Page 20 of Light Me Up

I checked every day until finally, her status was available. I rushed to her office, intentionally slowing my pace to a casual, brisk walk when I neared her area. But her desk was still empty.

Returning to my computer, I reviewed her file and found my answer—she relocated to Grove Shores.

My heart sunk. I’d never be able to protect her there if she needed it. But my next thought was a silver lining—Santi would be starting there soon. We agreed—or I forced him to agree, rather—that he would keep his eye on her.

Today was his first day, and he should be home any minute. I’ve been pacing since I arrived from work, but this house is much closer to Azalea Pines than Grove Shores.

Mid-step, a door slamming alerts me and my head snaps to the window. I dash to the front when I see Santi’s truck parked in the driveway.

“How was she?” I demand the moment his feet land on the driveway.

“Give me a goddamn second, dude,” he says, pulling his laptop bag from the passenger side and exiting the car. I slam his door shut and turn to him expectantly.

“Let’s get the fuck inside,” he says, glancing around. I, too, glance around. Then, squeezing my eyes shut, I force myself to regain some level of composure. Once we’re back inside, Santi places his bag on the couch and I round on him.

“How did she look?”

“I had a great first day, thanks for asking.” My glare causes him to sigh in defeat. "She looked alright. A little tired, I suppose.”

I wait expectantly, but he doesn’t elaborate. “That’s it? That’s all you have?”

“I talked to her for a moment. She said something interesting.”

He pierces me with an accusing stare, one I don’t understand. “Spit it out.”

“She called me a cokehead.”

The laughter rises despite my misery. Katewouldsay some shit straight out of a ‘say no to drugs’ commercial.

“What’s fucking funny, bro? How does she know about the drugs?”

I sober in an instant. “I told you, she found out.”

“Yeah, I thought you meant about the accident! Not about the drugs!” I can see this is all he really cares about. He couldn’t give two fucks if I know about Kate’s whereabouts or not.

“There were bags in the drawer with the report. I thought you knew that.”

Santi seethes. “This is worse than I thought. She’s workingforthe company, Zo. Do you know what kind of trouble this could cause? For any of us, if we’re not careful.”

“Yeah, well, she refuses to speak to me, so don’t worry about it,” I spit out bitterly.

“You shouldn’t be speaking to her, anyway!”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that about a dozen times,” I reply icily.

His expression softens by a fraction. “Zo, you know I care but—”

“The fuck you do!” I shout. The anger coursing through my veins quickly reaches boiling point; I’m always close to the edge these days. I stomp to my room and rip open the door, wading through the dirty cups and clothes littering my bedroom. Santi hovers in the doorway as I drop to the edge of my bed, adjusting my black tee and wincing.

I breathe heavily, keeping the constant simmering rage at bay. Santi moves to stand in front of me, stepping on a red solo cup as I focus intently on the ground.

“I don’t think she’s going to do anything, Zo. She would have by—”

“You think I give afuckabout that at this point? I want to make sure she’s safe. If my father—”

“We’rethisclose, Zo.This”—he holds his pointer finger and thumb a half an inch apart—“close.”

I avert my gaze, my jaw ticking. “Well, at least you can keep an eye on her.”

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