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And yet, the fact that she was standing in her childhood home, the place where her innocent dreams of happily ever after were almost shattered, was a testament to how far she’d come. She’d known when they moved here that it had been Misty’s doing. Her parents had sold the house years ago to another couple, but when it went on the market and Misty snatched it up almost overnight, she knew that the other woman had never quite moved on.
She’d avoided the bitch as best she could while living in the same small town for years because no matter how much time had passed, just the sight of Misty or her daughter would bring the whole sordid mess up again, and she was left to pick up the pieces for days on end.
The last thing James had said on the way over was that it wasn’t the girl’s fault, and then he’d uttered those dreaded words, words that she can now admit to never wanting to hear. The few words strung together, so seemingly harmless but devastating to her nonetheless, “she’s my child Cora. No matter how she came to be, she’s a part of me.” He’ll never know how much that hurt.
Connie had been sitting in the kitchen after Ryan left to answer the door, wondering what was really going on. She could hear the drone of voices coming from the other room but couldn’t quite make out what was being said or who it was that had come to visit. She didn’t pay it much mind, though, since her thoughts were consumed with all that had transpired last night and this morning.
She was still in a state of disbelief that he’d actually come for her, and what’s more that he actually wanted her. She still didn’t know what had changed his mind, but when he said that even without her mother here, he would still be her dad, she started to believe him. She’d cried so much between then and now that her tear ducts were now spewing out dust.
She’d started out apologizing to him over and over again once she realized he wasn’t there to kill her or do her harm, something she thought she deserved. In the end, he’d comforted her the way no one else ever has, and more surprisingly, he’d told her never to mention it again. He’d gone on to tell her that he had a talk with the cops about keeping her name out of it once the charges against him were dropped.
She guessed he felt pity for her because her mom was in trouble, but when she bravely asked, he’d just hugged her reassuringly and begged her forgiveness for being so cold towards her in the past. He promised to one day tell her why he’d been that way and also to never do it again.
Now she sat there tearing her napkin to shreds in nervous hands as the enormity of the last few days began to sink in. Her poor heart was too beaten to give in to the hope that kept knocking to be let in. She’s been disappointed too much in the past to put much faith in hope. But oh how she wished…
Misty sat in stone-cold silence as her lawyer walked into the interrogation room. She’d been up all night racking her brain for a way out, but she knew there was none, not with them having the whole thing on video. She played around with the idea of diminished capacity due to the drug, but she’d never taken it and was sure they’d have a way to prove it, and besides, she’d stolen it from her job, which she was sure would lead her into as much hot water as the murder will.
Her whole life played out before her, and all she could think about was all the mistakes she’d made. The biggest one would have to be not paying attention to her surroundings the first time she drugged Ryan. She’d been playing the game with the men she met on Tinder and other dating apps. If the man had potential and ticked at least three of her boxes, then she was prepared.
Just a few drops of her new best friend in whatever they were drinking, and they would be putty in her hands. It had taken her a few tries before Ryan came along, and she guessed she was too excited at finally finding the one to be careful that night. Bridgette hadn’t been working at the Inn back then but had been there for a night out. Maybe she’d been checking out Ryan herself, and that’s how she’d noticed what Misty had done as soon as he excused himself to the bathroom.
She learned about the drug in the break room at the job. She was sure that no one even knew she’d been eavesdropping on their private conversations. She was very aware that they spoke in her presence, though as quietly as possible because she wasn’t a scientist like the rest of them. Just the lackey who did their bidding like a work drone and made less than half what any of them did while working twice as hard.
