Wicked Innocence (Wicked Innocence 1)

“Are you ready?”

I nodded at Sax. His grip on my hand tightened slightly, letting me know he was there for me. My heart pounded as we walked into the room. Nate sat at the table. I almost laughed. He looked more nervous than me.

Three days ago when Sax had suggested this, I’d been dead against it. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right—I did need closure. And though meeting with Nate was a step in that direction, deep down I knew the only person who could give me the closure I needed was my mother. That was something I didn’t know if I’d ever be ready for.

“Do you want me to stay?” Sax whispered in my ear.

I nodded. I wasn’t sure I could do this alone. We walked over to the table.

Sax pulled out one of the wooden chairs for me and I sat down. “I’ll be over there if you need me, okay?”

I closed my eyes as he kissed my head.

“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say here,” Nate confessed. His hands were clasped tightly in front of him. “I’m sorry. About what happened. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about what happened and wish I could’ve changed things.”

Me too.

“Why him?” I asked.

“He was there.” His voice cracked. “Dom—one of the older guys in the group—started picking on him. When he didn’t react, he started to push him. A few of the others joined in. I didn’t touch him,” he whispered.

“But you didn’t stop them.”

“No. I didn’t.” He wiped his eyes. “I’m not trying to make excuses. I fucked up. But I was a kid. I was eleven—the same age as your brother. The guys I ran with were bad news. They’d have probably killed me too if I’d stood up to them. But I’ll never forgive myself for doing nothing.”

“How long were you in juvie for?” I asked.

“Twelve months,” he replied, his face coloring.

I snorted. Twelve months. My brother was dead and he got twelve months? Where was the justice in that? The only saving grace was that the older members of the gang had been tried—and convicted—as adults and were serving life sentences.

“And now? What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m back at school. I-I want to help kids. I want to be a social worker.”

I nodded. I stood up, realizing I had nothing left to say. Nate watched me, his expression alarmed, as I walked over to Sax.

“Let’s go,” I mumbled, taking his hand.

He nodded and opened the door.

As we walked out, I turned back to Nate. “I hope you make something of yourself. I do believe you’re sorry for what happened. I hope you use that and help kids like you say you want to.”

I walked out without waiting for his response.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sax

“Thanks for helping me do this. I think you were right. I needed to face what happened.” She smiled at me and I forced myself to smile back, but inside, my heart was racing.

It couldn’t be right. I had to have misheard.

“I hope it helped,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. All I could focus on was what I’d heard Nate say.

His words played over and over in my mind—words I wish I could’ve unheard, because they changed everything. My heart pounded as I tried to form in my head the question I knew I needed to ask.

What the fuck is going on?