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God, Trick had lost everything.
Not only had I put him in jail, I’d taken away his life along with it. Everything that he planned on doing was now no longer a possibility for him because he was a felon.
I was so lost in my thoughts, crying my eyes out, thinking about this poor kitty and driving to the vet that I hadn’t realized that Tater had moved until I felt something move into my lap.
A cry of sadness left me as Tater crawled all the way into my lap, curled up, and started a broken purr that almost tore my heart out as fast as Trick had earlier this year when he’d told me to stay away from his sister.
I placed my free hand on the cat’s head, being careful of his wounds, and knew right then and there that I’d exhaust my bank account to make sure that he lived.
CHAPTER 16
Don’t be ashamed to fart while you pee. There is no rain without thunder.
-Things not to say to your girlfriend
TRICK
“So tell me about this boy that you met,” I ordered, looking at my sister.
Auggie blinked. “What makes you think there’s a boy?”
My sister had a child-like innocence to her.
One that she’d clearly never grown out of, not even in the twelve years that we’d been apart.
When I’d come back into her life a couple of months ago, she’d acted like twelve years hadn’t passed at all, and that had broken my heart a little.
Auggie had what was the equivalent to a fifth-grade level of education. Though she advanced through the grade levels, she was not at the level she needed to be to truly pass them. Sadly, when she was growing up, Auggie never received the care and help that she needed to improve more than that level.
Meaning, she was a lot further behind than she could have been had my parents actually given a fuck.
She knew the difference between right and wrong, she could make general decisions about her life, and though she couldn’t manage her money on her own, she had control of a credit card that had a small spending limit that would allow her to get anything she wanted within reason.
“Because you have a boy’s necklace around your throat,” I teased. “With a boy’s initials on it.”
Honestly, I didn’t mind my sister seeing a boy.
I wanted her to be happy.
“How do you know they’re a boy’s initials?” Auggie shot right back.
I held up my hand. “I never said that it was against the rules to love a girl, but you’ve been mooning over boys since I was a kid. I know that you like boys.”
Auggie’s eyes twinkled, and she looked around, biting her lip.
God, I’d missed her.
Some would think that she was a lot of work—and she was—but she was also the first person to make me smile. The first person I thought about seeing when I got out. The first person that would be there for me, no matter what it was that I needed.
“Okay, you’re right. It’s a boy.” She giggled. “He wrote me a note, and we’re talking back and forth that way. We pass them during lunchtime.”
I smiled.
“That’s great, Auggie,” I said.
She looked at me, and if we were in a cartoon world, I would’ve seen those floating hearts around her head.
“Do you like this new place you’re in?” I asked curiously.
Auggie immediately nodded her head. “Swayze did a great job finding it. I’m so glad that she fought Mom and brought me here.”
“She fought Mom?” I all but fell over.
Auggie’s eyes were serious. “Yes. They yelled really loud. Did you know that she moved up to our hometown while she was in school? She said that you sent her. You were good to send her. Mom was mad that you didn’t come home to help with me. She was kind of mean.”
Kind of mean. Auggie’s version of ‘kind of’ and my version of ‘kind of’ were two completely different worlds.
Auggie didn’t ‘see’ the problem with Mom talking down to her. With Mom smacking her around when she didn’t get out of her way fast enough.
Auggie saw the best in people always.
Even when those ‘people’ were not being nice.
“That’s good, Augg,” I croaked. “I’m glad that she was there for you.”
When I couldn’t be. And did the things that I’d always wanted to do but didn’t know how to do.
“She’s great. I miss her. Where is she?” Auggie asked.
I felt a tightness in my belly.
I’d done that.
I’d also undo that.
It was obvious that Swayze would never, not ever, do anything to hurt my sister.
Not when she went to all the trouble of bringing her here. I should’ve seen that in the beginning when I’d first gotten out. Instead, I’d been pissed off and had lashed out.
“Mom calls me all the time and asks me to come home. My boyfriend, Dazzle, says it’s because she wants my disability checks. You don’t think that’s why, right?” Auggie asked.
