Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
I just need to make sure she’s okay, I tell myself. Once I know she isn’t still sleeping in the cemetery at the grave of… whoever’s grave it is she’s sleeping at, I’ll go.
Before I’m at Tori’s grave, I know she’s not here. The grave she was sleeping on is empty, and I sigh in relief. Good. She was just having a few rough weeks. I get it. If I wasn’t in LA after Tori died, I probably would’ve done the same shit. Since I’m here, I walk over to Tori’s grave to say hello. I end up spending a few hours here, but Sadie never shows, so I take off at dusk.
The next morning, I wake up and find myself at the cemetery again, telling myself that I just need to make sure she’s okay. Once I know she is, I’ll stop showing up. Like yesterday, Sadie isn’t here, and by the time nightfall rolls around, it’s clear she won’t be showing up.
I’m about to take off when an older man and woman walk over to the grave Sadie was at. The woman drops to her knees and sobs as the guy lays flowers on not one but three graves lined up next to each other. They stay for a few minutes, talking quietly before they start to walk away.
I don’t know why I do it, but before they get too far, I call out to them, making them turn around.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I just… I wanted to make sure Sadie’s okay. I met her while she was here.” I nod toward the graves they were just visiting.
The woman’s brows shoot to her forehead, and the man frowns. “We’re not sure how she is,” the man says. “She won’t speak to us.”
“Sorry,” I say dumbly, unsure how else to respond.
“Do you know Sadie well?” the woman asks.
“Nah, just seen her here a couple of times.”
“She, umm…” The gentleman clears his throat. “She’s been detained at the NYPD. We tried to get her out, but aside from her not wanting our help, they denied her bail.”
Fuck. “For sleeping here?”
The woman nods as fresh tears fill her eyes. “It was all my fault,” she cries out.
“Stop, honey,” the man says, pulling her into a hug. When the woman’s cries deepen, he apologizes and says he needs to get her home.
As soon as they’re gone, I go to the front office and demand to speak to the manager. “Did you have Sadie Ruiz arrested?”
“I cannot speak about this matter,” the manager says, sticking his nose into the air like he’s better than me. Well, we’ll see about that…
I stalk out of the office and pull my cell phone out, dialing Easton.
“Gage, everything okay?”
“No, a… friend of mine has been detained at the NYPD. I’m on my way there, so I don’t know the specifics, but I know you’re good friends with that judge… I wouldn’t ask but…”
“I’ll give him a call now,” Easton says. “Text me his name.”
“It’s actually a her.”
Easton’s quiet for a moment, but thankfully doesn’t question me on it. “Text me her info and I’ll see what I can do.”
Two hours later, Sadie is released with a warning, thanks to Easton’s friend, Daniel Maxwell. She has to promise not to sleep at the cemetery anymore, and despite not wanting to agree to that, she does, understanding that the next time she’s arrested, she can be forced to serve ninety or more days in jail.
“Thank you,” she says as we walk out of the courthouse and over to the car I have waiting for us. It’s not often I use our car service, but it was easier than dealing with cabs, and since I was going to be in a public place, I had to take security with me to be on the safe side.
“No problem. Where do you want to be dropped off?” I ask, already knowing what she’ll say.
“The cemetery please.”
We arrive a little while later, and she gets out, thanking me again. But before I let her go, I ask a question that’s been on my mind. “Are you homeless?”
She doesn’t even look surprised by my question when she says, “I can’t go home.”
“So you do have a home then?”
She shakes her head, not giving me anything more.
“You can’t sleep here anymore. Easton pulled a shit ton of strings to get you out, and if you get arrested again, he won’t be able to save you.”
“I know,” she murmurs. “I’ll figure something out. Thank you, again.”
She closes the door, not waiting for my response, and I tell my driver to go. Sadie isn’t my damn problem…
And that’s what I’m still telling myself several hours later as I’m pulling back up to the cemetery to make sure she isn’t doing anything stupid like trying to sleep here.