Dead Apples

19- Black Eyes

"Hi, Robby. I just wanted to let you know that the guys that you robbed that antiques shop with gave me a visit yesterday."

"What do you mean?" He asks me over the phone.

"I mean that they said that you owe them money and when I wouldn't let them take it out of my cash register, one of them punched me in the face," I inform him. "And I would like to inform you that it's all your fault. Because if you would have just turned them in when you were given the chance, this wouldn't have happened. Oh, and they are also getting arrested so at least you'll have your great best pals back."

"Wait... they what?"

"They were found in the hospital because one of them had a broken foot after I shot it. So I hope that you're happy."

"I told them that I had the money before you decided to get rid of it," He explains to me. "They really hurt you? How bad? Are you okay?"

"I look like my face is decaying," I inform him as I'm looking in the mirror in my bedroom. "So I'm a little bit irritated."

"Yasmin. Shit. I didn't want you to get involved in this, I'm sorry," He apologizes. "If I knew that they would try to hurt you, I would have turned them in. I really didn't think that they were that psycho."

"Well, they are that psycho."

"You really shot them?"

"I shot one of them in the foot, yes. I was freaked out and pissed off. I know that it's your own stupidity that got you twenty years in prison but they sure did facilitate it," I explain to him.

"Okay, for the billionth time, I'm not going to b in here for twenty years," He promises me but I know that it's an empty promise. I still can't believe that he legitimately believes that the jury isn't going to convict him. "I'll be home in a month tops, Yaz."

"Believe it when I see it, Robby," I mumble. "Anyway, I have to go. Sage is taking me shopping for some concealer because my eye looks like a galaxy screensaver."

"Are you coming to the trial?" He asks me. "It's next week, you know."

"I haven't decided," I admit to him. "I know that you're going to get convicted and I don't really want to watch that happen. I'll think about it."

"I want you to be there," He says. "I'm sorry about what happened with the guys. I'll take care of that."

"Don't get yourself hurt in there, Robby," I mumble, now realizing that maybe it was a mistake to tell him about what happened yesterday. I wanted him to get pissed off about it because I am pissed off about it but since those guys might be put in the same jail as Robby, I don't want him to try to fight them. Even if he could win the fight, he'll still get into a lot of trouble with the guards.

"I'll be fine," He promises me. I see Sage pull up the driveway so I say goodbye to my brother and head out to her car.

When I get in the passenger side, she looks at me with a disgusted face. "I told you that it was bad," I remind her, putting on my seatbelt as she backs out of my driveway.

"I know, but I still wasn't ready for it," She admits to me. "That's so gross. Does it still hurt? I still can't believe that this happened to you. And you really shot the guy in the foot?"

"Yeah, I didn't make it up," I assure her with a small laugh. "They got arrested though, one of the cops called last night to tell me that they were caught taking their friend to the hospital because of the foot thing. And yeah, it's still kind of throbbing but Ollie—I mean, Dex—he gave me some pain killers from his drag racing incident."