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“Before we left. I told them to meet me here. I said I was going to see Troy. I didn’t know what was going to happen—if I’d be able to call—so I called them before we got here.”
“You hear that?” I say to Troy. “He thought you’d stab him the way you did Jake. That’s not a friend. Like he said, you were never his friend. That’s why he called the cops.”
I hear them outside now, the sirens blaring.
“Over here!” Sean yells.
Two cops race in.
“Let him go,” the cop next to me says. “We got him.”
They read Troy his rights as they handcuff him, then take him away.
“You did good, Sean,” I tell him.
He collapses against the wall. “I didn’t think it would work, but we did it. We got him.”
I’m relieved we caught Troy, but even more relieved that I didn’t kill him. I could have. I felt the urge. I felt my hands tingling, wanting to break his neck. But I held back. For myself, and for Jake.
Killing Troy would’ve felt good for a minute, but I’d be paying the price for a lifetime. I wasn’t willing to do that. Troy’s not worth it. Besides, death would’ve been the easy way out. I’d rather have him spend his life behind bars.
33
THANKSGIVING
JAKE
“What time are you guys eating?”I ask Dean, the sound of dishes clanking in the background.
“The way things are going, it might not be until tomorrow.”
Brook gets on the phone. “Don’t listen to him. We’re eating at three. Maybe four.”
“The turkey’s not even in the oven,” I hear Dean say.
“Would you get out of the kitchen?” she says to him. “And stop looking at the turkey. It’ll be done when it’s done.”
Dean takes the phone back. “So how’s everything there?”
“Great! I’m playing video games with Danny and his brother while we wait for dinner. We’re eating in an hour, but his mom put stuff out for us to snack on.”
Danny’s parents invited Tara and me over for Thanksgiving. I’ll go to Dean’s place for Christmas, but I decided to spend Thanksgiving here since it costs too much to fly back to Dallas. Dean would’ve bought me a ticket, but I didn’t want him spending more money after he already used up a lot of his savings to come here when I was in the hospital.
“Did Martin show up?” Dean asks.
“Yeah, he’s here. He brought a chocolate cream pie.”
“Your favorite.”
“I know. I can’t wait to have some.”
Martin’s become a good friend to both Tara and me. He’s determined to make sure I don’t fall behind at school. He’s always asking about my grades and even offered to tutor me when I failed an English quiz. His late wife used to be a teacher so I think he feels a need to help people do well in school as kind of a tribute to her. He volunteers a few days a week at a grade school, helping kids learn to read. When I told him Tara wanted to get her GED, he signed her up for classes and even paid for it.
Martin didn’t have any plans for Thanksgiving so Danny’s mom invited him over. I didn’t think he’d come since this neighborhood is known for burglaries and murders, so I was surprised when he accepted her invitation.
“Are you going to Sean’s place later?” Dean asks.
“No, he’s coming here. Leo too. We’re all going to watch the game.”
