Page 75 of True Honey
“I’ll go talk to him, push him harder this time but leave Josh out of this,” I ordered and Tobais fell silent. “I mean it, if I find out anyone in your office called him about this, my helpful visits end and you guys can do the dirty work on your own.”
“Understood,” Tobias confirmed, but I could tell from the way he paused that his confidence was wavering. “It’s time sensitive, Silas.”
“Yeah, I’ll go today.” I hung up the phone and sighed. “I slept with Drew again,” I blurted to Arlo and turned my head toward him.
“Sloppy.” Was the only thing out of his mouth, “did you at least buy her dinner this time?”
“Thai,” I responded, shoving my phone in my pocket as Arlo nodded in approval. “I swear someone is playing a joke on me, every time I think I have my life sorted or I find just a shred of happiness. The universe turns out the lights and I’m back to square one.”
“We cancelled practice today, so it looks like you and I are going to the prison,” Arlo said. I opened my mouth to argue that he didn’t need to come along for the ride but he shut me up with a glare, “and the universe doesn’t control your life, you do. Stop whining and handle your shit.” He slapped a hand to my face. “And if you like Drew, own it. Stop acting like sleeping with her is shameful. Idiot.”
“Hey, too far.” I sighed.
“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Arlo feigned sincerity, putting his hand on my shoulder. “You’re still an idiot.”
“You don’t have to come today,” I shook my head.
“Oh, I wasn’t giving you the option for company, let’s go. I’d like to be back before lunch.” Arlo didn’t budge on his intentions for the day and before long we were driving out of the hospital parking lot up to the county detention center.
“I didn’t know you were helping them with the case,” Arlo said, emptying his pockets into the buckets provided for our personal goods as I signed us in for a half an hour meeting.
“I’m the only person he’ll willingly see besides his lawyer,” I said, my phone vibrating as I took it out. It was a text from Drew detailing her plans for the day and it made me smile at my phone like an idiot.
“What a dotting son,” Arlo cleared his throat.
“Yeah, that’s the point.” I dropped my phone into the buckets without responding and allowed the guard to pat me down before stepping out of the scanner. “He has no idea I’m funneling information back to the lawyers, and by the time they call me for testimony it’ll be too late for him to realize that he nailed his own coffin shut.”
“You’re serious about this?” Arlo stopped me just before we entered the common visiting room.
“I don’t have anything left for him, Ar. After hearing Josh’s story, after helping him bury his Mom, consoling my own. Charles is dead to me.” I assured him and he nodded.
“Alright,” He tapped two fingers to his chest and I mirrored the motion.I’m here if you need mewas left unsaid as the door buzzed loudly and we were let inside.
SHORE
“Si!” My father wrapped me up in a tight hug that made my skin crawl. His hair was getting longer and there was so much more gray now that he couldn’t dye it brown once a month. He turned to Arlo who’s jaw tightened in discomfort as he too was offered a suffocating hug. “It’s good to see you King,” He looked him over, hands on his shoulders. “Looking good, it’s a shame about that pitching hand. You had a promising career in Pittsburgh,” he noted. “Guess not all of us are cut out for the show.”
“Dad,” I sighed, “sit.”
“You don’t bring anyone to see me, I’m just making conversation,” Charles sneered and gave Arlo another pat. “I miss you King boys, what are Luc and Sawyer up to?”
“Working,” Arlo clipped with a forced smile. “Luc has a baby on the way, due in the fall.”
“That’s incredible! Fingers crossed for a boy, we need more talent flowing out of that family and into the Hornets legacy.”
The ignorance of this motherfucker.
He turned his dark eyes on me and I knew what was coming before he opened his mouth because every single time I saw him he asked and every time it filled my throat with vomit.
“How’s Joshua?”
I had been expecting the question, but it had come as a surprise to Arlo who tensed beside me as his brows gave away how pissed off he was that it even rolled off my father’s tongue.
“He’s fine, he graduates soon.” I tried to keep my answers short, mostly because he didn’t deserve much more, but even worse, any accomplishments that Josh made constantly turned into my father patting himself on the back.
“That’s my boy, he’s resilient. Smart as a whip,” he said to Arlo, “luckily he got his brains from the Shore side and not from the Logan side.”
“Ms. Logan was a nurse dad, she was plenty smart,” I reminded him, trying to shift the conversation so he was forced to talk about her.
