Dead Apples

30- Train Tickets

"Just three months in jail," I say over the phone to my brother. "That's not bad. Definitely better than the twenty years that you were facing."

"I know. Three months isn't awful. I really tried to get away with no jail time at all, but they weren't budging on that," He responds to me.

"Well yeah. Robby, you stabbed an innocent man. You can't tell me that you honestly don't think that you should get any jail time at all," I remind him slowly. "But anyway, I'm glad that you'll be home soon. A lot has happened. I'm really proud of you for giving up the names of the other guys."

"After what they did to you at the gas station, I wasn't about to keep protecting them," He assures me. "I'm really sorry that you got involved in this, Yaz, I never meant for you to get hurt."

"I know," I sit on the edge of my bed and start picking at my nails absentmindedly. "Don't worry about it too much, everything worked out in the end."

"That's true. Everything worked out in the end," He agrees with me. It sounds like he's about to say something else, but Zero starts barking out in the living room and his bark is so loud that it interrupts what Robby was about to say. "Aw, I miss my boy."

"Your boy shouldn't be barking right now," I mumble, getting off of my bed to see what's going on out front. He doesn't bark unless there's somebody in the yard, so I know that something must be up. Either somebody is visiting, or maybe another group of teenagers vandalizing my garage door.

"He's just protective," Robby defends. "You're taking good care of him, right? He's a big dog, you have to feed him a lot."

"Yes, I know, Robby. I'm taking care of him. Walking him every day and everything," I promise my brother. When I get into the living room, I can peek out the window and see a familiar car parked out front. Dex's car. Craning my neck a little bit, I see him walking through the yard toward my front door. "Um, hey, I have to go. Somebody's here. Call when you can."

"Yeah, I will. I love you, Yaz. You've really been my rock through this whole thing," He says to me.

"I love you too," I say back and then I hang up the phone.

"Quiet, Zee," I pat Zero on the head a few times to try and convince him that he doesn't need to bark anymore. It doesn't work. I give up on quieting the dog and just go to the front door. I have absolutely no idea what Dex could possibly want, and I don't really want to find out, but he's here already, so I don't have much of a choice.

Opening the front door just as he gets onto my front porch, I look at him and wait for him to explain to me why he's here.

"Hey," He greets me with the smallest of smiles. "Can I come in?"

I don't know how to politely say no, so I just nod a little bit and then step aside for him to come into the house. After he's inside, I shut the door behind him and continue to wait for him to say more.

"Zero!" I have to shout over the dog's incessant barking but once he hears me, he finally stops barking. He still doesn't like Dex very much though, and I can tell by the way that he's carefully watching Dex that he is still cautious.

"I heard the good news," Dex tells me once the dog has stopped shaking the house with his deep barks. "Javi told me that your brother will be home soon. That's really awesome, Yaz."

"Yeah. Thanks to your girlfriend, she kind of ruined the whole case for the prosecution. I guess that I should have thanked you after we got the plea deal. It is because of you that my brother will be home in a few months."

He shrugs at me. "Just trying to make things right."

"With me?" I wonder curiously. "You didn't really do anything to me. Shouldn't you be making things right with Amber?"