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I don’t want to do this with him. I’m looking at the exit.
“Paul,” he forces. “Inevergave you meth. What the fuck are you talking about?” His South Philly lilt is as thick as mine. He sounds like my dad.
“It was Mom, alright. You know it was her.”
“What?” He seems genuinely shocked, but I don’t see how.
“You were in the same room,” I almost shout. “Vanessa was next to me. She’s Mom’s best friend—”
“I know who Vanessa is. She’s the fucking reason your mom broke her parole.” He’s fuming.
“Mom was on the other side of me,” I tell him. “And she…” I’m not describing what happened while I’m on a mic. Could it add more time onto my mom’s sentence? Is that possible? I dunno. I was a minor. I was her kid.
Maybe she’s not someone worth protecting, but I can’t be a reason she’s locked away for longer. It happened forever ago.
“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter.
“I’ll talk to Bridget.” He names my mom, and he’s staring far away at the wall.
“You didn’t know?”
“I didn’t know!” he shouts, pissed off. “I thought you took it yourself.” He exhales and destroys the hoagie, angrily picking out strips of roast beef.
I want to believe him. If he is lying, just to pull me closer, he missed his calling. Shoulda been an actor.
I down another gulp of soda, the bubbles scratching my throat.
“You shouldn’t be talking to Colin,” he suddenly says.
It jolts me like being doused with ice. I wonder if security flinched too. “Why not?” I ask him.
“Colin is a little bitch.” He wipes his greasy fingers on a napkin. “And you shouldn’t have made that dumbass deal with my brother. I don’t know what you were thinking.”
Cold pricks my spine.
Lo knowsnothingabout me giving my paycheck to Scottie.
My throat closes, and my instinct is to say jack-shit. But I know that won’t help draw more out of my dad.
“I’m helping Farrow,” I tell him.
“Farrow?” He gives me an unamused look. “The guy who wasloadedand then married intobillions. If my shithead brother wanted money, you should’ve let him get it from your friend. Instead, you’re letting him take how much from you? All of it?” He shakes his head with an eye-roll. “Stupid.”
I glare. “If you cared that much about me, then why not tell Scottie to back off?”
“I did tell him it’s dumb. But once he gets an idea in his head, he’sobsessive.He was gonna get the money from someone or keep his rights to that kid. There was no in-between. I just didn’t think you’d be the first one to cave.”
I grind my teeth, avoiding his gaze.
Lo knows now.
Sickness churns in my stomach. I didn’t want him to know what I did. Even if it’s seen as something good. It’s another tally under “why didn’t you tell us earlier?” and “why didn’t you come to us first?”—and I don’t need more of those.
“You should’ve let Farrow pay Scottie.”
“I got that,” I say tensely.
He sighs and exhales deeper. “How’s my nephew doing anyway? Ripley, right?”
