“I shouldn’t have hollered at you like that,” he said. “I didn’t mean to—goddamnit, you know I wouldn’t hurt you. You know that, don’t you, baby?” You could never know who might hurt you until it was too late. But he sounded desperate, pleading with her from the step, and she cracked the door a little more. “There’s this doctor,” he said. “Luis told me about him. You gotta pay him upfront for the surgery but I been savin up.” “What surgery?” she said. “For my chest. Then I won’t have to wear this damn thing at all.” “But is it safe?” “Safe enough,” he said. She stared at the shallow rise and
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