Page 31 of How to Prevent a Fumble

“What kind of favor?”

“If I send you an address, can you go over tomorrow and fix a lock and also install a camera? Don’t worry about damage, I’ll be calling her landlord tomorrow to make sure that she’s not responsible for anything.”

It always helps to have a random person who can do everything in your back pocket. If you want something done, something found, or something bought, Kevin is the person to go to.

“Yeah, I can do that. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just need to make sure someone doesn’t come back to that house. Call me tomorrow when it’s done for the details, okay?”

“Of course.”

12

BRIAR

“Why are these here?” Elara asks as she perches on my bed, her head in her little hands. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a bun from Aunt Isla, and she has a few specks of paint on her cheeks.

“Well, I had to bring some things over here. It’s nice to have a little bit of home, right?” I ask her. I try not to lie to her, but I also can’t tell her the real reason.

“Then why do you look so sad?” She frowns, her brown eyes searching mine.

“Sometimes it’s okay to be sad, Bub. It’s okay to have days like that.”

“I get sad when you tell me to eat my vegetables.”

I purse my lips. “Yeah that’s completely different, silly. Go get ready for bed, okay? We’ll watch a movie before bed.”

She groans. “Fine.”

Sorting through the rest of my CDs, I sigh to myself.

Not many survived, but considering the size of my collection,not manystill happens to be a lot. 2 old Styx albums made it, but none of the others. My dad used to get them in a CD subscription in the 90s. There’s aHysteriavinyl to my right, and aThird Stagevinyl to my left, flanked by my veryown collection of CDs. Every Matchbox Twenty album, the Goo Goo Dolls, even some Snow Patrol. And in front of me, toward the back of the pile, is my grand collection of Nickelback CDsandvinyl’s. Because no one can tell me they’re not good.

I wish I had a record player here, but I would bet a million dollars I absolutely do not have that Leo doesn’t have one. And definitely not a CD player. Elara has her Walkman, but I’m not about to take it away from her.

I’ll have to go out and get myself one soon.

A soft knock on my door knocks me out of my daydream, and thinking it’s Elara, I invite them in without a second thought.

“That’s quite the collection you have,” Leo says as he leans against the doorframe. I whip around, taking him all in.

Leo is a large man. As the sister of a professional football player who also happens to be six-four, usually height doesn’t impress me much. But Leo is both tallandlarge. His lean muscle is impossible to ignore, and I wonder how the hell he maintains it while eating that god awful pizza he’s obsessed with.

“I’ve been collecting them my whole life,” I mumble, tucking my feet underneath me.

“You said.”

“What do you want, Leo?”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Sighing deeply, I lean against the bed, closing my eyes. I know he means well. I do. But sometimes I just want to be left alone to my sadness.

“I think I’m doing okay. Thank you for tonight,” I tell him sincerely. I really am thankful. I don’t know what I’d do without what he did tonight.

I know even considering not calling the cops after what happened was absolutely insane, especially to Leo. But I don’t think he realizes how much power men with money have.Especially men with money who are friends with half the police force.

Honestly, that should have been a red flag for me. There are a lot of things that should have been a red flag to me.

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