The Unsent Appeal novel · Chapter 7 of 24

Chapter 7: Against the Fridge

"Get in," Elliott said through the open window.

I got in.

He drove for three blocks before he said anything.

"I was by the plant wall at nine. You didn't see me."

"The receptionist told me."

"Your brother stood in front of nine people and called you a felon."

"I know what he called me."

"And you said thank you to the guards."

"I said please."

He made a short sound that was almost a laugh and was not.

My apartment was a one-bedroom on the third floor of a brick walk-up.

He parked and came up the stairs behind me without being asked.

His hand stayed on the rail, and his bad leg took each step slowly.

I let him in.

I stood in my own kitchen with my coat still on and my keys in my fist.

"You didn't have to come," I said.

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"Because I watched a man try to take you apart in public," he said.

"And I couldn't stop thinking about the part where you let him."

"I didn't let him. I answered him."

"After eight years."

"After eight years," I said. "What do you want me to say?"

"That you're angry."

"I am angry."

"You don't sound angry. You sound tired, and polite."

"Because I've been polite since I was twenty-one."

My voice cracked, and I hated it.

"She never once said thank you," I said. "Not once."

"I sent her money for eight years, and she said, 'Love you, safe travels.'"

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