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“I thought you wouldn’t be coming back,” she said, grabbing a towel from under the sink.
“Told you I’d be back.”
“I know,” she replied, shrugging. “But probably better if you just avoid him for a bit.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. I sure as hell wasn’t going to promise not to get into it with my brother.
“So the bottles are labeled,” she said jokingly as she gestured to the shower. “I think you’ve got it from here.”
“You know,” I said, reaching out to cup the back of her head. “I could really use some help in here. I’m real sore—”
“That’s your own damn fault,” she replied with a chuckle.
“Let’s watch a movie,” Charlie called down the hall. “I’ll make popcorn.”
I groaned.
“Take your shower,” Kara said, scooting around me. “I’ll make sure Charlie doesn’t pick a shit movie.”
It didn’t take me long to get cleaned up. By the time I was dressed and carrying my dirty clothes out of the bathroom, Kara and Charlie were parked on the couch with pillows and snacks.
“You got a bag I can put these in?” I asked, gesturing with my handful of clothing.
“Under the kitchen sink,” Kara said, turning her head to look at me. “You want me to get one?”
“I can grab it.”
“Doc Holliday is hot,” Charlie said as I was bagging up my clothes.
“Tuberculosis really does it for you, huh?” Kara joked.
“Guess so.” Charlie shrugged. “Actually, I think it’s the mustache.”
“Only place you’ll find that mustache is on a fuckin’ hipster,” I said, sitting down between them on the couch. “You into that now?”
“I don’t have a type,” Charlie replied, kicking her feet up onto the coffee table.
“She does like hipsters,” Kara whispered.
“I do not,” Charlie shot back.
“I got a friend you’d be into,” I said, grinning as she scowled at me.
“I know all your friends,” Charlie replied.
“Not all of ’em. I know a guy that was with me inside—”
“Let me stop you there,” Charlie said, putting her hand up. “I’m not going for a guy you met in the joint.”
“The joint?” I asked with a laugh. Was she sixty years old?
“Prison,” she shot back, waving her hand around. “You know.”
“Why not?” I asked. It was a surprising thing for her to say. We knew more men that had been in prison than ones who hadn’t. It was just a part of life, honestly. A few of the old timers had made it without doing any long stints, but not many.
She wrinkled her nose.
“Charles,” Kara scolded, staring at Charlie like she had two heads.
“I’m not making that face at you,” Charlie clarified, bumping her shoulder against mine. “The only reason you went to prison is because that judge was a motherfucker.”
“Sure.”
“Oh, please,” Charlie replied with a scoff. “Don’t act like you’re offended. You know I love you.”
“Bishop’s not a repeat,” I said, circling back to the friend I was talking about. “He’s in for some stupid shit. Should be gettin’ out here soon.”
“Are you trying to hook me up with your friend?” Charlie asked suspiciously. “Because I do okay on my own.”
“More than okay,” Kara mumbled.
“I have an active—”
“And loud,” Kara mumbled again.
“—sex life,” Charlie finished, glaring at Kara. “And I’m not that loud.”
“Some of your dates are,” Kara said in disgust.
“Well, excuse the fuck outta me,” Charlie said, laughing. “I’m good at what I do.”
“Change of subject,” I said quickly. The conversation was going down a road I never wanted to be on. Ever.
“Let’s just watch the movie,” Kara said. The familiar intro to Tombstone started playing and I relaxed back into the couch, wrapping my arm around Kara’s shoulders. No wonder they’d been talking about Doc Holliday. We’d seen the movie at least a hundred times because there was something in it for every one of us. Me and Curt liked the action, Charlie dug the history, Kara got all teary eyed at the love story, and Reb loved anything with Sam Elliot.
God, it was good to be home. It had been nine months since I’d gotten out and I still had moments when I couldn’t quite believe that it was finally over. That I no longer had to watch my back constantly. That I could drive over to see my parents or walk outside any time I wanted. I was crazy thankful for shit that I’d taken for granted before, like sitting down in the middle of the day to watch a movie, lounging on the couch with my two best friends.
“Ah, there he is,” Charlie said happily when Doc came on the screen. “Yum.”
“You do realize they rarely bathed,” Kara replied, tipping her head to look around me at Charlie. “His balls haven’t seen soap in months.”
“Just let me have this, okay?” Charlie joked. “I know all about their bathing habits. I’m choosing to ignore that little reality.”
“Fine,” Kara replied. “I’m more into Wyatt.”
