Broken Beautiful Hearts(109)

A cop leads Owen around to the front of the mill behind Reed and his badge-wielding escort.

Owen looks back at me. “I kept my promise.”

Owen promised he wouldn’t hurt me and he didn’t.

In front of the mill I see Tess, Tucker, and Grace in the glow of the red-and-blue flashing lights. Tucker waves at me and tries to talk his way past the cop in charge of keeping the small group of nosy people away from the building. Tess is with him.

Grace is busy yelling at Cam, while a cop yanks him off TJ. Why is Cameron wearing his football pads and uniform?

“Peyton, you’re okay!” Christian calls out from the lineup of handcuffed guys sitting on the ground. He’s wearing his football uniform, too.

The cop supervising the lineup notices me. “Are you all right, Miss? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m okay.”

I look for Tess, and I see her walking toward me. “I told the police about the drugs. I had to do it. It’s the only way Reed will get help. He won’t stop on his own.”

She nods, her lip trembling. “I know. And I want my brother back.”

I’m not sure if the brother she’s talking about still exists. For Tess’ sake, I hope so.

I search for Owen in the lineup.

“He’s over there next to Cameron,” Grace says, trudging over to us. “Maybe Owen can talk some sense into him.”

Owen is sitting cross-legged in the dirt with the Twins. Out of the three of them, Cam’s the one who looks like he was involved in an underground fight. At least Owen isn’t in the back of a squad car, like Reed.

“Why are the Twins wearing their football uniforms?” I ask. “Did they come straight from the game?”

Grace shakes her head and smiles. “The game didn’t end until thirty minutes ago. They walked out during halftime.”

“They just left in the middle of the game?” I ask.

“Yep. Cameron almost left before the game even started. He freaked when I didn’t show up with the rest of the squad.” Grace gives me a shy smile. “I texted him—and Christian—to tell them you were in trouble, but they were already on the field. Coach makes the players leave their phones in the locker room, so they didn’t read my text until halftime. Then they took off.”

Without thinking, I reach for my phone to call Hawk. I need to tell him what happened and ask him to meet me at the police station with bail money, for the three bravest guys I know.

Then I remember my phone is gone. It’s on the floor of the tunnel.

Shattered.

I’ll never hear Dad’s message again.

But it’s okay.

I remember everything about my father—his unruly dark hair and his lopsided smile; how he ate guava paste straight from the package and he squeezed just hard enough when he caught me in a bear hug; the way he could bounce a soccer ball on his knee for fifteen minutes without dropping it and he cussed at the TV in Spanish if Cuba was losing a soccer game.

I remember the way his voice sounded when he cheered me on from the sidelines and how it sounded different when he told me he loved me.

I don’t need the phone anymore.

The memory of Dad’s voice is all I need.

And I’ll carry it with me.





CHAPTER 43

The Things I Carry

WHEN I COME downstairs in the morning, Hawk is sitting at the breakfast table drinking a cup of coffee, with Dutch stretched out at his feet. My uncle looks like he’s been awake all night.

I pour myself a cup and sit across from him. “Did you get any sleep?”

Hawk shakes his head. “Not yet. It took a while to bail out the boys, and then they wanted to give me a minute-by-minute recap. But old men like me don’t need much sleep.”

Dutch howls as if he agrees.

“Don’t let Mom hear you say that. You’re only two years older than her,” I remind him. “Are the boys okay? Getting arrested couldn’t have been much fun.”

“I don’t know about that. Christian was excited to cross it off his bucket list. And your friend Grace waited at the police station until Cameron was released, and he seemed real happy about it.”

The cops had probably still been taking my statement. It felt like I was answering their questions for hours.

“I think Grace was waiting for Christian. She’s had a crush on him for a long time.”

Hawk considers it for a moment. “She might be over Christian.”

“Why would you say that?” I ask.

“Well she was kissing Cameron in the parking lot.”

“Are you sure?”

He nods. “Positive.”

Hawk leans back in his chair and rubs the scruff on his chin. “The boys filled me in after I bailed them out. They said your ex-boyfriend was arrested for drug possession.”

“Yep.” I take a sip of coffee. “He’ll get kicked out of the MMA league.”

“I hope that makes it easier to put this behind you and exorcise that demon.”

“I think so, but I need your help to face another one.” I take a deep breath. “Will you tell me what happened to Dad the night he died?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that question for a year and a half. In my head, I’ve rehearsed what I’d tell you a hundred times. But now that you’re sitting in front of me, I can’t remember a word of it. How much do you want to know?”