Page 98 of The Moment I Knew

The impact sent a shock up my arms. Glass exploded outward in a glittering spray, catching the harsh fluorescent lights before raining down around my boots.

“Yes!” Ainsley yelled. “Imogen, holy—do another!”

She didn’t need to tell me twice. With every swing, the tightness in my chest loosened. I shouted—wordless, furious sounds tearing out of me—and no one told me to stop. No one flinched. My siblings just cheered louder, feeding the fire instead of smothering it.

“This one’s for Mum!” Sebastian screamed, smashing a monitor so hard it toppled off the table.

I laughed. A real laugh. It felt like my ribs might crack with it.

I spotted an old wooden chair in the corner, one leg already broken. I dragged it into the open, ignoring the way my arms burned, and brought the bat down across the back. The chair splintered. I hit it again. And again.

“I wanted you there!” I shouted, the words ripping free with the swing. “I waited!”

The chair collapsed in on itself, pieces skidding across the floor. I stood there, breathing hard, bat hanging loosely from my fingers. My goggles were fogged, my hair stuck to my face with sweat, my throat raw from yelling.

Cole stepped in front of me, careful but close. “You good?”

I nodded, then shook my head. “No. But…” I exhaled shakily. “Better.”

He smiled, soft and proud. “Yeah.”

Across the room, my siblings had devolved into pure chaos—Sebastian and Lavender of them tag-teaming a filing cabinet, Ainsley jumping up and down every time a drawer came loose. They looked feral. Free.

I’d spent the last five months fighting tooth and nail to get even the smallest amount of attention from my dad. I’d accepted crumbs where I used to get feasts, convincing myself that it was all just temporary, that once my family was whole again, it would all be worth it.

But now, as I looked around at my family—my true family, made up of both siblings and friends—I saw what I hadn’t been able to these past few weeks: that somebody who loved you didn’t make you feel like you had to fight for space in their life.

As I paused in my smashing and just let myself look around at this room full of people who I loved more than anyone in the world, I felt Cole come up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned my weight into him, happy, safe, and completely, ridiculously, utterly seen. My siblings were laughing, shouting, swinging bats like maniacs, and I realized I wasn’t chasing anyone’s approval anymore.

Not my dad’s, not anyone’s. For the first time in months, I could just be me. Cole leaned down to kiss me gently and his lips brushed mine.

And that was the moment I knew that I was exactly where I belonged.

epilogue

“Tell me again why you’re allowed to name the specials,” I said. I stood on the low rung of the bar stool and leaned over the counter to look at the piece of paper Cole was hunched over. His handwriting was atrocious at the best of times and the pink gel pen he was using—the only spare one I’d had in my bag when he asked for one—was making the words smudge on the page, but he had a list of over ten new names for the summer drink specials written out.

Cole didn’t look up. “Because I’m funnier than my aunt and Katie combined.”

“What about me?” I asked. When he finally looked up, I batted my eyes flirtatiously. His only response was to flick me in the forehead, and I laughed, dropping back down onto my seat.

The bell over the front door jingled as it was opened and three girls in Crofton uniforms walked in. It was still early in the afternoon, so they were the first of the students to arrive in the afternoon rush aside from me. (And no, I wasn’t here because Cole convinced me to skip school again, although he’d been trying relentlessly since the weather had gotten nice. My last class had just been cancelled and when I considered where I wanted to spend my free time, this was always the first place I thought of.)

None of them glanced my way as they sauntered up to the counter. Cole slipped into work mode. Which mostly meant leaning one elbow on the counter and looking vaguely unimpressed. I covered my laugh with a hand.

“What can I get you?” he asked.

The lead brunette tucked her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know what I want.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay.”

“I want something different,” she added quickly. She leaned in, like she was whispering a secret to him. “Like… not basic. You know?”

Katie, who had only arrived a few minutes ago and was busy pulling on her apron, shot me a look. We had a running bet on how many girls would flirt with Cole every week, with me thinking much higher than her.

“Different,” Cole repeated.

“Surprise me,” she said. There it was.