Page 51 of Fall onto me
He breathes into my hair, a choke taking hold of his chest. “You’re here. How is this laying low?” he chuckles.
Barnes captures our attention. “Four minutes before I have to take him down to get checked out. I’ll tap the door with each passing minute.” He retreats outside, standing guard.
“I couldn’t wait any longer.” I pout.
“Is Sophie okay?”
“Yes.” I breathe him in. “Why do you ask?”
“Grandma?”
I nod.
He holds me for what feels like hours, strong and stable like he’s scared when he releases me that I’ll disappear. There’s a tap, three minutes. “Then why are you here?” He needs answers, and we don’t have the time to mess around.
His words punch me in the gut, but it’s a valid question. “My name is for another inmate, so they won’t tie it together. Besides baby, they know who I am. I don’t understand why you’re being so paranoid.”
He shakes his head, because he doesn’t know either. “I have no control.”
We don’t utilize the table; we simply stand mere inches from each other.
I pull my hand up to cup his face “How are you?”
“It’s been hell.” He shakes his head, his fists still balled up. I pull up my left hoodie sleeve and hold my arm out. His stoic face softens, and a smile plays on his lips. “You didn’t.” He laughs.
“Do you not like it?” I frown. Tap, two minutes.
Foster picks my arm up, and his touch sends my nerve endings into an uproar. His finger swipes across the little ghost tattoo on my wrist and it smudges. Then, he rubs his thumb across it, making it disappear. “You little shit.” He sets my arm back down and laughs, really laughs, and it’s beautiful.
“That was to make you smile.” I pull my right hand up, the one I’ve been hiding under the oversized sleeve and flick him off with my ring finger.
“You better not be playing about that one.” He wipes at it, and then interlaces his fingers with mine when it doesn’t disappear. He admires the ‘G’ that’s now inked into my skin forever.
We make eye contact, and his obsidian stare glazes over. I don’t say a word as a tear rolls down his cheek.
I note deep bruises on his knuckles as he runs an inked finger over the G. “What happened?” I ask.
He tucks his hand away, ashamed. “Skyler, I did something bad.”
I gasp. “What?”
“I’ll explain later. There are bad cops here.”
My eyes widen, “Did you tell Barnes? Are they hurting you?”
“No and no.”
“Are you going to?”
He shrugs. “Not sure. He’ll go straight to the chief with it, I know he will. I don’t know how well me snitching on the Keeper’s men would go. There are some things that are better keeping to ourselves for right now, okay?”
I nod, needing to tell him news that I don’t want to deliver. “Sophie knows.”
He gulps. “What?”
“She knows.”
Tap.