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So that was what we were doing when the paparazzi took a photo of all of us, in the aftermath of a fire in our building. Downing hot dogs.
Awesome.
CHAPTER 23
Surviving purely out of spite.
-T-shirt
CRIMSON
I had two things I needed to do today.
One, I needed to pack for our trip to Disney and the marathon that was in three days.
Two, I needed to run a small errand.
The small errand would take me less than ten minutes to drive to, seeing as Winston’s ex-wife had moved in less than a block away from where we now lived.
That was the reason for the errand.
She needed to go.
I was now cast free, and it still felt extremely weird to not be so constricted.
The man who was now my bodyguard until I died, Rufus, looked on as I slipped my feet into shoes.
“I’m not sure Mr. Osborn would like this,” he said.
I shrugged. I didn’t give a fuck.
“Mr. Osborn will have to just suck it,” I said as I pulled open the door and left.
He followed me, of course.
He also drove me.
When we arrived at the studio apartment just a short eight minutes from our place, I got angry all over again.
Getting out of the car, I headed for the door and rang the buzzer.
The woman who opened the door was even prettier than I expected.
And me being me, I was dressed in black leggings, a black oversized t-shirt that was Winston’s, and my Chucks.
I hadn’t washed my hair in three days, and there was mascara bagged underneath my eyes because it was so goddamn hot, and I’d done nothing but lay in a body cast for the last three months.
I took one look at the woman and felt my stomach tighten.
It didn’t stop the words from leaving my throat, though.
“I want you to move out of the city, and never come back.”
Winston’s ex-wife blinked.
“What?” she asked, dumfounded.
“I want you to leave, and never come back,” I said. “We’re leaving for Florida in a day. When we come back, I want no trace of you left behind.”
Carissa narrowed her eyes. “I’ll do no such thing.”
I tilted my head, then crossed my arms over my chest. “You will. Or I’ll make you.”
“I’d like to see you try,” she snarled.
I smiled then. “I won’t have to try at all.”
Two days later, I got word that Carissa had violated her parole, even though it’d been LaDerrick and Folsom who’d done the violating.
Good. Riddance.
“I can’t believe you’re smiling right now,” Winston panted.
When I couldn’t race, I’d been able to transfer my race tickets to Winston, who’d done the Dopey Challenge for me.
A 5K on Thursday at three o’clock in the morning. A 10K on Friday at three am. A half marathon on Saturday at three am. Then the final race would be tomorrow at the same time.
“Almost done,” I smiled as I pressed my lips to his.
His eyelid twitched. “I don’t think I’ll make it.”
I poked him in the hard belly as I said, “Of course you will.”
And he did.
The next morning, four hours on the dot from when he started, he picked me up at the finish line and spun me around.
Then, when he celebrated his finish, he took the four medals from around his neck and put them on mine. “Will you officially marry me, Crimson Osborn?”
I beamed at him. “I thought you’d never ask.”
That was the photo that was published in every major gossip magazine and on every social media platform.
Me up in the air. Winston holding me there.
And the medals he’d gotten just for me dangling in the air between us.
I framed it and hung it up in our front entranceway. That way I could see it every day for the rest of my life.
EPILOGUE
Your email did not find me well.
-Email exchanged between Winston and Crimson
WINSTON
Like the first time I watched her, this time she was just as hesitant to be in the spotlight as she had been when she was young.
But this time, it was with a huge smile on her face and a lovely blush gracing the tops of her cheeks.
“We’re here tonight not only to finally celebrate the grand opening of Circus House, but also to introduce to you the charity that Circus House will be sponsoring each time we hold a show,” Crimson said softly.
Our daughter, nestled in her belly, a bare five weeks along, was unnoticeable to all but one.
Me.
I noticed the swell of her breasts—barely bigger.
The way she protectively splayed one hand over her abdomen.
She looked radiant.
And she was about to perform her contortion act, and I was supposed to be okay with it.
But the good thing was for today’s event she was only five feet off the ground, and there was a pad below in case she needed to come down.
Six months to the day that they’d had the friends and family soft opener, we now had the official first opening day.
