He fishes around in his pocket.
“What are you gonna do, call the cops?”
He looks up at her, shaking his head. “You need to sleep it off, have a shower, and put some clean clothes on. These are the keys to my apartment upstairs.”
Her eyes round. “So I can stay?” Before he even finishes his sentence, she throws herself into his arms.
Awesome, so now this mysterious woman is staying with him?Who the heck is she?
“Yes, you can stay, but I’m not tellin’ Haze, you gotta pull up your big girl panties and do that for yourself. Don’t expect him to go easy on you.”
“I promise I’ll stay outta trouble, B-Brew, I mean it this time.”
“Come on, let’s get you inside. You got any more bags?” He hauls a small canvas bag over his shoulder.
“Just that.”
“Down the hall, to the last door at the end.”
“T-thank you, Brew, you don’t know what this means to me.”
“Just move your ass before Haze sees you like this and calls your mom.”
“You’re the best.”
She takes off down the hall, a spring in her step.
I stare at my screen, unseeing. I feel bad for listening, but it wasn’t as if I did it on purpose. I suppose making myself scarce was the right thing to do, but to be honest, I wanted to know who she was and what she’s doing here.
As if reading my thoughts, Brew stops, his eyes meeting mine as I turn my head. “Hold my calls,” he says. “I’ve gotta deal with this.”
I nod. “No problem. Would your girl— uh, friend—like me to head out and grab her some clothes, or supplies or anythin?—?”
“I’ve got it.” He steels his jaw. “And she’s not my girlfriend or my friend, she’s my cousin.”
Cousin?
Relief washes through me.
Okay. A cousin I can handle.
“Oh.” Those words actually leave my mouth, and I feel like an idiot. I clamp my mouth shut, wanting the ground to swallow me whole.
His eyes narrow. “Was she rude to you?”
I shake my head. “No, she was just upset and distressed,” I say honestly. I take out the part where she clutched her head and began to pace. I’m sure he can see for himself the state she’s in.
“I’ve got this. She’ll be better when she’s had a decent night’s sleep.” He clears his throat. “She’s not a bad person… She just got mixed up with the wrong crowd.”
“It happens,” I breathe. “I, of all people, know that.”
He gives me one long look that I can’t decipher, then strides off down the hall. It’s the most he’s ever said to me.
I can’t even remember a time when we’ve held more than a three sentence conversation, and it’s always about work. I know nothing about him or his family. But Nova is definitely troubled. She didn’t even tell her mom she was out.
Then I get to wondering what she did, and how long she was in the slammer for.
I try not to judge anyone, and I do a pretty good job of it, taking people at face value.
