Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore Read Free Book Online

leaning toward me. “This doctor was corrupt, he was a drug dealer in disguise. So why didn’t you report it to the authorities?”
    I look out the window. The sky is the color of paste. I feel sick.
    â€œC’mon, Cecelia.”
    My whole first name. I must be in trouble.
    â€œPlease, don’t clam up on me now,” she urges. “It’s obvious this doctor is the real villain here—he was prescribingheavy narcotics to patients who didn’t require them. I need to know everything there is to know about him. He is your ticket to freedom.”
    I want to tell her that the tickets are sold out, that the train’s already left.
    Instead, I say, “I don’t know if you’ll have any luck finding him—I’ve heard he’s moved.”
    Abruptly, Jennifer gathers up her things.
    â€œWell, then I’m going to go track down this doctor.” She reaches out to squeeze my arm. “Once I get his statement, we’ll have a lot more to work with.”
    Her smile is triumphant; I almost can’t bear to spoil her sense of achievement.
    â€œLook, you don’t understand. When I say he moved, I mean moved out of the country— like to the Dominican or something.” I shrug. “I guess that’s what you can expect from someone with a dead patient and a couple million dollars.”
    Jennifer narrows her eyes, then shakes her head.
    â€œWell, that just means I’ll have to search a little harder, that’s all. It’s my job, CeCe. I’m here to help you.”
    I sigh at that. “Okay—I just figured you should know.”
    In the end, she’ll realize what I already know—that no matter what Dr. Frank prescribed my brother, there’s only one person responsible for Cyrus’s death. That, and the only place I’m moving to is a jail cell.
    â€œToday I want to talk about your support system.”
    Dr. Barnes is running group today. I guess he got tired ofhearing us complain about Cam. Either that or he realized that Cam is a snotty bitch who likes to hear herself talk.
    Aaron snorts. “What support system?” Barnes gives him a patronizing smile.
    â€œFamily. Friends. This group. Your individual therapists. Anyone you think helps you out or has ‘got your back’ or wants you to succeed.”
    â€œCount me out, Doc.” Aaron rubs his nose. “I got nothing and no one but me.”
    â€œSo you think we just want you to curl up in a ball and die?” Lola, a tall, willowy blonde asks. Everything about Lola is miraculously long—her hair, her legs, the vowels in her words.
    Aaron looks her up and down, then shrugs. “I’m just sayin’—I mean, I can get better or I can get worse. In the end, you don’t give a shit what happens to me as long as it don’t change what happens to you .”
    â€œWhat about you, Tucker?” Barnes asks, attempting to redirect. “Who’s in your support network?”
    Tucker is across the circle from me. He’s wearing a dark green sweater. Today his eyes kind of look like tree bark—rough and layered, in multiple shades of brown.
    â€œMy parents are all right,” he is saying. “They hung in there with me. Honestly, they probably should have turned their backs on me a long time ago. It means a lot that they’re still supportive.”
    â€œYeah, if you stole that kind of money from me, I’d kick your ass—family or no family,” Aaron pipes up.
    Barnes gives him a look. “Any sisters or brothers?” he asks Tucker. He nods.
    â€œSister.”
    â€œOlder or younger?”
    â€œOlder. She lives out of state.”
    â€œAre you close with her?”
    Tucker’s dark hair falls in waves across his forehead and around his ears, listing forward and back. He seems like he’s thinking. Finally he shrugs.
    â€œI was. There was a time when she was my best