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“Leave Mia there and come back and handle this. Give Dex what he wants.”
“When’s the funeral?”
“Funeral? You can’t be serious. Your brother was a fucking wanker. He doesn’t deserve a funeral.”
“His prison sentence—his fight—is over,” I reminded him through clenched teeth. “Stop punishing a dead man, it only thrives the hate that should be buried along with him. We are all worthy of closure.”
I ended the call with Travis to ring High Down Prison.
They pla
“Mum! What have you done?!” Oscar shouts, rushing through the door, unexpected, dropping grocery bags in his wake as Mum clings on to me, crying.
Her entire body is shaking, and she’s whipping her head violently, mumbling things I don’t understand. Maybe it’s because I’m crying, too, gasping for air. Oscar rips me from her arms into his. He searches my face and tilts my head back into his hands. “Breathe, Oliver,” he chants, pushing his fingers through my sweaty hair. “I’m here. I’m right here,” a tear slips from his cheek and lands on my lips. I’ve never seen Oscar cry, but it’s fascinating, and I don’t know how it’s possible, but his brown eyes go black when he snaps his head back to mum. “He’s eight years old, Mum! Eight!”
“Oscar,” Mum cries, “I’m sorry. I didn’t … Come home. Please, I don’t know what happened. I can’t take this anymore ...”
Oscar lays me over the mattress, and at the corner of my eye, he jumps from his knees and tackles Mum, his fists and threats flying, “If anything happens to him, you’ll lose me too. You’ll lose me forever, you worthless slapper. I should fucking kill you.” He slams her against the wall, and she curls into the corner.
Oscar returns to my side and cradles me in his arms. “It’s going to be okay. I won’t ever let anything happen to you,” Oscar whispers, wiping the tears from my eyes in the warm bed for the first time as Mum cries from the corner of the room. He’s eighteen now, big, strong, and safe. My brother. “Close your eyes, Oliver. Close your eyes and think about something else. Dream, brother.”
It took me time to catch my emotions and shove them back down. Pocketing the phone, I walked back into the restaurant and toward the table, pulled out the chair, and took a seat. Bruce and Diane continued their conversation, arguing over countertops for the kitchen. I stared at the burger before me, lost my appetite somewhere back in the parking lot.
Mia’s fingers drifted over my bouncing knee in search for my hand. “What is it?” she whispered, lacing her tiny fingers in mine. The touch of her hand steadied my heart rate, injecting strength. But I couldn’t look her in the eyes. Oscar had tormented her, tried to rape her.
“Ollie?”
I swung my head and pressed my lips against her temple, slamming my eyes closed and inhaling a deep breath.
“Okay,” she nodded and gripped my thigh, “Dad, we have to go.”
“Sure, yeah,” Bruce glanced at me and set down his fork, “Everything okay?”
Shoving my hand into my pocket, I found my wallet and threw cash over the table. I didn’t know if it was too much or not enough, but my head was spi
Bruce stood and recognized the look in my eyes. “Yeah, it’s been great having you, Oliver. I know you’ll take care of my girl, better than I ever could.”
Quickly but smoothly, we said our goodbyes before we took off into the parking lot. My only goal was to make it to the car without losing my grip, without punching something or someone. This was my fault. Oscar, though the piece of shit he was, was dead because of me. His death was on my hands.
“Ollie,” Mia clutched my arm and yanked me back, “Ollie, slow down. Talk to me.”
I took her hand in mine and kept moving forward. I had to bring Mia back home. I had to say goodbye again, and I didn’t want to.
“Ollie!” She jerked her hand from mine once we reached the car. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where we’re going.”
“I’m taking you to your dad’s,” the words flooded out with tears stuck inside my throat, choking me. It was no coincidence there were cages surrounding hearts, stronger ones for the wild hearts that beat to a different rhythm. Mine was a different rhythm. My heart pumped to a different song entirely. “I have to go back, Mia, and you have to stay here.”
“Bullshit!”
I gripped her shoulders and leaned over to face her. She was a different height in the heels. A height I wasn’t used to. “Oscar died last night. They killed him to get to me. I have to go back, and as much as I can’t be without you, I can’t have anything happen to you either. You are my everything, Mia. Do this for me, please.”
“No,” she shook her head, “don’t you dare leave me.” Mia’s hands clutched my face and kissed me hard, unlocking the shambles holding me down. I sank into that kiss, wishing our bodies could merge and become one. Wishing her soul could stay safe inside mine for eternity.
“I don’t know what to do,” I confessed with my forehead to hers, gripping the back of her head.
“I’m coming with you.”
“The OG’s, Bo