Page 89 of Follow Me Down

“Then what the fuck do you suggest I do?”

“Give it some time. Givehersome time. I’m sure she’ll come around eventually.”

“Eventually?” I bite. “And what do you suggest I do in the meantime? Just sit here and wait?”

“Dude, she just watched you get arrested for possession. She’s probably freaked the hell out. You’re not going to be helping your case by showing up at her house like some crazed fucking lunatic.”

“You know what, fuck her.” My anger spikes.

“Titus.” Link hesitantly steps toward me.

“No. If she can believe that of me. If she can believe it so much that she would go back to her father’s after all that talk of never wanting to see him again, then she can fucking rot there for all I care.”

“Wait,” Link pauses like he’s just had a revelation. “You don’t think maybe her father had something to do with this, do you?” he suggests. I hadn’t considered that before.

“Do you really think he has that much power, or the forethought to see it through?”

“Maybe.” He shrugs. “You heard the guy when he showed up here. Did that seem like someone who was going to walk away and accept defeat? He warned you. Maybe this was him following through. Maybe this was his way of ensuring Fallon came home.”

“So what? He plants drugs in my truck and then hopes his daughter believes their mine and goes home.”

“The cops let you go though, right? Why else would they let you leave after finding a bag full of cocaine in your truck.”

He’s right. Of course he’s right. I don’t know why I hadn’t pieced this together before.

“Maybe he forced Fallon to leave. Maybe her leaving was why they let you go.”

“You think so?” I reach around and squeeze the back of my neck.

“Makes about as much sense as anything else that’s happened tonight.” He shrugs.

“So then what do I do?”

“You calm the fuck down for one.” He crosses toward me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “We need to think this through rationally. Besides, her father being involved is just a theory. Maybe Fallon did leave on her own accord, but we can’t rule out other possibilities either. For now, I think you should try to get some sleep. You might get a little more clarity in the morning after you’ve rested.”

“You think I can sleep right now?” I shake off his hand.

“I get that you’re pissed, T. Trust me, I do. But you’re not going to be able to do anything about it tonight. Get some sleep, man.”

“What a fucking nightmare,” I grumble. With that, I take off down the hall and into my room, slamming the door shut so hard that the wall shakes from the force.

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