I’ll meet, but I’m not going alone.
Chapter 12
Cori
I sit across from my two best friends, contemplating telling them everything. I open my mouth to tell them just that, but the door to Seven Heaven, Shadow Cove’s popular breakfast spot, opens, and he walks inside. He finds me immediately, but I look away and decide to keep quiet. At least for now.
When I look up again, it’s to see his retreating back as he goes into the kitchen to pretend to wash dishes. That’s one of the things I should have asked him about, but forgot. Since I don’t intend to see him again, I guess I’ll never know.
“You won’t believe this shit,” Eden says.
“What did your trifling-ass sister do now?” Selene asks.
“She’s looking for a job, and my mom keeps hinting about helping her get a job where I work as a receptionist or something.” Eden rolls her eyes. “Mom also asked me to ask you if Mr. Armstrong had anything available.”
“That’s a big hell no. Even if he did, I would not ask. I can’t stand your sister.” We all raise our coffees and toast to that.
“I was at the house the other day and overheard her whining to Mom about how she has no friends and, other than her and daddy, she has no one.” Eden takes a deep breath.
“Thank goodness I’m an only child,” Selene says.
“You lucky bitch,” I say to my cousin. “Dad has planned a family dinner on Friday night at Paulene’s. I don’t want to go. I already know it’s going to be about how we should all pitch in and help Devin and Ruby. They’re gonna be disappointed when I tell them again that I ain’t helping him with shit.”
“You’ve given up enough,” Selene snaps.
“Yeah, you have,” Eden agrees. “I still can’t believe—” Eden’s words cease when a shadow hits our table. I grimace at the sight of Lexi Carmichael. We’re all the same age, and we’ve known her all our lives, but we could never stand her. Lexi puts her hand down and glares at Eden, who stares back, unfazed.
“Man stealing whore,” she hisses. “He was mine first.” Lexi straightens and yells loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear, “I fucked Ripley King first.”
Eden nearly leaps out of her seat, but Selene is just as fast. She stands between the girls.
“Lexi, trust me, you don’t want this. Go. It won’t just be the beatdown from Eden that you’ll have to deal with. Ripley will come for you.”
“Yeah, he sure did come for me.” Lexi eyes Eden up and down before turning on her heels and walking away.
“Don’t worry about that bitch,” I say. “Anyone who would make a fool of themselves over a man who doesn’t want them isn’t worth it.”
“She has one more time,” Eden warns.
“Tell me about your trip, Eden. What are you guys going to do?” I’m relieved Selene changes the subject. As much as Lexi deserves a beatdown for her disrespect, I don’t think she’s worth it. More importantly, the last thing I want to delve intois the past with my family, but the truth is, the trajectory of my life changed after my parents were involved in a nearly fatal car accident almost a decade ago.
They were coming home after a town hall meeting my dad was running. As the mayor of Shadow Cove, Dad has these meetings every six months. This one ran late. Afterward, my parents went out to dinner with another couple. There was a mixture of rain and snow on their way home. My father lost control of the car and collided with a concrete barrier.
Dad sustained a fractured wrist, but Mom’s injuries have been life-altering.
The accident left Mom with excruciating pain in her lower body. She was unconscious when the first responders arrived, but she was awake by the time they pulled her from the wreckage and rushed her to the emergency room.
The initial scan revealed fractures to her pelvis and femur. She was later diagnosed with deep soft tissue injuries and nerve damage, which only exacerbated her pain.
Surgery to stabilize her broken bones was recommended. She needed plates, screws, and rods to align her fractures, but she had complications with swelling, soft tissue, and scar damage. Her recovery was nonexistent, and she suffered from constant nerve pain, which significantly limited her mobility.
Months of physical therapy and rehab had little positive effect, forcing her to use a wheelchair. It was later revealed that the scar and nerve damage were made worse after the surgery, making it less possible for her to walk for any length of time.
That meant she needed me more, and my plans to leave Shadow Cove to attend New England School of Design were impeded. I became her primary caregiver. The money I managed to save for school went toward her medical bills once my father got a second mortgage on the house.
I was told I was needed at home, and they couldn’t do it without me. It was my job to help my mom do everything, including taking her to physical therapy and other appointments. I became the housekeeper and cook.
They didn’t say it to me directly, but there was immense pressure on me to defer my plans to attend design school.
