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“I went to go meet Jessie and Lincoln, to try to talk to them about moving out where we live,” Julian began. “A cop had just left before I pulled up to the garage. I didn’t think much of it—figured they were there just because of how much everyone in that town seems to hate you.”
I frowned. I hated that Jessie and Lincoln were being singled out just because of their affiliation with me. It wasn’t right. They were good, decent, hard-working men. They didn’t deserve to be mistreated.
Hell, they were the best men I’d ever known.
“Four officers showed back up while I was there. Lucky, I’m guessing his name is, tried arresting Jessie, claiming that he had threatened him.” My frown deepened. That wasn’t like Jessie. “Jessie has security footage, so they couldn’t follow through on it.”
“L—L—” I huffed, getting frustrated when I couldn’t get his name out on the first try. “Lincoln?” I finally managed to get out.
Meghan smiled at me in encouragement. “Lucky said some shit about you to them. I’m guessing Lincoln is normally pretty calm because he was trying to keep Jessie’s temper down, but Lincoln lost his shit, and he punched Lucky in the face.” I gasped, my heart knocking hard against my breastbone. “I was there to witness the whole thing. Jessie and I pulled the security footage and we made copies of it just in case the cops tried wiping it out.” He sighed. “I hired an attorney despite Lincoln’s protests that he could handle it, and the attorney is working hard to get bail granted. The judge is being a fucking hard ass.”
I burst into tears, my shoulders shaking. Meghan drew me into her arms. “He’s g—” I couldn’t finish my sentence, the onslaught of emotions forcing my speech back down again. Meghan rubbed my back and soothingly whispered to me, trying to calm me back down.
“I’m going to get him out of this mess, West,” Julian gently promised me. “I have money, and in situations like this, money is power. I will get him back to you; I promise.”
“J—Jessie?” I brokenly asked.
“He’s trying to get everything set up to move,” Julian informed me. “The garage is closed, and he’s getting ready to open up shop in a few weeks close to where Meghan and I live.” Oh, Jessie. He always did everything in the world he could for me to make my life just a little bit easier. And now, he was uprooting his life to help me. “Jessie is fine—pissed that Lincoln is arrested—but he’s more worried about how this is going to affect you.”
“I can talk to Dr. Gresham, see if he’ll allow Jessie to come see you,” Meghan offered. I snapped my eyes up to hers, hope blooming in my chest. I needed to see him. “You’ve been doing so good, West, and even now, you’re still managing to somewhat speak despite your emotions being all over the place.”
I nodded. “Please,” I managed to get out.
She nodded and ran her hand over my hair. “I’ll go talk to him.” She handed me the book that I had dropped onto the couch when Dr. Gresham had broken the news to me. “Julian, will you stay here with her?” Meghan asked him.
I shook my head at Meghan. “I’m fine,” I assured her, the words still hard to get out, but I managed without stuttering.
She shook her head at me. “You’re not okay, West, and that’s okay to admit. You two don’t even have to talk. But being alone is going to make all of those horrible thoughts come forward,” she reminded me. I hated that she was right. “I’ll be right back.”
She quickly left the room. I curled up on the couch, really just wanting a nap after all of that. Julian ran his eyes over my face. “You and Meghan look so much alike,” he whispered more to himself than to me. “Fucking strange.”
My eyebrows pulled together in confusion as I pointed to my eyes, silently telling him I knew our eyes were the same. He nodded. “Your eyes are definitely the same, and I can see the roots of your natural hair color peeking through. You have black hair, and your noses are the same, as well as your cheeks.”
I reached up and touched my hair. I had honestly forgotten about dying my hair, though I knew that was out of the question while I was in the center.
Besides, maybe it was time I began to embrace my natural beauty, rather than trying to change myself so much.
Meghan stepped back into the room, this time with Dr. Gresham behind her. Dr. Gresham gave me a warm smile. “I don’t normally do this, but the progress you’re making is astounding,” he informed me. I sat up, excitement filling my body. “I’m going to let Jessie come spend a couple of hours with you today. I’ve already called him. He said he’ll be here around three.”
