AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You always have Dad and my brothers, and Shep and America. Mark and Pam. Finch. You’re not alone, Pidge.”
“You, Travis”—she pointed to my chest—“I needyou. You are the most important person in my life.” She shook her head and shrugged as she spoke. “I don’t want to do this without you. Don’t you ever talk like this again, do you hear me? You can’t turn yourself in. You can’t do that to me.”
“Okay,” I said, blinking. I pulled her in again, swaying a bit, trying to comfort her the best I could. I kissed her temple, cursing myself.
I knew I couldn’t leave her, even if it was to do the right thing. I’d just wanted her to tell me not to. Unloading something on her that I knew wasn’t going to happen was a dick thing to do. “You’re right. I wasn’t ... I don’t want to get arrested. I just needed to hear you say it, I guess.”
“Fine. I’ll say it as many times as you need me to. I’ll say it ten times a day. I will take the blame, guilt trip you, beg you, whatever it takes, but you can’t leave me.”
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Jesus, I can’t believe I just did that to you, I’m so sorry, I panicked.”
She lifted her chin, a tear escaping down her cheek. “I get it. It’s a lot. I don’t blame you for having weak moments. I just need you to promise me you will never stop fighting to stay with me. That you’ll never stop fighting for us.”
I choked down my emotions, clenching my teeth. She loved me as much as I loved her. I didn’t know that was possible. “Okay, Pidge. Okay ... I promise.”
She pressed her forehead against my chest, took in a deep breath, and then nodded. After taking a moment to gather herself, her eyes peered at the ground as she made the choice to trust me not to ruin her life. She wiped her eyes, turned on her heels, and walked away in the direction of her next class.
The smell of smoke still lingered in the air as she walked out of sight, leaving the ashes of my conscience in her wake.
Chapter Six
Truth
Travis
THE SOLES OF MY BOOTSsquished against the wet steps that led to my apartment. The sky had been pissing on me off and on all day between classes. I was glad.
The grounds around Keaton Hall were still soaked from the deluge of water the fire hoses had poured into the building. The rain made the rest of the campus blend in with Keaton’s charred, saturated grass and sidewalks.
My keys jingled in my hand as I pulled them out to unlock the door. As soon as I touched the knob, I heard tiny scratching on the other side. I smiled and pushed, immediately leaning over to greet Toto.
His wiry dark fur brushed against my face as he covered me with puppy kisses. He’d already grown so much, but he squirmed, yelped, and bounced around like he did his first day in the apartment. He wouldn’t settle down, so I finally picked him up, holding him against my chest while he soaked my face with dog slobber. I lifted my chin so I didn't end up with puppy tongue in my mouth.
I took him outside and down the steps, setting him on the grass and then crossing my arms while I waited for him to do his business.
Brazil used the spare key to pick up Toto after we’d already left for the airport, and even though he’d agreed with no notice and no questions, Abby was more than just unhappy when we’d picked Toto up.
She’d given him a bath the moment we got home to wash away the stench of cigarettes and dirty socks. After she’d dried him off and made up for lost snuggle time, he’d curled up in a ball on his bed in the corner of our bedroom and slept the rest of the night. She’d reminded me that morning that I’d promised to talk to Brazil about it.
I tapped out the message on my phone.
Dude. I appreciate you picking up my dog, but if you didn’t want to take care of him, you should have just said so.
It didn’t take long for Brazil to respond.What do u mean?
He smelled like shit. You were smoking around him? I don’t even smoke around him. And he was comatose for 24 hrs after we got him home.
Sorry, man. I had a party. There was a fight in the front yard. I had to break it up. When I came back in, Jenks had let him out of my room and was trying to feed him beer. I made Jenks leave, but Toto wasn’t hurt or anything, I swear.
Remind me not to ask you for any more favors.
Won’t happen again, Travis. Sorry.
I called Toto inside, his nails clicking against the linoleum in the kitchen while I opened a can of his favorite food. I scrunched my face at the rancid smell, wondering how in God’s name any creature could eat something so revolting. The irony wasn’t lost on me that I was talking about Toto, who enjoyed licking his own asshole.
I poured the food into the orange ceramic bowl Abby had found online with Toto’s name on it, and added to his water bowl before returning my attention to my phone. I scrolled through my contacts until Brandon Kyle’s name appeared. My thumb hovered over the phone icon.
One of my frat brothers had given me Brandon’s contact information. He was the owner of Iron E, one of three off-campus gyms in Eakins. Two of those gyms were Brandon’s, and Iron E was his pride and joy: a newer gym on the eastside that was significantly more popular than the others because of the high number of coed memberships.
