Page 44 of The System

“I don’t know. I’m just trying to think of something.” Kieran sighed.

“Well, think again, Picket Fence. I’m not guilty. I’m not going to prison for killing that asshole. I’ve survived a whole lot of assholes before him, and I plan on getting out of here to survive another few.”

Kieran shook her head and said, “That’s a pretty terrible outlook.”

“Not for someone like me. Maybe for you, though. I didn’t grow up with a mom and a dad who loved me and bought me a puppy or a kitten or something.”

“But that doesn’t mean that when you get out of here, you have to go back to the way things were. You have me now.”

“My twin, yeah… Look, I get it, and I appreciate you trying to help, but while we may share blood and DNA and the same face, that’s about all we share, isn’t it? You weren’t in nine homes by the time you were seven and thirty-two in all before you aged out of the system.”

“Thirty-two? Why so many?”

“Ask the people who ran them. Sometimes, they were just temporary, to begin with. Other times, they were already overcrowded. I had a few families who fostered because they were good people, but when it came to deciding on whether to adopt, I was never at the top of anyone’s list. Add a heart condition that required expensive meds that they’d have to pay for themselves if they officially adopted me, and you have the perfect mix for repeated abandonment.”

“I thought you said you were okay now.”

“I am. I still have to take a pill every day, though.”

“I didn’t know that. Are you getting them here?”

“Yes.”

“And when you were on the run?”

“I had a fake script. When you marry a guy like Nick, you also meet all these criminal friends. The fake papers I got came with a fake prescription, which I used until I had solidified my new identity. Then, I went to the doctor at a free clinic there under that name, told him I’d lost all my records, and he gave me a legit prescription.”

“He believed you?”

“In a community clinic with a waiting room overflowing with people? Yeah.” Marin nodded with a laugh. “He examined me for all of five minutes, and when I knew what I needed, he signed the script, and I was gone.”

“You’ve told Diego all of this, right?”

“He knows the whole sob story, yeah.”

“Not the concussion thing, though.”

“Not yet. I mean, I didn’t go to a doctor after to be diagnosed with anything. I just cleaned up how I could and got on the bus.”

“Tell him when he comes in after me, okay?” Kieran said. “He can help. He’s really good at what he does.”

“He’s here?”

“Yes. He texted me that he was coming to see you, so I decided to stop by and tell you about the bus video in person. He should be in the waiting room by now.”

“Get him in there, then,” Marin told her. “It’s almost dinnertime, and if I miss it, it’s not like I can just raid the pantry later.”

“Oh, okay,” Kieran replied. “Do you need anything else? More money in your account?”

“I don’t need your money, Picket Fence,” Marin said, but then she seemed to sober. “But I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll add more before I go,” Kieran promised.

When she left the room, she let out a deep breath, feeling like that was the best meeting they’d had so far and thinking that there was a chance the next time would get even better.

“Hey, is she still in there?” Diego asked when she walked through the door to the waiting room.

“Yes, she asked for you. It’s almost dinner, and she doesn’t want to miss it. I’m going to put money in her commissary account before the desk closes, but, Diego, make sure she tells you the whole story of that day, okay?”

---