Page 29 of Give Me Forever Love

“Let’s go,” the police officer says to me. I give Kat a reassuring smile and nod at my family before I walk with the man.

My breaths come out a little easier, my mind less scattered.

I thought I lost it all when I got arrested, but I realize the moment I told her I didn’t know what I was going to do was the moment I really could have lost it all.

My world is back in that courtroom.

What’s a fucking nightclub, anyway?

Chapter Nine

Kathrine

With a white-knuckled grip, I watch as Bryce walks out with the officer. My heart beats faster, my face warming with a flush of happy. The skin on my forearm aches from where I pinched it trying to see if this was real and not just a dream. He’s coming home. He got community service and a fine that’s like pocket change to him. I feel someone grab my arm.

“Kathrine, it’s time to go,” Mary says, waiting for me to get up so she can slide out.

I shake out of my thoughts and stand. Jace and Lee are by the doors.

“Now what?” I ask, just as Bryce’s lawyer walks up.

“Now I’ll get Bryce out of jail and you can pick him up. It’ll take about an hour or so, so you can go home and wait for my call.”

“Okay,” I say.

Jace sniffs, running his hand over his hair that’s still damp from a shower. “I can pick him up.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to,” I reply.

He nods. “Yeah, that’s cool, Harrison. Let’s get back to the apartment then.” Lee’s cell phone rings and he slides it from his shirt pocket. “It’s Lou,” he replies. “Let’s head to the truck.”

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We all step into the apartment, not sure what to do with ourselves. Jace and Lee go to the couch, and I go to the fridge to grab them both a beer. Mary grabs the coffee pot and fills it with water. “I’m going to make some coffee,” she says.

“Okay,” I reply as I hand the boys a beer before sitting down on the other sofa. The TV playsIndependence Daywith Will Smith, and I slide my cell out of my back pocket and reposition the pillows behind me after I slip my heels off and place my phone beside me, making sure the sound is on.

We watch TV in silence before the door opens and Lou and Monnie walk in.

“Hey,” she says. “I brought food.”

Jace jumps up. “Fuck, I’m starving.”

My stomach growls and I realize I haven’t eaten all day, and now that I know Bryce is coming home, I actually have an appetite. Mary fetches plates from the cabinets, and Lou opens the pizza boxes. Jace is the first one to walk back into the living room with a fresh beer and his plate stacked full of pizza and breadsticks.

“Damn, did you save any for the rest of us?” I joke.

“I haven’t eaten much,” he says, but makes no apology for overloading his plate.

I smirk. “Yeah, I’m with you.”

“Go eat,” he says, taking a huge bite.

I get up and walk over to the counter. Monnie smiles at me. “You okay, kid?”

“I am now,” I reply, grabbing a plate.

“Yeah. Bryson gave us a scare. I always knew that place was going to get him in trouble. But I never said anything,” Lou says, tsking.

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