All of the Lights Read Free

community in North Boston, the label is pretty on-point.
    Lucy is only guilty by association. I, on the other hand, deserve all the animosity they'd serve up and then some.
    Light eyes flash across my mind—I'm trapped in a blurry, crimson haze of blinding pain, but I can still make them out. I can see the horror radiating in them. The shock and the panic I find in his eyes is all I really remember, but it's enough to keep those seeds of doubt festering. That dread and that insurmountable terror that I'd made the wrong choice all those years ago in listening to my dad instead of my gut.
    Sean Callahan is in prison because of me and because of that, Na Soilse is the last place I should ever step foot in.
    "Come on," Lucy pleads through my speaker phone. "It's my birthday."
    "Yeah, Rae Rae," Bennett mimics her tone, jutting out his bottom lip in a fake pout. "It'll be, like, so much fun. You have to come watch sweaty guys beat each other up!"
    "I'm gonna pretend you weren't just making fun of me on my birthday," Lucy's harsh voice rings out and that only makes Bennett's Grinch-like smile widen.
    "It's your birthday? Really? I hadn't noticed."
    Lucy huffs and I can practically see her stomping her foot because she isn't getting her way. "Shut up, Benn."
    "Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, Zero, but you sort of need me here. It would behoove you to play nice for once. And, I'm just gonna come out and say it, but it's really shitty of you to only invite your sister out just because you need me to get into some stupid club. You should've invited her a long time ago."
    I blow out a deep breath and my eyes lift up to the ceiling. This is getting beyond ridiculous and it's time to end the charade.
    "Hey, Luce?" I interject before either of them have a chance to continue their little game of snide one-upmanship. "Maybe Benn will be able to get you in, but I'm not coming. And don't even try to talk me out of it because you know exactly why I shouldn't be there and just so we're clear, neither should you. But do what you want. If you can get in, I hope you have fun and I hope you don't get yourself killed."
    Bennett's eyes are glued to the ceiling by the time I finish my speech and he shakes his head at me in a familiar mixture of annoyance, frustration, and worry. Since I've been back in Boston these last three months, I feel like my interactions with Bennett have teetered somewhere between all three of those emotions, but I guess if I were him, I'd want me to deal with all my shit a little bit faster too.
    But because I've never been good at things like feelings and talking about said feelings, I've chosen to wallow in self-pity and disappointment instead.
    So, I hit the end button on my phone before anyone else can say anything. There. It's finally over. Bennett's mouth parts, but it snaps shut again when my phone rings on the counter. We glance down at the caller ID and Bennett's horrified face mirrors my own terror. This can't be a coincidence, especially since this particular caller rarely dials my number.
    I swallow hard and finally swipe across my screen to answer. "Hey, Dad."
    "Have you spoken to your sister tonight?"
    I wince at his clipped tone, not to mention the fact that he didn't bother to even say hello, and it's all I can do to just keep myself from hanging up on him. Who am I kidding? I'd never do that. And that's half my problem right there.
    "Um, yeah. Why?"
    "Did she happen to mention anything about where she was going tonight?"
    My lips part, but nothing comes out and that's exactly the kind of opening he's looking for.
    "Because I was told she's currently on West Broadway. Do you know anything about that?"
    Of course the only reason he's bothered to call me is to check up on Lucy. Why else would he take precious time out of his day to speak to me?
    This would be the perfect opportunity to give Lucy a taste of her own medicine, but my sister is about to get herself into some trouble tonight in more ways than one and I'd