I dropped to my knees beside him, the briefcase clattering to the floor. My hands found him, and he gasped, fists shooting up on instinct. When he realized it was me, they fell away, trembling.
“Inna.”
“What happened?” I brushed his hair back, fingers trembling despite myself. “Why are you sleeping outside?”
He blinked the sleep away, rubbing his hands for warmth. “Karen came,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t have used her mother’s phone. It was my fault.”
My gaze swept over our clothes dumped on the ground. Following the trail back to Cole, I realized he had been freezing alone here since he got kicked out. Heat flared in my chest, and Iswallowed it. My hands moved over his arms and shoulders.
“Did you bring food?” he asked, giving me that easy, stubborn grin that didn’t disappear, no matter what the night had thrown at him.
My gaze dropped from his face. He was hungry and freezing. He was alone while I was standing on a rooftop, thinking about dying. If I never came back, he would have wandered until morning, shrinking into corners with an empty stomach and nowhere to go.
I swallowed. “Cole—” The word died when I saw the dark mark on his wrist. I pulled his hand closer. It was an ugly, unmistakable bruise. Whatever restraint I’d been holding onto snapped. I rolled his sleeve up. Someone had gripped him hard. The finger imprints were clear.
Throwing him out was one thing. Hurting him was an absolute line I wouldn’t let anyone cross, not while I was breathing.
“Where is she?”
“Who, Karen?” he asked. “I think they’re sleeping. Why—”
I was on my feet before Cole could finish. I stormed to the door and slammed my fist against it, the sound crackling through the quiet street.
“Karen,” I called. “Karen, come out here.”
Amelia and her daughter knew us long before this, back when we lived next door, and my father was still around. They knew what it meant to wake up one morning and find him gone. They watched us sell furniture, my father’s car, anything that could buy us one more day. And when we got kicked out of the house, they witnessed it.
I knocked again. “Karen. Open the door.”
A light flicked on inside. I shifted, tapping my foot against the ground as I forced my ragged breaths to steady.
The door opened, and Karen stood there in her robe, eyes narrowed. “I thought you disappeared like your father,” she said,smirking.
“You hurt him,” I breathed.
Her gaze dropped to Cole. She scoffed, folding her arms across her chest.
“Told you he’d be a criminal or something,” she spat. “Just because my mother is old and can’t speak for herself, you thought you could take advantage?”
“You hurt my brother,” I snapped.
“Don’t give me attitude.”
“He is nine!” I yelled, fists clenched. “You came all this way to pick a fight with a child?”
“I told you two to move. Didn’t I?”
“That doesn’t answer my fucking question.” My jaw ached, and I let out a bitter chuckle. “I feel sorry for you.”
She laughed. “Please. Who’s homeless, you or—”
“I feel sorry for your kids and your mother, because you are an animal. And you know what?” I stepped forward, my face close to hers. “We’re leaving. Find someone else to torment. You can’t even keep your own life together, so you take it out on others.”
Her eyes narrowed, understanding exactly what I meant. I turned to Cole, who sat on the floor with the briefcase in his lap.
“What did you say?” Karen hissed, stepping forward.
“You heard me,” I said. “I can see why your husband cheats on you.” She lifted her hand to strike, and I caught it mid-air. I twisted it and pushed her backward until she stumbled into the house. “You may have touched my brother, but never raise your hand to me.”