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“What’s that?” I ask as he places the device on the table.
“You tap it when you want service.”
“Wow.” I glance at the menu, looking at the different types of drinks. “I’ve never heard of any of this.”
“Didn’t you go to these sorts of bars when you were younger?”
I shake my head. “We were too young, and the doormen would never have believed our fake I.D.s. We stuck to local bars. Emerson, my friend, her dad was well known, so we could drink in our area and it didn’t bother anyone.”
“Oh yeah, what’s his name? I might know him.”
I shrug, not wanting to tell him in case he knows what happened to Emerson. Her dad is still in the area, and I see him when I go out with Dante, but he doesn’t speak or even look in our direction. There’s been so many times I’ve wanted to go over and tell him how sorry I am and that I laid with her all night until Dante ripped me away kicking and screaming. “Do you know Callie well?” His jaw tightens, and it’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about her. “Were you two a thing?” I ask, smirking.
He nods. “Yes, and I really don’t want to ruin our night talking about exes. I haven’t seen her in a long time before today. I don’t know her anymore.”
“You’re right, it’s not important. Let’s have fun tonight and worry about everything else tomorrow. But I would like to speak to her again. Maybe you could get me her number?”
* * *
I drink shots like I’m sixteen again and it feels good. I like the buzz alcohol gives me, and I like how brave I feel. Maybe that’s why Dante hardly lets me drink—he knows I’ll speak my mind. I lean closer to Nero. “Before Dante, I was happy,” I say, my words slurring. “Everyone assumes kids in care are sad and angry. I wasn’t. I loved being surrounded by people. I was always supposed to be surrounded.”
“What was the bad thing?” asks Nero. “You said before, he threatened you and your friends because you witnessed a bad thing.”
I smile, tapping his lips with my finger. “I can’t tell you his secrets, Nero. He’ll kill me.”
“I won’t tell him.”
“You might.” Emerson’s face flashes through my mind. “Yah know, it’s kind of all Callie’s fault,” I add. “She met a guy and dragged us all down with her.”
“Oh yeah?”
I frown, thinking back to his earlier words. “How did you work with her when you’ve been in prison? Is that how you met her, through work? How did you end up together?”
“I thought we weren’t talking about Callie?” He kisses me and thoughts of Callie leave my mind.
NERO
Tessa is wasted. I feel terrible, she’s slurring her words and lounging all over me, but I’m desperate for any information that’ll get Callie off my back, and the more she drinks, the more she talks. I top up her glass and encourage her to drink it in one.
“Why were you in prison?” she asks.
“I’ll tell you my secrets if you tell me yours,” I say.
She sighs heavily. “I can’t have children,” she confesses.
I lean closer. “What?”
“I’ve known since I was fourteen. I had something wrong with my ovaries and had to have an operation. It left scarring, so the chances of me conceiving are extremely low.”
“Fuck, Tessa, but Dante doesn’t know?”
She shakes her head. “He doesn’t deserve to know. That’s why I can’t stick around.”
“You’re leaving?” She nods. “Do you want money or a place to stay?” I’m reeling from so much information. She’s not set up to just leave. She has no access to anything and doesn’t have anyone she could go to. Fuck, she doesn’t even know how to shop without me telling her.
She smiles. “No, I’ve got it covered.”
“Well, if you’re leaving, you can tell me what you and your friends witnessed that caused all this in the first place,” I push.
