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“Let’s take a look at it and see if there’s anything we can do. Maybe we’ll find something they missed,” Rob suggested and we all agreed. We’d do anything we could to help. These kinds of cases were personal to Kyle and me after what Livy had been through as a kid.
I stood up from my desk and headed over to where Kyle stood staring at the case board tensely.
“You good, man?” I asked as I put my hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been pretty wound up since Evie told us about that asshole last night.”
“I just want to get my hands on that piece of shit. I warned him, Kade. I told him what I’d do to him if he hurt our sister again and he fucking did it anyway. I feel the need to follow through on that threat,” he growled.
“You’re not the only one, Kyle, but Evie wants us to leave it alone, and we promised Livy we’d listen.”
“I can’t just stand by and let him away with hurting my family.”
“I know, brother, I do. I hate the thought that he’s gonna think he got away with it, but Evie asked us for this, and she doesn’t ask us for much. We have to start letting her stand on her own two feet,” I sighed.
“I know,” he agreed on a sigh. “But I fucking hate it too.”
“Yep,” I agreed. “It sucks, but no matter what we’ll always have her back, and she knows that.”
“We should go. I told mom we’d meet her and dad at Dean’s just after ten to get Evie’s stuff.”
“Hey, maybe he’ll be there and we can fuck with him,” I suggested, hoping to cheer him up. The slight smile that lifted his face at that thought made me laugh out loud.
“Let’s go,” he told me enthusiastically.
EVIE
I let out a sigh of relief as I waved off Kyle and Kade as they left my parents’ house. Don’t get me wrong, I had been grateful for their help that day. It had taken longer than I thought it would to pack up my entire life and load it all into the back of my dad’s car and Kade’s truck, and it had been harder than I expected it to be too.
Deep down I really was grateful that I’d found out what an asshole Dean was before I committed to him any further, but that didn’t make up for the fact that I had wasted so many years of my life with him. My whole future had been wrapped up in him and in everything we had built together and now that was all gone and I was once again back to square one – living at home with my parents only now I was a hell of a lot older.
Thankfully Dean had heeded my advice and cleared out of his house already when we arrived. I had been on tenterhooks the whole time that he would show up and I’d have to stop my dad and brothers from killing him, but he’d stayed away.
Now everything I owned was in boxes in my old childhood bedroom and I had been forced to deal with my entire family looking at me with pity all day long. I hated it. I hated that they felt badly for me when this whole mess was my own doing. I had known Dean was a cheater. He proved that early on in our relationship, and yet I had forgiven him. I was such an idiot.
“You okay, honey?” I turned on the front steps of the house and found my mom in the doorway looking me over with concern.
“Great,” I lied with a forced smile.
“Come on. Come inside and help me make a start on dinner,” she said as she held her hand out to me with a sympathetic smile. I tried not to grimace. The last thing I needed was to be trapped in the kitchen with my mom and whatever concoction she was creating.
“I need to run to the grocery store. I forgot to grab my toiletries from the house, and I want ice cream,” I told her.
“You want me to come with you?”
“No. I’m good mom, really. I won’t be long,” I assured her.
“Ok honey. Grab two pints of ice cream and I’ll join you. Maybe we can watch a movie together after dinner?”
“That sounds perfect,” I agreed with a more genuine smile. Spending some quality time with my mom was just what I needed. Maybe I could drag Livy away from the kids too to join us.
“Good. Drive safe,” she told me before she turned and walked back into the house. I laughed at her comment. I was a grown ass woman but she always told me to drive safe when I left her.
Ten minutes later I was pulling into the almost deserted parking lot at the grocery store. I was grateful for that, since I was in no mood to fight my way through the store. I parked up close to the door and stepped out into the heat of the early evening, not even caring that I looked a state in my scruffy shorts and tank top I’d pulled on to move that morning. My hair was scraped back into a messy bun on my head and I didn’t have any makeup on at all. I was unlikely to see anyone I knew anyway.
Inside the store was as quiet as the parking lot, just a few patrons wandering around idly. I sped past them, dumping junk food into my basket as I went. On the toiletry aisle I grabbed shampoo and conditioner, along with shower gel, not even bothering to take note of the brands or scents. They’d do until I could buy my usual brands from the city.
Two pints of ice cream and a bottle of my favorite chardonnay completed my basket. I evaded the bright smile of the young girl at the cash register as I stuffed my purchases into bags and paid. I just didn’t have it in me to trade niceties. It was out of character for me, since I usually went out of my way to be friendly and polite, but I was just exhausted and so done with the day.
“Motherfucker!” I cursed under my breath as I stepped back out into the balmy heat and found some asshole had parked in the space right beside my car, theirs so close to my driver’s side door there was no way I could get in. Why the hell would they park there when the whole damned lot was almost empty?!
