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I was still angry, but a thrill went through me. Eventually, the mayor would trip, and he would be arrested for his crimes, and Ronnie knew we were close if the police had made a play to halt us from looking into the mayor. A part of me wondered if it was really that dangerous or if Clark just wanted to keep me safe.
My stomach dipped with that thought.
In any case, what Ronnie had offered was keeping me close enough to break the story.
* * *
I should have gone home.I knew that. Now that I had my car back, going home was the rational thing to do, but the more I thought about that letter, the angrier I became. No one had ever told me what to do, and no one was about to start.
Lucas was bright and cheerful since he had already taken his nap at daycare. As I turned into my old neighborhood, I felt nostalgic.
“You see that yellow house?” I questioned as I brought the car to a stop across the street.
“Yes,” he answered enthusiastically.
“That’s where I grew up when I was little.”
He was quiet for a second. Pensive, if anything.
“Mommy too?”
Fuck.
My stomach dipped at the mention of She Who Must Not Be Named. He was getting better at not asking about her. It didn’t matter that she was a lousy mom. Kids loved their parents, and Lucas had not been any different.
“Yeah, her too.”
He looked at the house and then took a bite of his cookie and didn’t say a word more on it. I wished I knew what went on in his little head. How he reconciled with the fact that he didn’t see his mother anymore. It was sad, but I think he was more content being with me, even if with every fiber and cell he missed the bond he was supposed to have with Beth.
“Come on. We have one more mission today, then we get to go home. Okay?”
This seemed to cheer him up because he forgot all about his mom and the yellow house that taunted me and instead gave me his hand so he could come with me.
My nerves waivered for a second, and I wondered if I should be doing this. It wasn’t like I had never been here before, but I had been young and in love, if you could even call it that.
As I walked up to the house, I was starting to get doubts about what I was about to do, but ultimately decided that it was the only way. I couldn’t go to the station and cause another scene. Being near Clark wasn’t boding well for me.
The moment my hand met the door to knock, I was reminded of the last time I did so. I had vowed never to return to this place. Too much humiliation had already taken place.
I wasn’t prepared to be face-to-face with Mrs. Carson once she opened the door. I gripped Lucas’s hand a little tighter as I opened my mouth, prepared to explain who I was.
“Oh, my God!” Mrs. Carson boomed.
I had forgotten how outspoken she was. Although her vivacious voice was loud, it always carried warmth, something I had appreciated after noticing the lack in my own mother.
“Oriana…” She extended her hands toward me, putting them on my shoulders. “Look at you! My goodness, you are breathtaking.”
She pulled me into a hug, and all I could do was awkwardly pat her back with one hand.
“You remember me?” I sputtered instead of greeting her as she had done with me.
“How could I forget my favorite daughter-in-law?”
Oh, crap.
My face instantly flamed. I had said that at one point. In my defense, it had been very early on. I hadn’t even been a teen, so that had to count for something, right?
“And who is this little one?” Cynthia Carson turned her attention from me down to Lucas.
