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Another random visit. It made me feel slightly worried, but not from thinking it would be my lawyer. No, this came from knowing Millie only showed up unannounced when she felt hurt. Costas guided me to the room she'd be in. The second we were away from the other prisoners, I spoke without moving my lips much.
"Is she okay?"
"No." He gritted and shifted. "My plan to infiltrate their home included getting her boyfriend out of the house by giving him a gift certificate to the strip club. That little fucker spent two hundred from me, and eight hundred of Millie's money. He also took a woman home and paid for her private time. She walked in on it."
"A strip club?" I wheezed, knowing nothing good could come of that for a gentle woman like her.
"To be fair, we couldn't do anything else to get him to leave. The man only orders delivery, and he walks to a gas station for a drink. Other than that, he never leaves his home. I thought he'd go to the club and return after spending the free money. I had no idea he was a grotesque pig who'd do what he did."
"Dear god," I winced. Now, I had to walk into a room with her and pretend I didn't know about the truth. My only hope would be to get her out sooner. We'd be free, and she'd forget that fucker ever existed.
"On a good note, I was able to switch out her book with the one. Tony will be back in two days, so we'll make a plan then." Costas nodded at his own words like they'd be enough to get us through this hardship.
"But she's hurting today," I growled.
"And she's coming to you, sir. She's coming to someone she trusts to make it feel better. So do that." Just then, we arrived, and he didn't give me a moment to reply before opening the door. Shoving me in, he did it with extra force to show he was in charge like a guard would do.
Unprepared, I saw how swollen her eyes were as she tried to give me a watery grin with her cheeks blotchy. Her hopes in me were read in her desperate stare. She longed for me to cure her suffering. My breathing halted, hating that slimy bastard for what he did. Death would be too kind, so I needed to come up with another plan to make this right.
"Sunshine?" I breathed, worried over her duress.
"I'll be fine." Even as she said it, tears found her again. Sobbing, she hid her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I thought I'd have better control than I'm showing."
"Don't be sorry." Rushing to my seat, I glared at Costas while her eyes were turned down. He locked me to the table and stepped back, knowing my anger was aimed at what he did. "You know I'm here for you. Always, Sunshine."
Her glossy eyes finally looked up to see the honesty in my stare. Mine even watered a little heavier, hating her pain. The agony within her began to radiate within me because she was mine. This woman belonged to me and Tony. She'd never suffer at the hands of another ever again. I'd make sure of it.
"You're one of the sweetest men I know, and I hate that you're in here." She paused, looking down at the table. “I saw what was on the news last night… about your sister. I’m so sorry that went public and viral. I didn’t watch it out of respect for her, but that upset me too.”
"Thank you for that. It’s been eating at me since I found out, and the pigs in here haven’t made it easier. We all wish things could be different. I thought my crime would put an end to this vicious cycle, but Alexander was smarter. My only benefit has been if I wasn't here, I'd never get to meet you," I quipped, needing her to understand she's been worth the imprisonment. So had been killing my sister's attacker. "Without you, I'd forget there's still light that exists."
There. The single moment of affection I needed to see within her brown eyes tonight. She yearned to hear me say I needed her. Though, I knew I needed to help her talk through this.
"Are you ready to speak about what happened?" I urged her but respected if she wasn't. I just knew I couldn’t do any more questions about Sofia. Not until I could see my sister in person.
"I might cry more if I talk about it." She felt uncomfortable with her rocky emotions.
"Well, I can't offer you a tissue, but I can lend you an ear, Sunshine. Your tears only bother me because something hurt you and formed this gray cloud. Let me be your umbrella until you feel like shining again. And to shine again might mean more raindrops until you get there."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to think I only come when I'm having a bad day. You deserve all the positive experiences too."
"As your friend, I'm more than happy to be the person you feel safe going to, Sunshine. I'll never turn my back when you're struggling, but it would be helpful to know what battle you're up against."
She restlessly moved in her chair across from me under the fluorescent lighting, knowing this would be a new level to discuss, but we had been courting for several weeks now. She just needed to come to terms with that. "Have you ever been in a relationship where you're the one burdened with everything? And at first, you think it's fine because the storm will pass, but your partner never helped create a shelter from the storm? He just leaves you out in the hurricane to fend for the both of you?"
So the weather analogy went in a new direction, but I didn't mind. "And what's this hurricane? What has built up to create this tropical storm?"
"Tim lost his job a while ago. When it first happened, I knew he needed a break, so I let him not work. We had a small savings then, so it didn't hurt us as bad."
"Let me guess, he never tried to find a job?" Not that she needed to know, but I learned all of this through Costas's findings.
"No," she wailed. "All he does is play his video games all day and doesn't clean up after himself. He leaves everything for me to do when I get home, and I have to cook dinner. I constantly tell him we can't afford his spending habits for food deliveries, but he buys anything he wants anyway, not caring that I have to pick up more shifts to afford it."
"He doesn't care that you endlessly tire yourself out to provide for him?" I knew the answer, but I wanted her to say it. I needed to hear it fall from her lips because it would be my greenlight to end the motherfucker.
"He truly doesn't, but that's not the worst of it." For this next part, she fiddled with her hands below the table. She didn't want to say it, but we both knew she needed to tell someone how unloved she felt. "He never wants to touch me intimately. I've often wondered what's so wrong with me that I repulse him, and his excuse to rub one out is I'm never home when he's in the mood. But I'm never home because I'm busting my ass! I'm pouring from an empty cup, but he sips my remains whenever a small droplet forms. He never lets me replenish, and he's selfish."
"Jesus," I muttered.
