is a thousand dollars so I can pay Jason and start fresh with a new job and a new life.”
You owe me this.
Those were the words he was saying without actually saying them. Because he took the fall that day and made a deal with the court to leave me out of it, and this was how I had to repay him. My brother. The person I thought had done a selfless act to keep me safe.
