Page 196 of On a Fault Line

My phone comes to life, followed by the sound of the doorbell, pulling me from my slumber.

Rolling out of bed, I make my way through the apartment and then glance out the peephole.

Unlocking the door, I allow Chris inside.

“Redeye, you have red eyes.”

“I know,” I say in exhaustion. I guess it’s his first time really seeing me since the showdown at the boxing gym. Most of our exchanges in information have been digital.

He looks at me closely. “Are you okay, man?”

I shrug like it’s nothing. “I deserved it.”

He nods slowly. “No doubt.”

“Do you have anything for me?” I probably sound like a junkie looking for his next fix.

“Yes. But just so you know, this goes against my morals.”

My eyes narrow on his. “Righhhht.”

“Sheesh, I thought I would at least get a smile out of you.”

“Smiling hurts.” And it does.

“Here,” he says, passing me a folder. “Miss Hoffman has this event coming up. I figured you’d appreciate the direct delivery considering it’s tonight.”

“Thanks.”

I look over the flyer. “Her father’s architecture company sponsors it.”

“It says there’s going to be an auction.”

“Okay.” I vaguely remember hearing about this at Nic’s new house. I just forgot to follow up on it at the time.

There’s been too much on my mind.

“Like chicks selling themselves and shit. Can I come, please?”

I make a face, but it hurts too much so I stop. “No.”

“Bummer.”

`“This is a fundraiser, so stop making this sound pornographic. It’s to raise money for the construction of community centers.”

“So, you don’t want me to kidnap Penny and assure that no one purchases her?”

“That does sound tempting.”

“Okay, there’s your sense of humor. I was worried it was lost forever.”

“I’m not joking,” I deadpan. “Penny might not even be participating as a contestant. There’s nothing here that lists the auction participants’ names.”

“That’s true.”

I should be happy that I’m the only one moping around like my heart just got stabbed. I should be happy that attending a big social event is a good sign that Penny is doing okay.

I should be happy.

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