Page 52 of Castle's Cards

She pads down the hall before I get the chance to ask, which is probably a good thing. The last thing I want to do is upset her right before talking to Addy. There’s a knock down the hall and then the sound of a door opening before the two begin to murmur amongst themselves.

It feels like I’m waiting forever before someone sighs heavily and Addy comes out of the hallway. Izzy doesn’t reappear, and when a door closes softly it’s clear she’s disappeared to her room.

As Addy approaches, I don’t miss the wetness of her hair or the red rimming her eyes. She either took a shower and got soap in her eyes or has been cryinga lot. I stand up and walk to her.

“Addy.” I reach for her but she steps back, frowning.

“What are you doing here, Carter?” Her tone is almost accusatory. Confusion spreads within me. Is she angry at me? What could I have done to make her this upset? As far as I know everything has been business as usual between the two of us.

“I came to check on you. I was talking to Court about our charity idea when he told me that you’d left early and that Izzy was there. I knew if Izzy was there then it had to be something bad…”

Addy runs a hand through her hair and cuts me off.

“Yeah, it is something bad. It’s really damn bad.” She’s angry, but I can’t tell whether she’s angry at me or just angry at the world in general.

“Tell me what’s going on and maybe I can help.”

“Unless you can stop my landlord from selling the building to people who are going to tear it down, then there’s nothing you can do.”

I blink. That’s what this is all about? I chuckle, causing Addy to look at me venomously. I swallow my laughter and shake my head.

“I’m not laughing at you. It’s just… Addy, I can fix this. I can offer him more money than the developers are.”

Addy shakes her head.

“It’s already been sold. The building is being torn down in two weeks. So I have to find a place for us to live in two weeks, and we already live in the cheapest building in the city. I’m going to have to get a second job and work even more hours just to make it work. I’m not going to be able to pay for food and I’m on a waiting list for every form of subsidized housing one could imagine. My life just became infinitely harder.”

She’s yelling by this point. Izzy must be able to hear her from her room, unless she has headphones on.

The fact that Addy isn’t worried about Izzy hearing any of this tells me all I need to know. She truly feels that this situation is so dire that she won’t even be able to hide it from her little sister.

“Addy. Take a deep breath. You don’t need to do any of that stuff. I promise I will help you figure this out.”

I wrap my arms around her, but she pushes me away, anger contorting her face.

“God! You don’t get it, do you?” Addy shakes her head. “You have money and nothing to worry about. You’ll never have to worry about not having housing or being able to feed yourself. You don’t have to wonder how you’re going to take your kid sister to school or put gas in your car. Or how on earth you’re going to sleep between jobs.”

Addy bursts into tears and shoves me gently.

“Addy, come on.”

“Please leave, Carter. Your life is perfect, and every time I think about you, all I can think about is how different we are. You’ll never understand me or what I have to do to make things work.”

“I will help you make things work! You don’t have to do this alone!” My voice is rising despite my efforts to keep my tone even. She’s so hysterical that she’s not listening to anything I’m saying.

“Get the hell out of my house!” Addy screams at the top of her lungs. When I look at her, I don’t recognize the woman I love. The person standing in front of me is panicked and scared in a way that I’ve never seen Addy before. I swallow and nod.

“Okay, I’ll leave. Just… call me, please. I don’t want you to go through this alone. You don’t have to. I’m here for you and Izzy, no matter what you need.”

I turn around and leave, letting the door shut quietly behind me. I listen at the door for a moment. To Addy’s credit, she doesn’t immediately collapse into tears. When I don't hear any movement or sound for another minute I make my way back to the car.

I sit in the car, staring at Addy’s apartment. She’s trying to push me away, but I’m not going to let her. I’m going to do everything I can to help her and to make her life easier.

My phone buzzes in my lap. A message from Court. Seeing his name starts an idea in my mind. Maybe there’s something I can do to help -- and all it will need is some cooperation from Court.

Chapter Eighteen

Addy

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