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Gary is leaning against the wall as I approach, looking smug. I’m not sure if he has always been that way, and what I mistook as confidence was, in fact, arrogance. I’m seeing him through a different light now, and he is not all I’d made up in my head. But the air needs clearing. I hate atmospheres. I lived with a permanent one for ten years with Aunt Margaret.
“Hey, Gary,” I say hesitantly, forcing a smile onto my face. “I just wanted to apologize for Ciarán’s behavior the other day. He was way out of line, and I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of it.”
Gary smirks, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks me up and down. “Oh, Summer,” he drawls, his voice dripping with a condescension that shocks me. “You really think that’s what this is about?”
Confused, I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”
He chuckles darkly, shaking his head. “You honestly think I care about your little boyfriend’s threats? No, sweetheart. I don’t give a fuck about him or you. The reason I pursued you was because I heard a rumor that you hooked up with some random guy, him, I’m guessing, at the club on your birthday in front of everyone. I figured if you were that easy, why not have a little pump ’n dump myself.”
My heart feels like it’s been ripped out of my chest as his words cut through me. My cheeks burn with embarrassment and hurt, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. My hands tremble as I clench them into fists, trying to keep my composure.
“Is that really what you think of me?” I whisper. “That I’m just some...some piece of meat for you to use and then discard?”
“Pretty much,” he says casually, shrugging his shoulders. “But hey, don’t take it personally. It’s just how the game is played.”
The weight of disappointment and anger presses down on me, as I stare at him, desperately searching for any sign of remorse or guilt for these hurtful words. But there’s nothing - just that cold, calculating gaze and a cruel smile I swear have never adorned his face before. I had him all wrong.
Lifting my chin higher, I smile. “Well, I guess that clears that up then. Here I was, worried about you and our friendship, but I am now guilt-free. I’ll be sure to mention this conversation to Ciarán when he picks me up later.”
Seeing Gary’s face pale as he stands up straighter, his smug expression faltering slightly, I feel vindicated as I turn on my heel and march off, wondering what I ever saw in the prick.
* * *
The day drags on, each hour seeming to crawl by at a snail’s pace as I struggle to focus on my work. All I want to do is go back to Ciaran’s apartment and hang out with my two guys, but I’m stuck here with Gary, whose face looks like a smacked backside. I’ll have to make sure to ask the manager, Crystal, to swap my shifts so I never have to work with him again.
Finally, home time rolls around, and I’m free to leave this place behind for the day. Attempting to sneak out a few minutes early, I grab my handbag, eager to escape the confines of the retail store and get some fresh air. The storms have cleared and left us with a sky so blue it looks like it’s been freshly dyed and a bright sun that seems to shine just for me and my two men. I’m more than okay with taking things slow with Thal. For all his tough exterior and the threatening behavior he exhibited when he abducted me, he is a scared rabbit underneath, but it makes me want him all the more. He needs someone who will care for his heart and his body, and mind. He feels things deeper than Ciarán, that much I’ve figured out, and I intend to be that person for him.
Making my way to the entrance to the store, looking for Ciarán and Cathal, a shrill voice pierces through my brain like a shot to the head.
“Summer!”
The sound sends a skitter of fear over my skin.
“Did you really think you could run from me, and I wouldn’t find you?” Aunt Margaret sneers as she comes into view, her thin face twisted into a cruel smile. My heart skips a beat as I stare at the woman who made my life a living hell. She’s aged since I last saw her, but her malice hasn’t dulled with time.
“Wh-what do you want?” My voice trembles, my hands balling into fists at my sides as I try not to fall apart. This chapter of my life was supposed to be over. I moved two hundred miles away so she would never find me.
How?
How the fuck is she here in front of me?
“Reparations,” she spits out, her eyes narrowing as she slaps a legal-looking document to my chest. “I spent over ten years raising you, you little bitch, and it’s high time you repay me now that you can afford it.”
My jaw clenches as a tidal wave of fury crashes against my chest. How dare she demand anything from me after the torment she put me through? I bite back the urge to scream at her, knowing that it will only make matters worse.
“Aunt Margaret,” I manage to choke out, struggling to keep my voice steady. “You have no right to ask for anything from me. You were never a loving guardian – you were an abuser. If you really want to seek compensation, I think I paid that in full every day I was under yourcare.”
“Ungrateful brat,” she hisses, taking a menacing step closer to me.
My pulse races, fear lacing in my veins as memories of her rage flood my mind. “Stay away from me,” I warn, my throat tightening with emotion. “I don’t owe you anything.” I take the document and scrunch it up in my fist.
Aunt Margaret laughs, a cruel, mocking sound that cuts me to the core, just like it always did. “You’ll pay me back one way or another, Summer. Mark my words. That document is legal and binding, and I’ll take that house from you if I have to get back what you owe me.”
As her threat hangs in the air, I struggle to control the whirlwind of emotions sucking me in completely. My body shakes with anger and fear. I’m trapped. I can’t move, I can’t breathe.
“House,” she scoffs. “It’s a shithole, but it’s not surprising that’s all you could get with the money your deadbeat parents left you. I rue the day they died and left you in my care. They dragged you up while they were still alive, and you turned out just like your bitch mother, always wanting more, never satisfied with what she had.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Don’t...” I can’t bear it when she starts in on my parents. They’re dead. I barely remember them, but I know they loved me, and we lived in a lovely home, and I was raised well by them. I know I was. She tries to taint my memories.
