Too Late

I wonder if I killed him?

I doubt it. It’s been almost a day since we left the casino. If he died, the police would have been here by now. And if he lived, I’m almost positive he won’t press charges. He knows he deserved what I did to him.

The microwave beeps.

I pull the spaghetti out and grab a fork, then shove a bite into my mouth. I barely get it swallowed before I have to find the trashcan. I throw up twice, rinse out my mouth and then force another bite of spaghetti into my mouth.

I’ll push through this withdrawal like a motherfucker, because I am not turning out like that man.

I eat another bite of spaghetti and swallow it down with my bile.

Push through it, Asa.

The front door swings open and Sloan walks inside. I glance at the clock and notice it’s barely after two. She’s never home from school this early. Either she doesn’t notice me standing in the kitchen or it’s that time of the month and she’s in a pissy mood, because she rushes straight up the stairs and to the bedroom.

Not a minute later, I hear her making a mess of the bedroom. Stuff falling to the floor. Her feet moving from one side of the room to the other. I stare up at the ceiling, wondering what the fuck she’s doing. My head hurts too bad to go up and look for myself.

I don’t have to, because a few seconds later, she’s storming down the stairs.

When she rounds the corner to the kitchen, my dick twitches in my pants. She’s angry as hell and it’s hot as fuck. I smile at her as she marches toward me.

Before I can even get a word out, she’s in my face. She shoves a finger in my chest. “Where is the paperwork, Asa?”

Paperwork?

What the fuck is she talking about?

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Her chest is heaving and if she would just step a few inches closer, I would be able to feel it.

“My brother’s file!” she says. “Where is it, Asa?”

Oh. That paperwork.

I carefully place the bowl of spaghetti on the counter and then bring my arms up and fold them over my chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sloan.”

She inhales a meticulous breath, exhales it with even more precision, and then spins around. She puts her hands on her hips, trying to find the strength to remain calm.

I knew if she ever found out what I did, she’d be pissed. Even so, I’ve never really given much thought as to how I’d talk my way out of it.

“Two years,” she says, gritting her teeth. She spins back around and her eyes are full of tears.

Well, shit. I didn’t mean to make her cry.

“For two years I thought you were paying for his care. You showed me the paperwork, Asa. The letters the state sent. The check stubs.” She begins pacing back and forth. “The social worker thought I was an idiot today when I asked her if his benefits could ever be renewed. Do you know what she said to me, Asa?” She faces me again.

I shrug.

She takes a step forward, folding her arms over her chest. “She said, ‘The benefits were never cancelled, Sloan. Stephen’s care has never been private pay.’”

Tears are streaming down her cheeks now. For the first time since she walked down here, I start to get a little uncomfortable that maybe I took it too far with this lie. She’s angrier than I’ve ever seen her.

She can’t leave me.

“Sloan.” I take a step forward and put my hands on her shoulders. “Baby, listen. I had to do what I had to do to get you back. You left me. I’m sorry you’re upset.” I move my hands to her cheeks. “You shouldn’t be mad about this, though. It took a lot of fucking effort and money on my part. If anything, you should be flattered that you’re that important to me.”

Her hands come up between mine and she pushes me away from her. “You fucking asshole!” she yells. “You forged an entire file to back up your lies, Asa! Monthly letters from the government! Who the fuck does that?”

She has no idea how much money I had to pay the fucker who sends those or she’d be thanking me right now.

She points at me from across the kitchen. “You trapped me. This whole time you made me think there was no way out.”

I swallow the anger down. I take a step forward. Did I really just hear her right?

“I trapped you?”

She’s so worked up, she’s inhaling small gasps of breath. She swipes angrily at her tears and nods, lowering her voice. “Yes, Asa. You trapped me. I’ve been your fucking prisoner for the last two years, thinking my brother was about to have to go back to my worthless mother. All because you knew if you didn’t have that to hold over my head, I would have left you.”