Page 15 of Corrupt Game

“I’ll be right outside your door. Then you won’t have to worry about anyone coming in or trying to bother you.” He’d winked at me. Not in a bad way, but like a fellow conspirator.

His intervention was the only reason I’d been able to sleep that night. It normally took weeks before I would settle into a new home, but Andy somehow made me feel safer.

I’d checked more than once during that night. He’d been right there with his back against the door, protecting me. I often wondered why he took on the big brother role so instantly with me, and not with the others. But I'd been too chicken to ask. I had to deal now with never knowing the answer.

I’d been so grateful to find someone who had my back.

The Bakers had been thrilled to have me join their family. Taking care of small infants and toddlers was hard and having a built-in set of babysitters made their lives easier.

We’d spent hours playing with the little ones, and all the love we’d missed out on as children was transferred onto the ones that needed it the most.

Now he was gone and would never marry or have children of his own.

The darkness wrapped around me, making the memories brighter, the pain deeper. I inhaled and wrenched my mind to the times he'd given me so much joy.

College graduation day. Excitement at finishing this chapter of my life, but sad there wouldn’t be anyone to cheer me on.

The Bakers, my longest term foster parents, had other obligations for their younger foster children. They’d been so kind to let me into their home in the first place, but they’d never really been my family. I hadn’t expected them to show up to my college graduation.

No one else had developed into a long-term friend besides Andy. By this time I’d grown used to being alone.

Each person graduating had been given four tickets, or six if they could find someone that wasn’t using theirs. I’d given mine away. There was no point in keeping them when another family could see their special child graduate.

So it had been a shock when someone screamed my name as I crossed the stage to receive my diploma.

Andy had arrived just in time. He hadn’t told me he was coming in case something had happened and he hadn't been able to attend. He'd made up for it when he'd mobbed me after I’d stepped out of line when the festivities were over.

I threw my arms around him in happy shock, only to have him pop one of those confetti bombs over me.

There'd been confetti everywhere. In my hair, down the front of my dress, in places I didn’t think were possible.

We laughed, and it was one of the happiest moments in my life.

He’d made one of my classmates take our picture together.

Then at everyone he met, he’d yell out, “This is my baby sister. She just got her degree.”

He kept hugging me and devoted all his attention to me. He wouldn’t go longer than ten minutes before he’d tell me how proud he was of me.

He’d splurged for a special dinner at a fancy restaurant with all of the extras.

I hadn’t questioned it. He’d just gotten a new job, and I didn’t want to take away from the specialness of the day by asking about finances.

Now, I was curious.

Where had he gotten that kind of money? It had to have cost him a good three hundred dollars for that one meal. Money that wouldn’t have been easy to come by.

I squeezed the bridge of my nose to keep the tears back. Showing up red-eyed and frazzled was not what I needed to do.

I’d just taken everything about Andy for granted.

His killer couldn’t get away with it. I had to prove that I was worth his love.

There would be more stuff he’d kept secret even from me. I wasn’t naive enough to think he’d told me everything. There had been girls and jobs he’d taken that I’d had no idea about until they were long over. I might have been his sister, but he’d known more about my life than I’d known about his.

Andy was a survivor. He would've done anything if he thought it would help him get a stable foothold in the world.

I was a horrible person to think that. I squeezed harder to stop the tears.

---