Page 74 of Behind the Bars

“Do you remember a bully Elliott had named ToddClause?”

My stomach knotted up. “Yes.”

“I’ll never forget that name. I’ll never forget how he stole so much from that poor family.” TJ teared up, and he tried to keep himself together. “After you left, the bullying got worse.” He told me everything. He told me how they attacked Elliott and used him as bait, how they forced him into the dumpster, how he had to listen to them abuse his sister. He told me how once he was free, it was too late, how he blamed himself each day, how the corner we stood on housed the ghosts that haunted Elliott everyday.

The more he explained what had happened to Katie, the closer I grew to wanting tovomit.

“Oh my God…” Tears formed in my eyes as TJ told me how Elliott’s sister had literally died in his arms. I couldn’t imagine what something like that could do to a person’s psyche. I couldn’t envision the daily battles going on inside of Elliott’s heart and soul. I was sure he blamed himself for what had happened to his sister, but it wasn’t his fault. None of it was ever hisfault.

“It was my fault,” I whispered, my voiceshaky.

TJ raised his eyebrow. “What was yourfault?”

“All of this, everything that happened. The only reason those guys were bullying Elliott so hard was because he stood up to them for me. If it wasn’t forme—”

“No,” TJ disagreed swiftly, cutting me off. “Those boys were bullying Elliott before you even came into the picture. Don’t you ever blame yourself for what those monstersdid.”

The ache in my chest wouldn’t go away. “I’m sure he blames himself,though.”

“Yes,” TJ agreed. “Hedoes.”

“I kept emailing him,” I told him, my body shaking with nerves. “He never wrote meback.”

“He became a recluse. He kept to himself, not opening up to anyone anymore. He still shows up for things sometimes, but when he’s there, he’s notthere. It’s almost as if his mind is emptied. He’s a ghost, as if he died right there with his sister all those yearsago.”

“TJ?”

“Yes?”

“Where ishe?”

A weighted sigh fell from his lips. “Jasmine, it’s important for you to know, he’s not the same person he was when you knew him. He’s…different, colder, much more of a loner, and he doesn’t have much space to let people in. It’s hard to explain. If you do see him, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t go the way you think it should, because itwon’t.”

I understood what he was saying. I understood the warning he was giving me, butstill…

I needed to see those hazeleyes.

“TJ?”

“Yes.”

I took a deep breath. “Where ishe?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Elliott

Ilikedmy job wellenough.

It paid my bills and kept me busy. Plus, during my breaks, I could work out, and any time I could work out, I took advantage of it, which was why todaysucked.

“I’m so-sorry, what?” I leaned forward in the metal chair toward Marc. He sat at his desk, which was covered in protein bar samples, paperwork, healthy recipes, and two-gallon water jugs. It was a mess, just like most of the stuff in the broken-down gym, but Marc, the owner, didn’t seem to care much about shaping itup.

The gym had been passed down to him from his father, and it was clear that he wasn’t passionate about the project. After he graduated college with a theater arts degree, finding a job that paid enough for rent in New Orleans was almost impossible. When his father offered him the gym, he took it with arms wide-open.

Marc wasn’t a business man, but with his theater degree, he could sometimes act thepart.

“Yeah…I’m sorry. You’re fired.” Marc looked down at his paperwork and shuffled through it, avoiding eye contact. That was how he handled everything—he avoided dealing with issues directly, and then he’d later complain and place all the blame on the employees when really, it was his own lack of leadership causing the decline of thefacility.

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