Page 26 of Katie 3

“Yes, the whole damn circus,” he says. There’s a cigarette in his voice, even if he quit years ago. “Are you ready for what’s coming?”

“No.” It’s the only honest answer.

He sighs, then I hear a shuffle and the click of a lighter. He’s relapsed is seems. I almost smile at that. He always said stress was the best excuse for a vice.

“I’ll keep this short. Dan’s legal team isn’t stupid. You’re not on the stand, they already know you will lie your ass off, which is a win, but they will try to get Katie to slip up.”

“She shouldn’t be up there.”

“I know,” Henry says. “But you know how it is. You need to prep her, and you need to prep yourself. You’re going to hear things you don’t like. You’ll want to punch someone. You cannot do that.”

I scoff. “You’re saying you wouldn’t?”

He breathes out a laugh. “Of course not. But I’ve learned to take a punch and wait my turn. You need to do the same. For once.”

“Right,” I mumble.

“Keep her away from the press. If you have to go out, keep your heads down. Carter knows what to do.” He clears his throat. “They’ll go after her past. Her… relationships.”

I choke, angry and sick at the same time. “They’ll crucify her.”

“She’ll do better than you think. She’s a survivor.”

“I hope so,” I whisper. “Are you mad at me?” I ask, rolling the words over slow. “Like, really, honestly, are you?”

“I’m not mad,” he says. “I’m tired, Brad. I’m tired of watching all of you burn yourselves down for things that don’t matter.”

“She matters,” I say, voice sharp.

“She does.” His voice breaks a little. “Just don’t make her regret it. That’s all I ask.”

“I won’t.”

He clears his throat. “I’ll try to stop by before the trial.”

“She’ll like that,” I say, a smile lifting on my lips.

“Me too,” he sighs. “Tell Carter to call me.” And with that, the line goes dead. I put the phone back in my pocket and lean on the rail.

The sliding door behind me opens and closes.

“She still asleep?” I ask.

“Best I’ve seen her in months.” He stands next to me, watching the water, and I almost ask what’s wrong. But I already know. We’re both thinking about the trial, and about Katie, and about how every fucking decision we ever made led to this.

“We’re probably monsters, you know,” I say. “For how much we want her. For what we did to keep her.”

Carter’s smile is strange, soft at the corners, but cold everywhere else. “Everybody’s a monster. Dad said so.” He takes a long sip of his coffee. “The trick is making sure the people you love are safe in your jaws.”

I want to say something poetic or even ugly, but I can’t. I just let it be.

“Do you think she’ll stay with us, with Dad and me?” Carter asks. “If you go away for a long time?”

“Of course,” I say, and it hollows me out to tell the truth. She doesn’t need me. Hell, perhaps she’s better off without me. “She’ll survive… You can’t let her go.”

He smirks. “Trust me, I won’t.”

I look at my brother for a long moment. All the shit we’ve been through together and we still have this to handle. Guilt weighs heavier on my chest. I just asked Dad if he was angry with me, but Carter’s here smirking at the idea of having Katie… because that’s all that matters.

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