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“Because I was the best cleaner upper.” I grinned broader. “Also got a lollipop.” She turned back to the picture she was drawing, and I took the time to just watch her.
Iris, or one of the other teachers, must’ve braided her hair back. Dark flyaways framed her face, sticking up in different directions. She poked her tongue out as she concentrated, her brows bunching. I didn’t know who she got it from, if something like that was even hereditary, but she’d done it forever. Neither Meredith nor I did it. It was just an Emma thing.
“You’re being ridiculous!” My head snapped up at the sound of Reagan’s voice. Everyone quieted, but the chatter quickly picked up again. Cora was standing in front of her, her lips tight as she scanned the diner. Reagan said something else, but her back was to me.
I inched toward the edge of the booth, ready to jump up and intervene.
Cora leaned forward and hissed something at her. Reagan’s head jerked back as if she’d been slapped.
“Stay here for me, Em,” I said as I stood. I glanced at her, finding her still focused on her picture. I hesitated for a moment before taking off down the narrow aisle toward the counter.
“I’m twenty-two. You can’t control me anymore!”
“Hey, what’s going on?” I stepped behind the counter beside Reagan, resting my hand on her back. She didn’t look at me. She just continued glaring at her mother.
“You’re living inmyhouse. You’ll do whatIsay.” Cora pointed at her. “If you don’t like it, find somewhere else to live.”
“Fine!” Reagan shouted. “I’ll move in with Lily!” Cora barked out a humorless laugh, and I shifted toward the space between them.
“Sure. So you can whore yourself out too?”
“She—” Reagan clamped her mouth shut. Fire danced in her eyes. Cora should be a pile of ash with that look. “She is not a whore.” Cora snorted, and I felt Reagan’s body vibrate with her anger. “I don’t need this.” She ripped the apron off and threw it on the counter.
“If you walk out that door, Reagan Marie, do not come back. You understand me?” Cora pointed at the door, and I swallowed thickly.
Shit.
This was not good.
“Fine.”
My eyes bounced from one woman to the other. I lurched forward as Reagan stormed around the counter, not giving us a backward glance as she yanked the door open.
“Keep an eye on Emma,” I said, readying myself to chase after her.
“What?”
“I’m going to try to fix whatever the hell just happened,” I said, giving her an exasperated look.
“She wants to act grown—”
“She is grown,” I snapped.
“Then let her go.”
I took a deep breath. With every second that passed, Reagan was getting further away. She shouldn’t be driving while she was upset.
Panic thrummed in my chest.
She could crash. She could get hurt.
She could die.
Flashbacks of that night flooded my mind. The phone call. The news. The drive to the hospital to identify the body. The numbness.
Without another word, I sprinted from the diner and raced into the balmy night. I scanned the parking lot, my heart in my throat.
“Reagan!”
