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Don’t mess with her, or I will live to regret it—like I didn’t already.
“Now, let me go. Otherwise, there won’t ever be a chance for you to explain anything.Ever.”
Her words were whispered, but there was something too calm about them, almost menacing. Her demeanor was similar to my mother’s when she attempted to scold me.
We were at an impasse, but someone had to give in. I would not let her run from me again, not without her knowing my side of the story, but she wouldn’t listen to me without letting her go. She trusted me about as much as a grizzly bear, and I couldn’t blame her for that. I hadn’t given her any reason to.
Conceding, I slid over her, removing my weight and effectively freeing her.
“If you run from me, darlin’, this time I will chase you,” I warned her as she pulled herself up, resting on her elbows while glaring at me.
“Who do you think you are?” She shuffled into a more comfortable position.
But my little vixen held true to her determination. If the past had taught her anything, she was stronger than anyone ever gave her credit for, including me.
* * *
The voices were whispered, but I could hear them as clear as a cricket singing on a summer night.
“I heard it was actually that vile child. The police picked her up walking home, still had the knife in her hand and blood all over her.”
“Ghastly. But not surprising. She has a look about her, that one.”
“Stabbed that poor man over twenty times, I was told.”
“Ooh, I heard fifty. Like she was possessed.”
I moved down the aisle toward them, tempted by their venomous spits of gossip and bullshit, bewildered by how a group of adults could be so cruel without an actual base of truth.
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard people maliciously slandering Alina and her mother. Hell, I’d broken noses and been in trouble more often than not over the schoolyard tussling.
Hearing the revolting things being said boiled my blood every time.
“None of us should be surprised, not when her mother is a lunatic and God only knows who her father is,” the women tutted, and I could imagine them shaking their superior heads.
“We should really do something about that demon child. What kind of influence is she having on our darling children? Kick her out of school, I say, and I will be speaking to the school board about that soon. Let me have you know.”
“What sort of child would let her own mother do time over something she did?”
I cleared my throat behind them, coming face to face with several mothers of the students in my class. They all looked my way with the decency of a guilty look, except for Mrs. Elmers, who was smiling sweetly at me like I was some sort of angel child.
“If you ask me, all you gossiping cows wouldn’t sacrifice anything for your horrid children, let alone a life in jail. No one could blame you, though, I suppose. Not when Tommy is fast-tracked to being a junkie himself and will probably be locked up before his nineteenth birthday.” My statement earned me a shocked gasp from Mrs. Miller, who I turned to next. “Silvi will do you proud. The way she opens her legs to just about anyone, I’d put money on her making you a grandmamma before she even graduates. But, then again, maybe facts are better off gathered before spreading any more lies.” Mrs. Elmers’ smile had dropped dramatically, turning into a hateful scowl. “Have a nice day, ladies.”
I pushed past them. Only then did I realize I had my dad as a captive audience. My heart sank. No doubt I would receive my own chastising for my little stunt.
He surprised me instead with a wink while trying to contain his own smile.
* * *
“How’d you get to be so beautifully brave?” I asked her, cocking my head to the side, taking her in as if it were the first time I’d laid eyes on her.
ChapterEleven
Alina
He did this to me.
The angst and boiling hatred at seeing his gorgeous face turned my resolve to ash. I had worked the hardest on my mental state after I’d run from this town and its nasty people. I’d had to learn to survive and depend on myself alone. Outside this town, there was no Callum McArthur safety net in the real world. There was no shoulder to cry on. He’d promised me he would always do what was right for me, then turned his words into flames, burning down everything I thought was real in my already crumbling life.
