Page 17 of Icy Heart, Empty Chest
“Dad’s making chicken later if you want. He said to extend the invite since you quote ‘live here pretty much anyway.’”
“Wouldn’t miss it! See you after swim practice!” He bounced away as my face burned.
Thursday I was backto being my calmly masked planning self. I told Amy I had to take the next few days off for an active police investigation. She grumped at me but I’d only ever called out once while actively vomiting in the years I’d been there. I had plenty of paid time off built up. I took till Sunday off, hoping that this saga wouldn’t go further than that. I sighed and thought back to every playdate we had as kids, in and out of the same classes. He chose to be with my father at our small house as often as his father allowed. If we weren’t there, we were at the park or playground, in the school yard, library or museum. We were the definition of inseparable.
Being around Damien could be amazing. He made me feel witty and smart, laughed easily. He was sweet, levelheaded. He made your soul lighter. But history is a hard thing to forget. He wasn’t there when I needed him most. Still, gorgeous didn’t even begin to cut it.
I told him to meet me at five at my house. A thrill went through me when I heard the door knock, and I was unsure ifit was out of nervousness or anticipation. I had changed into a black long-sleeve shirt and leggings, with a black peacoat thrown off to the side. I needed something to move in without sweating to death. He looked pretty sinful in a similar long-sleeve black T-shirt, highlighting his extensive muscular figure. Honestly, it’s just distracting.
“Breakaway pants?” I questioned.
“Those maintenance suits can be really warm. I didn’t want to be sweating my balls off— damn, sorry.” A flush danced across his face.
I laughed. “You don’t have to censor yourself. I just got this image of a stripper in those pants on stage.”
He shook his head and stared. “I would kill to know what parts of the city you’ve been in.” He paused. “Do you think I could be a stripper?”
Heat flared into my face. “Getting off topic.”
He continued to grin, cheekily.
“We go in disguised as a couple going to visit their sick child. Once in, we’re going to head to the second-floor bathroom, north side, change there. The supply room is around the corner. We’ll grab a cart and some cleaning supplies. May have to grab a badge or two on the way. We’ll start at that floor and work our way down.” I grabbed my coat and a small backpack.
“I doubt there will be security for non-clinical areas like research labs. What?”
He was staring again. “I doubt I ever told you this enough but you’re pretty amazing.”
I let out a small chuckle. “For a miscreant law breaker. Please save the compliments to the end of the presentation.”
“You know, I can still get us there faster than any cab. It’s really not that weird.”
“We’re looking for as normal as possible, whatever that means,” I argued.
He nodded.
I picked up my phone and called the cab company. “Twenty minutes.”
“Perfect. You have time to tell me a story.” He settled into my armchair and I mirrored him adjacently in the armoire, twining my fluffy hair into a braid.
“Oh? What story? I know some absolutely filthy ones.”
He crossed one leg across the other. “How you got started in this— this life.”
I cocked my head, regarding him curiously. “How about a one for one? You tell me a truth and I do the same.” Maybe I was curious about what my old friend had been up to for all this time. Maybe.
He flashed a brilliant toothy smile. “Deal.”
“It was about a month after my father got out. Money was short, very short. I was rationing, eating about one or maybe two meals a day max. I had dipped heavily into my trust. I had to keep the power on, had to keep the water going. It wasn’t easy. Vending machines were my best friend for a while.”
He stilled in my chair and frowned.
“Someone who knew my father called me. It was a particularly bad day for Dad. Too many nightmares, woke up yelling. So when, let’s call him Caesar, called me saying he had a proposition for me, to take on a job with him, it was hard to say no. I’d pose as his step daughter, sneak around the site and grab the item when he signaled. I was nervous but it went off easily. The money I got from that set us up for the next month and a half.” I tied off my braid, regarding him cooly.
“All that mattered was Dad. I could feed myself enough to get to work, feed Dad, keep him warm and comfortable. I’d used a bit on college but when you drop out, they don’t give refunds. So, this was a blessing, in a way.”
“I presume that this Caesar ended up calling you again?”
I nodded.
