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"I took back control"

"Yes, you did As long as you do that throughout this whole ordeal, you’ll be fine"

"Autuht stay away? I mean, at work Do you think he could let the team take over and stay away? I think it would be easier"

"I’ll have a ith him," she promised

Good I didn’t want to see hi to weaken my resolve and I was afraid one more look in those dark eyes of his would snap my determination in half

AT SEVEN THE NEXT MORNING, after another sleepless night, I had the hotel night er slip me out of the back service entrance I’d pinned my short hair to my head so I could tuck it under a borrowed baseball cap and I hurried down a narrow alleyway that let me out to the opposite side of the ht sunglasses ht makeso my body appeared bulkier I kept my head down, tucked my hands into my pockets, and tried not to think about how hot I was, despite the low temperatures, with all the clothes on

Not really sure what I was looking for, I headed toward Buchanan Street All I kneas that I couldn’t stay in that hotel roo the need to go to hie my ht I wandered ai in a doorway Killian and I had been in theup the charity I had in mind for the homeless What would happen with that now? Would he turn it over to someone else to help me with it? My idea was for a soup kitchen/shelter It would be first come, first serve There would be plenty of reserves of food and as many beds as we could provide Toothe winter They needed soyle Street

I faltered when I saw Ham huddled under a shop doorway near the closed Arcade

Deciding not to run from him, I madehis e He squinted at me and I lowered myself to my haunches

"Hey, Ha

I knewto place nition hit "Busker Girl?"

"You can call me Skylar, Ham How are you?"

"I feel better than ye look" He flashed rin "Too hot in all those clothes?"

I chuckled and almost immediately felt tired by the action "Had a bad few days"

"Aye, I ken what that’s like"

"You okay?"

He shrugged "Same old" His face fell "Mandy left"

Curious to know if she’d taken my advice, I asked, "Do you knohere she went?"

"Aye, one of oor pals says she got help She’s living in shared housing Got a cleaning job, believe it no"

Relief ood"

"I dunno aboot that We were doin’ awrite here" He grumbled "We had each other"

I contemplated him; his cheekbones looked even hollower than before It ful but I didn’t want to give his "Can I buy you sohts He pushed, "Money would be better"

Sighing heavily, I stood up "I’ his lip in disdain, he retorted, "Ye’re no any better than us, ye know Whoever ye are now, once ye’re like us, ye cannae go back"

No, I couldn’t go back Everything that had happened toKillian

Heroin wasn’t my addiction Killian was

But unlike Ham, I would beat mine

"Goodbye, Ha to launch this album, you should take some of these interview requests," Gayle said as we talked on the phone a few hours later

I’d snuck back into the hotel through the service entrance and was safely ensconced init"

"Yeah, Killian said as much"