CHARLIE'S POV I sat there quietly as Joe's family murmured soft "I'm sorrys" and "how awfuls" to me. I was propelled back to the day of Della's funeral. I had stood there frozen as people sympathetically patted me on the back and hugged my crying parents. Everyone had talked about how sweet and gentle Della was. No one had dared to mention those last few months when everything had spiraled downward for her. Those last few months that had caused her to decide that ending her life was the only solution to her pain. "Mom, why don't you go grab the dessert and we can take it out to the back deck to enjoy," Joe said waking me up from my past. "Charlie and I will meet you all out there in a few minutes. We need to talk for a minute." Joe grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs until we entered a small bedroom. "What is this place?" I asked looking at the photos of a young Joe hanging out with his brothers. A blue comforter set was spread out on the bed. "It's my bedroom before! I bought my own place," Joe said grabbing my right hand and playing with the small silver ring on my ring finger. "Why didn't you tell me about Della?" "We've only known each other a few days. Does it really matter?" I asked pulling my hand free. "We have a contract. Shouldn't you have already known courtesy of a background check or something?" "Mort ran a background check on you," Joe said with a flush of embarrassment. "But I never read it. Mort just assured me that you were clean." "Then
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