Page 80 of Chalk Outline

No.

I clench my hands into tight fists.

She was fine when I left.

“How?” My voice is barely a whisper that falters as I try to process her words.

“She overdosed the day you escaped the circus.”

I killed her, too.

She trusted me, and I let her down. I had one job. Even when she wasn’t aware of all the details, she knew I kept her alive.

What have I done?

She kissed me on the cheek and told me she loved me right before she fell asleep.

Sometimes, that love turned into anger when Mom was on edge, but it was her addiction—not the trapped voice beneath the wreckage. She surrendered to that black void, letting it consume who she was because of that place.

I gasp.

My chest tightens so much that I can barely breathe.

“Reeve, it’s going to be okay. It’s not your fault.” Romina’s voice mixes with the ringing in my ears and distant voices from my past. Everything spins around me. The pulse in my throat pounds violently, and it feels like it’s about to detonate. Nausea churns in my stomach. Black spots blur my vision before everything goes dark.

I snap my eyes open at the sound of a howl. My cheek is pressed against the mud, and the fresh, earthy smell fills my nose as I realize I’m outside.

Dented cans lie a few feet away, and cartridge cases are scattered beside me.

Fuck…I fainted.

The cold paralyzes my already aching bones. My wounded shoulder pulses violently. I push myself into a sitting position and rub my eyes before I remove the mask.

I pull the cigarette from behind my ear and fish my lighter from my pocket. The first puff always helps me relax. All I want is a moment of peace. The fighting never stops, and it gets harder the farther I am from her.

When I became Winona’s bodyguard, I became a permanent part of her life and felt like the happiest man alive.

I finally found my best friend. My other half.

The first girl who smiled at me and made me feel like I wasn’t alone stood before me with her sassy attitude and endless questions. All grown up. Extra curious. She still had the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I couldn’t break character around her grandma, but I let her see sparks of the real me.

I didn’t feel invisible.

She showed me every day that I wasn’t.

Her grandma saw me, too, and gave me a chance at a better life.

They are my only family.

“You can’t tell Winona,” Romina says right after she finishes.

Earlier, I feared she would send me away because she found out about Winona and me. Now, after all the things she shared with me, I’m not sure what scares me the most.

“She is twenty-one now. I kept it from her this long, but I need an ally—someone I can trust to help me deal with this.” Her eyes reflect her inner turmoil: a deep fear for Winona and the trust I have earned by being part of this family.

Her family.

“I’ll do whatever you tell me to keep her safe under one condition,” my words are sharp, cutting to the chase, just likeI learned from her. I will do anything to stay in her life. I’ll be dead anyway if I don’t.