Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“There are twenty little kids there. How do I know? And he looks nothing like Cooper.”
She shrugs, letting it go. “You didn’t come to the diner again. Why not?”
“How did you know where I go to school?”
“I followed your Instagram last year. You deleted it though. How are you, baby? This is a fancy place, all these pretty buildings, and look at you and that hot guy. Is he your boyfriend? He looks rich.”
“He’s a kid. He doesn’t have money, Mama.”
“But I bet his family does. Good for you. That’s what you need, a rich guy.”
“Mama, stop.”
The guy in the car opens his door and gets out, leaning against it as he lights up a cigarette. He’s skinny, like Mama, with slouchy clothing and tattoos on his neck and face, and they aren’t nice ones like Wyatt’s. He sends us a long look, and I feel him checking me out as he blows smoke in the air.
I focus back on her. “What do you want?”
She laughs, her eyes wide as she looks me up and down. “Come on, let’s be sweet. I’ve missed you and it killed me to leave you, but if I hadn’t, Cooper would have worked his way to you, and he might not have just hit you, you see. And Tyler…poor defenseless baby. I miss having kids.” She pauses. “I saw that kid, and it was him, and he didn’t look terrible to me. You lie, Ava.”
“What do you want?” I yell, my patience stretched thin, my nerves on edge.
She stiffens, looking petulant. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”
I exhale as the past tugs at me a little. “I’m glad you’re okay. I haven’t heard from you since you left. I thought…I thought you might be dead.”
She laughs. “I’m not.”
I blow out a breath. “Mama, what do you want?”
Her lips turn down. “Money.”
Now, the reality behind her note and visit are crystal clear, and I swallow down the hurt it causes me even though I expected it. “I see.”
“But if I can’t get any, maybe I’ll call one of those family lawyers, see what it might take to get Tyler back—unless you can help me? What do you say? I bet you have some money saved from waiting tables, or maybe your boyfriend has some cash? Just a little would do me a lot of good, baby girl.”
My eyes flare. She’s probably still using. I don’t smell any alcohol on her, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t high, and it’s dark out here…ugh.
I don’t believe she’ll call anyone. She doesn’t want Tyler; she just wants the money, and she’ll only wear me down, lingering around the diner and school, and geeze, she’s my mom, she’s my mom, and I haven’t laid eyes on her in so long…
She was a terrible mother, so bad, but she’s still the person who brought me into this world, and I can feel that tiny, fragile bond right now, twisting in my heart. I feel like a little kid all over again, wondering if she’s okay, if she’ll hug me, if she’ll be home when I get back from school.
My shoulders slump. “I’ll give you everything I have.”
She smiles broadly.
“But I never want to see you again.”
A long sigh comes from her. “Ah, Ava, you’re mean. Guess you get it honest.”
Yeah.
She sends a thumbs-up to the man in the parking lot and I cringe. “We just need to get to Memphis, you know, and we ran out of money a while back, and it will give us a good start. We all need fresh starts, don’t we? Thank you, baby girl.”
“Yeah.” Feeling queasy, I tell her to stay put and dash inside the dorm and up to my room. I lift up my mattress and count out my three thousand dollars. The money doesn’t really matter right now. I can always work more.
“You are not going back out there without me,” Wyatt states when I come back to the lobby.
“Okay.” I exhale.
With Wyatt next to me—thank you God for sending me a friend like him—I walk back outside and press it into her hands.
“I’ll call the cops the next time,” I say, running my eyes back over the man who’s still watching us. “He looks like he might have warrants out. Wouldn’t want him to go to jail, or you to go for harassment.”
Her mouth quirks up. “Just like me, you’re hard and ready to fight.” She laughs harshly. “Don’t blame you a bit.”
“What the fuck just happened?” Wyatt says as we watch their taillights leave a few minutes later.
My chest hitches, feeling lost, like I want to chase her car down, even with that scary man inside, and beg her to stay and just be a mom and be like Knox’s dad, but, no, no—those thoughts are foolish and she chose her path a long time ago.