“Torture.”
“Oh, come on, Cassie. It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“He wore a suit, El. Like slacks and a matching suit jacket. To the bar.”
“Ok, so he dresses nice. That’s a positive. Try looking at the glass half full.”
“Yes, and what happens when he wants me to start dressing nice like that too? I’m not sundress material, El. You know that. You know I like my denim and lace. I like to wear things that are black, like my soul.”
As Ellie laughed into the phone, I could hear Colt in the background, talking smack as he played with June, who was giggling her pretty little head off.
“What does your perfect husband have to say about this?” I asked, rolling my eyes.
“He says your standards are too high.” Ellie giggled.
“They are not. I just know what I want, and it’s not a man who comes dressed in a suit and Italian loafers on the first date.”
“It’s Silver Creek, Cassie. Your dating pond is only so big. It’s about to dry out.”
“I’ll take my chances,” I mumbled as I pulled into my driveway. “It’s been so much fun talking about my shit dating life, really, but I’m home now, so this is the part where I go block him on all my social media profiles.”
Ellie laughed as I ended the call.
She probably thought I was kidding, but I was dead serious. Besides, that guy wasn’t even from Silver Creek, so I could block him without worrying about an awkward run-in at the grocery store or worse, my coffee shop.
“Good riddance,” I said as I put my phone on the nightstand, flopping onto the bed. A few hours of sleep and this whole thing would be a funny memory.
As I started to fall asleep, my phone buzzed against the wooden top of the nightstand.
Groggy, I picked it up, squinting to focus on who was calling this late at night.
Mom.
“Hello?” I managed to push out.
“Hey sweetie. I was wondering if you could send me a hundred dollars. I’m short on rent again this month. I can pay you back next week when I get my paycheck.”
Here we go again.
“Yes, I’ll send it to you right now. Don’t worry about paying me back. It’s all good,” I said reluctantly.
Last time I saw my mom, she claimed she was sober. I almost believed her until she started calling every other week, not to check up on me, but to ask for money.
That’s how I could tell if she was really sober or not. When she was clean, she called to check up on me. When she was using, she called to ask for money.
In the back of my mind, I knew giving her money for rent just meant more of her check went to her extracurricular activities, but at least she had a place to stay and wasn’t on the streets. Whatever I had to tell myself to get through the day.
“You’re the best sweetie. Love you!”
Click.
And the toxic cycle continued.
Chapter 2 – Jace
“Who’s your mom talking to, June Bug?” I asked as I walked into the living room of Colt and Ellie’s house.
They’d been living in the guesthouse on my family ranch since Ellie came back and they had June. The guesthouse was the perfect size for two lovebirds and one rowdy four-year-old with platinum blonde hair and big blue eyes I couldn’t seem to resist. Every time I watched her, she conned me into either buying a new toy or forking over twenty bucks of cold hard cash. At this point, her piggy bank must have been full enough to buy all the Barbies off the shelf at the grocery store.
