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“Where’d they send him?”

“I don’t know” His bony shoulders lifted in a sad shrug “They don’t tell us stuff like that”

My heart broke at the note of acceptance in Pip’s defeated voice I understood, though He’d probably gained and lost many friends while in foster care My brain refused to accept the harsh reality of the situation The connection Roman and I shared was special Our futures were already woven together

I wouldn’t abandon him at the first bump in our road we encountered

Chapter Thirty-Four

Roman

There was nothing regal about the Castle Correctional Center The gladiator-like environment had a different set of rules than the Pine Bluff home

This was more like a prison To prepare us for where most of us would end up once ere released from the state’s “care”

In fact, eren’t far from the county jail When kids acted up—pretty much every day—and the counselors didn’t want to deal with it, they dialed 911 and let the cops cart us away

It was a place designed to turn broken children into monsters

I was isolated from the rest of the inmates—I mean kids—for the first week That was fun First, I’ normal in my life stripped away Then, I’m shoved in a room by myself for my “safety”

Every nerve in ? She o to the house? Ask what happened? God, I hoped not I couldn’t stand the thought of so her I was a thief

She’d knoas lies We were so deeply connected, she’d have to know I’d never do anything that would pull me away from her

After five days, I finally wrangled a pen, envelope, stamp, and piece of paper from one of the counselors

Chapter Thirty-Five

Dear Juliet,

I can’t iht now But know this—I was set up Probably by Janet and Squire I never would’ve purposely done anything that would’ve taken me away from you

You can write me here, just know someone will read your letters before I see them

Please look out for Pip if you can

Love,

Roman