I take a sip of my water and Sydney breaks off a little bit of the cookie.

“I have a small bar in here if you want to take the edge off,” Robert says, walking over to a globe.

When he lifts the top, I see crystal bottles of various dark liquors. At first, I plan on saying no but it has been a long and stressful day with a lot of anticipation.

When he offers to pour me a bit of whiskey, I can’t resist.

“So, you and Owen were close back then?”

“Yeah, I met him in the neighborhood and we were best friends for a few years. We did a lot of bad things together.”

I swirl the golden brown liquid in my tumbler and then take a sip, enjoying the initial burn that levels out and spreads warmth throughout my body.

“Can you tell me about Owen’s girlfriend, Nina?” I ask.

A smile appears on Robert’s face.

“Nina was effervescent and so full of life. She was always laughing and making jokes. She seemed to walk on air.”

I try to imagine the person that she knew as my brother. Was he kind and loving? Did prison turn him into the man I discovered him to be or was he always like that?

“Owen was obsessed with her. They were really in love at first, the way that teenagers are. They made plans. They wanted to get married. But then after a while, she got tired of him.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“When they were dating and I wanted to hang out with Owen, we always had to hang out together. I liked Nina but I didn’t like being a third wheel. But I was there when things started changing between them. At first, they were inseparable. They wouldn’t go a day without seeing each other. But after a while, she would make these excuses as to why she couldn’t hang out. He believed her at first, but then they started to grate on him…”

His voice trails off and he looks out of the window, lost in his memories.

“Was she cheating on him?” Sydney asks.

“No, I don’t think she ever cheated on him even though I’m sure that Owen did. She just started to pull away and the further away she got, the more he wanted her closer.”

“Was he possessive?” I ask.

He doesn’t want to come out and say it but I can tell by his expression that that’s exactly what he means.

“She ended up breaking up with him. But he still refused to take no for an answer. He called her incessantly and started following her. At first, she answered his calls and tried to explain but then she just started to ignore him. That made things…worse.”

19

Olive

When I try to figure out what to do…

I inhale deeply.