Whispers of a Broken Halo by Abbi Glines

“Got a call from someone who was leaving the bar. Said there was a female beating a Jeep up. This yours?” the cop asked Rio.

He locked both hands behind his head, just staring at the damage. “Fuck,” he groaned.

I felt sick to my stomach.

“You do this?” the cop asked me.

I paused only for a moment because I knew I had to say something. Cullen was in the backseat. If I told them the truth, then he would witness his mother being arrested. I couldn’t do it to him. I also wasn’t sure I could even get the words out if I tried to talk.

“No, it was a misunderstanding. You can go,” Rio told the cop just as I opened my mouth to confess.

I swung my gaze to his, waiting for him to say more. That small part of me that had thought Rio wouldn’t press charges if he believed it was me had been right. It made me feel even worse instead of relieved.

“Are you sure? She’s holding a metal pole, and that Jeep is going to need extensive body work,” the cop said with a concerned expression on his face.

Rio nodded. “Yeah. It’s fine. You can go,” he replied.

“Shit,” the blond guy said under his breath. He was as surprised as the police officer.

The cop shook his head and shrugged. “All right then, but if this is a lovers’ spat and it goes beyond this, I’ll be taking you both in. Clear out of here.”

“We will. It’s done,” he assured the cop.

With one last glance at me, he looked disappointed that he wasn’t going to be able to arrest anyone over this before walking back to his car.

“Tha—” I started to thank Rio, but he held up a hand.

“Don’t speak. Just go. I don’t want to look at you,” he said, his hard glare on his beat-up Jeep.

“Better go on before this sinks in and he snaps out of his shock,” the blond guy told me.

I wanted to explain it all, but I was afraid of what Rio would do to Tory. Maybe he would let her off the hook too. I just couldn’t be sure. I wanted to tell him I would pay for the damage, but I was barely able to keep the bills paid and food in the apartment. Yesterday, Tory had been fired from her second job since moving here. I didn’t know when she would find another job.

“I a-a-a-am so s-s-sorry,” I stammered, needing to say something.

There was no way to describe how horrible I felt. Keeping Tory safe for Cullen’s sake wasn’t always easy, but this was by far the most difficult thing I had done. Speaking had become easier for me when I was calm and could speak slowly and think about my words. But tonight, I felt the block there, taunting me. Reminding me how my brain was broken.

“Go ,” Rio roared.

I jumped back, startled, then hurried to the driver’s door to get in before I remembered Tory had gotten in the driver’s seat. Keeping my head down, I went over to the passenger side and quickly got inside.

“Oops,” Tory said as I closed the door. “Guess I got the wrong Jeep.”

“D-d-don’t sp-sp-speak. Not n-n-n-now. Jus-jus-just don’t talk to me,” I said as calmly as I could, but the stuttering was still there. My heart was pounding in my chest. I wasn’t sure I could control my words when I felt like this.

“Whatever,” Tory replied. “You’re so damn dramatic.”

I turned my head to see Cullen staring at me, wide-eyed. He looked so scared. For him, I would keep my mouth shut. It was all I could do.





Chapter Two

It was almost an hour before I was due for my shift, but I hadn’t slept last night, worrying about Rio’s Jeep. The only option that I could come up with was to set up monthly payments for the damage. I was hoping I could get extra shifts, and that money could go directly to Rio.

Tory wasn’t awake when I left, but she had promised that she would go job-hunting today.

Getting to work early so I could talk to Rio about this had been weighing on me since I’d come up with the idea at four this morning. Tory and I shared the fifteen-year-old Buick that had belonged to our aunt before she died. Some mornings, it didn’t want to start, but with a little extra work, we could normally get it going.

Tory had been able to walk to her last two jobs from our apartment. The farmers market was five miles from our place, and I could walk it if I absolutely had to, but it would be easier if Tory found a job in town close enough she could walk to.

Parking the Buick in the back of the lot with the other staff members, I made my way to the back entrance. I didn’t see Rio’s Jeep here, but then I doubted he would drive it. He was always here early for deliveries. I hoped he would be today. I couldn’t make what Tory had done right, but I could at least pay him back.

The cooler fall air that had finally arrived in the South wasn’t even enough to make me smile this morning, and I loved this time of year. My stomach was in knots, and I replayed exactly what I was going to say to Rio as I walked across the parking lot. I had almost reached the entrance when Rio emerged from the back, carrying a crate of sweet potatoes.

His eyes immediately locked on me, and he turned to a younger guy I had seen working in the back, unloading trucks, and shoved the crate into his hands. Jeremiah nodded at whatever he’d said and then turned to go back inside. When Rio’s gaze swung back to me, I was thankful he was alone.

“Don’t say anything yet,” he said, his glare leveled on me.