Page 29 of Love Fire

“Then repeat the rest of the process to me.”

He stays quiet and scratches his head. I’ll just give him the simple version of it. We don’t have all night. I’m also starting to get chilly with the wind.

“Nevermind then. Listen carefully. The basic principles are: acceptance, hope, faith, courage, honesty, patience, humility, willingness, brotherly-love, integrity, self-discipline, and service.”

He cringes. “Those are a lot of steps.”

I shrug. “Well, to be honest, PNA’s not the only rehab that uses them. It’s beneficial for both non-humans and humans.”

“Oh, I see. Well, now that I think about it, I have taken a few of those steps already.”

I offer him an encouraging smile. “Recovery is a life-long process. You don’t have to finish everything all at once.”

Alessandro sits along the rock wall. I sit next to him. He fiddles with his hands a bit before turning towards me.

“What’s it like being sober?”

I sigh. This time, it’s out of bliss. Every time someone asks, my body feels lighter.

“It’s the best, really. You feel everything. You don’t ever feel hungover. You’re not tied to a substance. You don’t have to keep secrets either…”

My voice trails. Brent comes to mind as I say those words. They’re most definitely true, but at the same time, a cruel lie. I have so many secrets hidden from him.

Here I am trying to instill this onto his cousin when I’m responsible for his addiction. I’m a complete fucking hypocrite. There’s no way he won’t hate me.

The timer on the phone sets off, interrupting our conversation. Nate’s waiting for me in the basement. I silence it quickly. I have to keep it a secret from the cousins.

I try to play it off. “Sorry, I have to take a phone call. It’s about Maria.”

“Oh, of course. Thank you for coming to talk to me.”

I quickly smile at him and head back inside. I look back to make sure I’m out of his sight. When I turn around, I notice a pair of eyes peeking at me from the other side of the fence.

My instincts kick in. I bolt inside. I sneak around the house until I get to the basement.

Once I get there, I breathe out in a whisper. “Nate, if that was you outside, you’re an asshole.”

I expect him to sneak up from behind while laughing. I look around, waiting for him to come out. Then, there’s a heavy creak on the stairs. Smiling, I look up to see my annoying baby brother.

What greets me is far worse. Hank. My father’s right-hand man.

Fear paralyzes me. I want to scream out for help. For Nate. For Brent.

Hank narrows his eyes. “You traitor. No wonder Torres was suspicious.”

He backs me up to a wall.

My voice wavers. “I can explain.”

“Don’t fucking bother,” he snaps.

My breathing gets heavier. My heart’s about to burst. All I can do is cry.

“Because I’ve known you since you were a child, I’ll give you an opportunity to get out now. You have three days to leave this place. Otherwise, there WILL be consequences.”

I nod my head, reluctantly agreeing. It’s the only way for Hank to back off. I’m running late too.

How ironic. I’m currently trapped in a house I can’t leave and keep running late to appointments. Well, secret appointments.

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