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32
The knock on her door didn’t surprise her. But she wasn’t particularly happy about it, either. She’d told Charlie she wanted to be alone. No, she wasn’t sure that was true, but until she sorted out this latest encounter with her sister, she didn’t want to be around him.
Sutton had gone with her to the bank, because Tatum refused to let her sit in Adele’s coffee house. She didn’t trust her with her belongings or her friends. Once she withdrew the six hundred dollars from her savings, she’d tucked it away in her purse and insisted Sutton have lunch with her.
She wanted more of a check-in. It wasn’t enough to know that Sutton and Bryony were living in Iowa; Tatum wanted to know where in Iowa. She wanted to know Bill’s last name, how old he was, and where Sutton saw things going with him. Tatum also needed to see her sister sit still for a bit, to engage her in conversation so she could decide if she believed her when she said she’d been clean for six months.
Sutton had rolled her eyes at Tatum’s unreasonable demands. Lit a cigarette outside the Sage building and smoked not just that one but another before going inside with her. Bill’s last name was Smith. Sutton had stared at her defiantly when she announced that he was forty-two, divorced, childless, and jobless.
The worry for Bryony had come back full force then, but still, Tatum talked and asked questions of her sister, because she was hungry for those details and worried about both of them. She had been fidgety, but Tatum hadn’t seen her pop a pill. No needles in the worn little handbag she carried. She drank a diet soda with her chicken strips, and she ate every bite of her lunch.
When Tatum asked how she got clean, she evaded the question. She did the same when Tatum asked about the bruise on her arm. Got angry and stormed out of her apartment with Tatum’s cash tucked away in her purse when Tatum suggested that if Bill had done that to her, was it possible he would do the same to Bryony?
Mentally exhausted when Sutton left, Tatum had curled up in a ball on her bed and cried herself to sleep.
And now Charlie was here, and Tatum wasn’t sure she could face him.
When she heard the knock again, a little bit louder this time, she climbed off her bed and headed through her apartment to the door. It wasn’t quite dark, but shadows fell around every corner. Her head pounded as she pulled the door open.
“Charlie—”
She stopped when she found herself staring at Adele.
“Can I come in?”
“Um.” Tatum swallowed hard and nodded. “Sure.”
Tatum kept her eyes on the floor as Charlie’s mom swept inside her dark, sad apartment. The woman was still dressed in the white jeans she’d worn at the coffee house earlier. Her yellow blouse was still crisp and bright, her makeup perfect. Tatum was a mess compared to her.
“Are you hungry?”
“What?”
She closed the door and turned to watch Adele make her way across the room and turn on a lamp.
“Let me fix you dinner.”
What was it with the Murphys wanting to cook for her?
“Adele, you don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t.” Adele shrugged. “I want to.”
With a sigh, Tatum followed her into the kitchen and watched her root through the refrigerator. Without asking, Adele took the cheese and the butter out and set them on the counter. Mouth agape, Tatum watched her make herself at home in the kitchen, find a can of tomato soup, and a loaf of bread.
“I sent Charlie home for a shower,” she told her as she got busy making a grilled cheese sandwich. “He needed it, but I also just wanted to talk to you for a minute.”
Tatum wondered if the till had come up short at the coffee house. She went through each of Sutton’s steps, but Tatum had been careful not to let her sister get near the counter after she had first come inside.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. Because she was. Whatever Sutton had done, Tatum was sorry about it.
“For what?” Adele glanced at her over her shoulder.
“Whatever happened today that made you want to come over and talk to me.”
Their eyes locked when Adele turned toward her.
“Honey, I came over here to see if you’re okay. I don’t know the story with your sister, but I know you were upset when you left with her.”
