Page 51 of Crazy Love

But it wasn’t a walk in the park. Being told what to do every minute of the day. When you could sleep, when you could piss, when you could make a phone call to a family member. Knowing you had zero control and freedom inside that space. That one foot wrong could extend your sentence for any given amount of time.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” I reply. “But the way you boys are going, you’ve got a one-way ticket to the best ones in the country. Keep it up, you’ll be there by the time you turn eighteen. The boys in there would love fresh meat like you.”

Sean’s eyes bulge out of his head as he turns back to scrubbing. Jason and Tyler glance at each other warily.

“What did you do to end up in prison?” Tyler asks. “You kill someone?”

Pictures of Chloe flash through my mind. I might not have gone to prison after that fateful day, but my chaotic and disruptive behaviour before that led to it all happening.

“I did a lot of drugs for a long time,” I admit. “And someone I cared about died because I was a fucking mess. Prison was a walk in the park compared to that. Trust me. You don’t want to go down that road.”

The three young men are silent. I notice Sean assessing me, his gaze dragging over my tattoos properly for the first time. I had hoped that if I showed up with my ink exposed, it might be a bit more threatening for at least one of them. Sean already looks like he’s second-guessing his life choices.

“I get that this was your place to hang out, but you boys have got to get over it,” I continue, lowering the extinguisher. “Find somewhere else to get drunk or high. Better yet, stop getting drunk and high. I know it’s fun, but it’s a slippery slope to hell.”

The three of them exchange glances again and I take the lull as an opportunity to push my point home.

“There’s a drop-in centre a couple of blocks from here,” I tell them. “If you can’t go home or you’re struggling, there’s some people there who can help.”

“Calm down, Pops,” Jason snaps. “We smoke a bit of weed now and then, but we’re not junkies.” He glances at his friends before sighing begrudgingly. “We were paid to do this.”

I straighten up, narrowing my eyes. “What do you mean you werepaid?”

“He said not to tell,” Tyler hisses.

Jason shrugs, pointing at me. “This guy has been to jail. He can deal with him.”

“Take care ofwho?” I demand, but I already know the answer before it comes out of his mouth.

“Old mate from the pool shop,” Jason replies, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “Nathan. He came up to us one night. Said he heard about how we wrote her a note and wanted us to do some other shit to scare the chick that owns this place. We weren’t really interested at first. The note was something we did on a dare, but he said he’d give us each fifty bucks every time we did something to set her back.”

A small grin breaks out on Jason’s face, and I can’t help it as I reach out and slap him up the back of the head, my blood pulsating in my ears.

“Ow!”

“You’re lucky that’s all I’m doing to you,” I hiss, before nodding to the cleaning products. “You ain’t leaving until every scrap of paint is off that door and if you destroy anything else of Kali’s or come anywherenearher again, remember I know where each of you live. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from Nathan too. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of this when I’m through with him.”

For the first time tonight, I see their youth shine through their eyes. They each look scared and worried in their own way, and I have no doubt that the venom and hatred in my eyes and the tone of my voice has made each of them realise this has gone beyond a few silly pranks.

“Get back to work.” Silently, they obey, and I stand there until they’ve scrubbed every speck of paint off, stewing over the fact Nathan has been paying these kids to destroy Kali’s property, presumably because he’s pissed off at how their date ended.

When I’m satisfied that everything is clean, I let them collect their bikes. As they cross the parking lot, Sean turns back. “We never meant to really scare her, you know.”

I don’t respond out of fear I’ll explode in a fit of rage and wait until they’re completely out of earshot before I let out a giant exhale, my hands trembling with rage.

I force myself to head back to my car, my gaze repeatedly shifting to the shopfront at the end of the lot.

As I climb inside the cab, I reach for my phone and dial immediately.

“Hello?”

“Patty. I need a favour.”

29

ANTHONY

“You sure youwant to do this?”

---