Travis set our suitcases on the bed and collapsed beside them. He hadn’t pushed the Benny issue, and I was hopeful that Vegas was beginning to filter out of his system. I bathed Toto, disgusted that he reeked of smoke and dirty socks from being in Brazil’s apartment all weekend, and then towel-dried him in the bedroom.
“Oh! You smell so much better!” I giggled as he shook, spraying me with tiny droplets of water. He stood up on his hind legs, covering my face with tiny puppy kisses. “I missed you, too, little man.”
“Pigeon?” Travis asked, nervously knotting his fingers together.
“Yeah?” I said, rubbing Toto with the fluffy yellow towel in my hands.
“I wanna do this. I want to fight in Vegas.”
“No,” I said, smiling at Toto’s happy face.
He sighed. “You’re not listening. I’m gonna do it. You’ll see in a few months that it was the right decision.”
I looked up at him. “You’re going to work for Benny.”
He nodded nervously and then smiled. “I just wanna take care of you, Pidge.”
Tears glossed my eyes, knowing he was resolved. “I don’t want anything bought with that money, Travis. I don’t want anything to do with Benny or Vegas or anything that goes along with it.”
“You didn’t have a problem with the thought of buying a car with the money from my fights here.”
“That’s different and you know it.”
He frowned. “It’s gonna be okay, Pidge. You’ll see.”
I watched him for a moment, hoping for a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, waiting for him to tell me that he was joking. Uncertainty and greed reflected in his eyes.
“Why did you even ask me, Travis? You were going to work for Benny no matter what I said.”
“I want your support on this, but it’s too much money to turn down. I would be crazy to say no.”
I sat for a moment, stunned. Once it had all sunk in, I nodded. “Okay, then. You’ve made your decision.”
Travis beamed. “You’ll see, Pigeon. It’s going to be great.” He pushed off the bed, walked over to me and kissed my fingers. “I’m starved. You hungry?”
I shook my head and he kissed my forehead before making his way to the kitchen. Once his footsteps left the hall, I pulled my clothes from their hangers, grateful that I had room in my suitcase for most of my belongings. Angry tears fell down my cheeks. I knew better than to take Travis to that place. I had fought tooth and nail to keep him from the dark edges of my life, and the moment the opportunity presented itself, I dragged him to the core of everything I hated without a second thought.
Travis was going to be a part of that, and if he wouldn’t let me save him, I had to save myself.
The suitcase was filled to its limit, and I stretched the zipper over the bulging contents. I yanked it off the bed and down the hall, passing the kitchen without glancing in its direction. I hurried down the steps, relieved that America and Shepley were still kissing and laughing in the parking lot, transferring her things from his Charger to her Honda.
“Pigeon?” Travis called from the doorway of the apartment.
I touched America’s wrist. “I need you to take me to Morgan, Mare.”
“What’s going on?” she said, noting the seriousness of the situation by my expression.
I glanced behind me to see Travis jogging down the stairs and across the grass to where we stood.
“What are you doing?” he said, gesturing to my suitcase.
If I’d told him in that moment, all hope of separating myself from Mick, and Vegas, and Benny, and everything I didn’t want would be lost. Travis wouldn’t let me leave, and by morning I would have convinced myself to accept his decision.
I scratched my head and smiled, trying to buy some time to think of an excuse.
“Pidge?”
“I’m taking my stuff to Morgan. They have all those washers and dryers and I have a ridiculous amount of laundry to do.”
He frowned. “You were going to leave without telling me?”
I glanced to America and then to Travis, struggling for the most believable lie.
“She was coming back in, Trav. You’re so freakin’ paranoid,” America said with the dismissive smile she had used to deceive her parents so many times.