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Kaisin answers. “We weren’t allowed to talk to you. If we even tried, Kordin would intervene. He was always worried about you becoming overwhelmed.”
“Always,” Phil adds. “He blamed your fragile state.”
My fragile state? Did Kordin use my illness to further his objective?
“Now we know it was just a way to…”
“Isolate me,” I say, reflecting back on the past eight years of feeling like an outcast in this building.
They both nod.
“I’ve known for a while Kordin’s not who he says he is. He… Well…” I expose my wrist, showing the scratches, then brush a finger over the mark on my chin.
“Kordin gave you those?”
I scrunch my face on a whimper.
“You need to file a police report.”
“I will.”
“Lenox?”
I turn my face toward Kaisin.
“That won’t be enough. The chances of him seeing the inside of a jail cell today, or any day, are slim.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure.”
“Even if he does get arrested, he’ll make bond and be right back out. The police chief… The judge… They’re all…close.”
I wasn’t aware Kordin had a judge in his back pocket as well.
“For your safety, you should consider—”
“No, I can’t run scared. That’s what he wants. That’s what he expects, for me to cower so he can continue to get away with the bad things he does. I have to stand up to him. I just…” Trailing off, I glance at them both.
“What is it?” Kaisin prompts.
“I don’t know if I can do it alone.” After saying the words aloud, I realize I actually can’t. I need help. A lot of it.
“You won’t have to,” Phil promises. “You have our full support.”
Got ’em.
“Is everything all right up there?” someone from below calls up.
Kaisin answers him, saying, “Sorry about the interruption. We’re all right.”
The man continues climbing until he’s on our level, giving both Kaisin and Phil scrutinizing sort of glares from under a pair of wiry white eyebrows.
Speaking to me directly, he asks, “Are you okay, miss? Are these two bothering you?”
“Oh. No, they’re not. They’re actually trying to help me through a very difficult time.” I punctuate that statement with another loud sniff.
“It must be pretty painful.”
“Excruciating,” I tell him honestly.
