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His sudden display of anger has me flinching and pulling as far away as I can. It’s clearly not directed at me, but it kicks my fight or flight into response anyway. Rhys notices and immediately moves to squat in front of me instead, with some extra distance between us.
“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. It just makes me incredibly angry that as a society we’ve failed so hard on helping our fellow humans who are down on their luck,” he explains, letting out a frustrated breath. “I’ll clear this up for you. You won’t be going to booking over a fucking can of spaghetti on my watch.”
“No! Wait,” I yell out quickly, not wanting him to let me off. “I don’t want to be let off. I can take the consequences of my actions!”
“You want to go to jail for trying to feed yourself? ‘Cause I can think of a better way to get you back on your feet that is a lot safer than jail,” Rhys murmurs, tucking his stuff back away and standing up. “You just need to trust me.”
“Trust is a luxury I can’t afford,” I repeat the words I say so often in my head, noting the way he nods in agreement.
Rhys hands me a business card with the name of a community center, Open Minds Community Center, splashed across the top. Looking up at Rhys with confusion, he points to the number scrawled across the bottom.
“That’s my friend Adam’s number,” he mumbles before pointing to another number beneath it. “And that one is my personal cell. We have the resources to help you get on your feet without having a criminal record. Let us help you, even if you can’t trust me yet.”
Nodding, I let him walk away, staring down at the card for a long time. A community center definitely sounds like it would have the resources to help and Rhys is a cop, meaning he has lots of connections within the community as well. As much as my survival instincts are screaming at me to not trust anyone, if I’m going to trust someone, they seem like they would be the best chance I have.
Jail doesn’t sound fun, it sounds like a chance to sleep inside and maybe get a meal. Still, he’s right that I don’t want a criminal record sitting over my head for the rest of my life. I’m an adult now at twenty-one years old, that shit isn’t going to just go away.
