Piece by Piece

48. Choices

"I'm not sure I should say. It's very unpleasant and you don't need this right now."

Yes, she did. She needed to be there for him, just like he'd been there for her. So she took his hand and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry about it. I want to be there for you, too."

Freider just watched her for a few minutes, the uncertainty in his eyes leaving room to something that looked a lot like affection. She'd counted on it and now wanted to see exactly how deep it went, if the solution she was considering was feasible.

"You remember me mentioning that I was coming to school so often because of my brother." He sat in silence for a few moments, and her heart started pounding.

The chanting of the crowd rang in her ears. Murder. Death. "Is he...?"

Freider flinched a little, but shook his head. "He's not dead, if that's what you mean, but it was very close. And some dumb kids thought he was and shouted it all over school and..."

"I'm so sorry to hear that!" And she couldn't believe everything had started with Freider's brother. It was like fate had gotten bored with stringing facts and decided to tie them all up close together.

"He'll be fine. At least I hope he'll be fine." His entire demeanor changed, catching a threatening air which had her pulling away. "It's that damn Snitch Gravel."

This time, she truly shuddered. "Excuse me?"

"His drug dealings inside the school. Selling drugs to middle graders. He's the reason my baby brother is like this." The fire in his eyes seemed to die down once he looked at her. "He's the reason you're in this bed. Ron didn't deserve this, and neither do you."

A sob escaped her lips, and she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. His words hurt, but it didn't make them less true. Whatever Davyn had truly tried to do, it didn't matter. The consequences were dead people and OD-ing kids. If he ever wanted to do any good by taking over Harkin's work, he'd failed.

But had he really? The most competent and well organized man she'd ever known... Could he have failed? Or had it all been an act to get him here, to the point where his name was a fearful whisper on everyone's lips?

"I'm so sorry you had to go through this," Freider said into her hair.

"I'm sorry about your brother, too. I hope he'll be fine."

"I hope so, too. I just..." He looked down at her, and he was so close.

Panic grabbed hold of her for a moment before, like a rush of water escaping from a damn, all her thoughts came swirling to the forefront again.

What Davyn had done. How there was no return because she would never accept or forgive him for what he'd done. The lies. The helplessness. Her chance to change her story. She didn't have to keep blaming herself. She could rise above it and chose a new life for herself.

A determination like she'd never felt before wrapped itself around her heart and paralyzed the fear and the pain. She was going to take back her life.

So when Freider leaned even closer, she didn't pull away. When his lips brushed against hers, a shiver ran down her spine, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.