Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 142664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
I felt tears run down my face as I turned the key in the ignition. I have never felt so alone. I couldn’t even go beg Charles for help. That’s my ex. He’d moved on a few years ago with one bitch of a woman who didn’t want anything to do with me and our child. I don’t understand how a man could allow someone to come between him and his blood.
It's true that I had done my best to cut ties between him and Mitzie because I wanted her to see Corbin as her Daddy instead of the minimum-wage earner who couldn’t help her get anywhere in life. What was so wrong with wanting better for my daughter and myself? Isn’t that what anybody with sense would do?
I pulled into the parking lot of the Piggly Wiggly and parked as far away from the entrance as I could this early in the morning. My phone had been going off since the day before with notifications, which I had been ignoring because it wasn’t Corbin or anyone I was interested in talking to. I wasn’t in the mood for the latest gossip on the Topix forum, but since I had nothing better to do than sit here and it would at least look like I was busy and not just stranded here if somebody important happened by, I decided to take a look.
“What am I looking at here?” I couldn’t make sense of the jumble of texts. Something big must’ve happened because all of the notifications seemed to have come from the same place.
I read through the first few and started to get a sick feeling in my stomach. Who the hell is Rhoda Penmark? I was almost certain this person was talking about me. What’s worse, others seemed to be putting two and two together.
Then I got to the latest post and knew for sure they were referencing me again. They had the name of my first affair partner from about ten years ago. So far, no one seemed to have put it together, but how long will that take seeing as how it was the same Rhoda person who had made both posts back-to-back only days apart.
“Who the fuck is this bitch trying to destroy my life?” I mindlessly reached out and smacked the flea I saw on the dashboard and chased another from buzzing around my ear. I was too preoccupied scrolling through the comments to pay attention to the fact that the little bastards had followed me into the car as well.
CORBIN
“Where the hell is my car?” I’m sure this is where it was parked.”
“What’s the matter, Dad?” I stood in the spot and looked down at my ticket again and then back up at the number on the pole.
Brian and Cam had already gone to Brian’s car which is how they’d driven here a few days ago. I came on my own while my daughter and her Mom drove with my youngest son and his wife because she had planned to stay longer than the rest of us and was going to Uber back to her place upon return.
But now she was married, granted it was to someone else, but still. Why the hell are my thoughts rambling? “What the hell happened to my car?” The others stopped on their way out of the parking garage when they saw us just standing there, and something was going on with them as well. It’s like the world had gone mad or somebody was pranking the Archers.
“What the hell is all over you, Brian?” He was shining from head to toe and the windows of his Escalade looked like the Macy’s Day Parade. There was confetti or glitter or whatever the hell the kids call it all over him and everyone in the damn vehicle. Brian looked pissed.
“Glitter bomb!” That’s all he said, and it made no sense. “What’s your deal?”
“My car is gone.” There was a car in the spot where mine was supposed to be, but it made no sense. “Trey, give me a ride to the gate so I can clear this up.”
“Come on!” I followed him with Gigi, who was still down in the dumps.
Our daughter hasn’t answered our calls since the day after her wedding when we told her the truth, and my wife is taking it hard. Our son-in-law had promised to talk to her but even he had made it clear that we were not to bother her until she was ready.
I know my girl is headstrong, and I expected her to have a strong reaction, but nothing like this. I almost prefer that she take a bat to my ass again than shut her mother out the way she has been. Although it’s been years since Gigi started therapy, and she has come a long way, I still worry that every little thing is going to set her back.