Piper was behind me in her own car, and I had to fight against the urge to run again. My grip tightened on the steering wheel and I wondered if I could even do this.
Then I got closer.
It was Marjorie and Henrietta. Henrietta was pacing around, looking more stressed than I’d ever seen her.
And Marjorie . . .
Marjorie was on the steps, hunched over.
Crying.
She stood when my car pulled up, and I no longer wanted to run.
“Marj?” I asked, killing the engine and nearly falling to get out of the car. “What happened? Are you okay? Why are you?—”
I didn’t think anyone could hug me tighter than Piper had, but Marjorie gave it her best effort.
“Kid!” Her voice cracked. “Jesus fuck, you scared me.”
Henrietta was right behind her. “Theo, we saw the post.”
“Then ... why are you hugging me?”
“Where is that fucker?” Marjorie asked as she pulled away. “I’ll kick his ass for that. I’ll hurl him into next week!”
“I—what?”
A hand slipped into mine. I turned to see Piper had gotten out of the car. “I think they’re madforyou, love. Just like me.”
“That’s right. No one does that tomykid without an ass beating!”
“But you’re okay?” Henrietta asked. “You closed the coffee shop, honey. No one knew where you were. We were worried.”
“You shouldn’t have been.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Marjorie pointed a stern finger at me.
I took in a moment of their kindness. Iloved this.
But they needed to know.
“You shouldn’t be ...” My throat tried to close up, but I pushed past it. “What was written is true.”
Piper’s hand tightened, and all I could do was look at them. I braced myself for the confusion. For the disgust.
Their eyes widened and I looked at my feet.
“It was ... a bad time in my life. I was born into it, and I left as soon as I could, planning to run so no one would know. But I liked it here, so I stayed. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, and I hope that ... I hope that I can prove that I’m not that person anymore. I understand if it takes time, though. You can ignore me for a while?—”
A hand collided with my chest.
“Ow,” I hissed.
“Marjorie!” Henrietta scolded. “That isnotwhat we do here.” She turned to me. “I’m sorry about her.”
“I wouldneverignore you!” Marjorie snapped. “God, you think I give a shit about where you came from? I care about you, kid. Bad past or not.”
“Y-you do?”
