But there was one person who managed to pop it instantly.
“Well, look who we have here.”
The voice grated on my nerves, alerting me to who it was before I even turned around. It was the Fourth of July, and everyone was gathering at Gramps’s house. Ruby and I were just at the store grabbing some last-minute things for a couple of salads. I hadn’t expected to run into the She-Devil herself.
“Think she will go away if we don’t look at her?” I whispered to Ruby, causing her to cackle.
Being nice always seemed to be my superpower and my downfall. I struggled back in high school to stand up for myself when it really mattered, but after having Griffin, my parents' dismissal of me, and almost losing Jett, I seemed to have slowly found an inner strength I didn’t know I possessed.
It was working in my favor at that moment.
I was pissed that the woman who stood behind me had put adamper on my day and the blissful weeks I’d been having as I planned a small ceremony while also confirming what we already knew—we were having a baby. Even the morning sickness still plaguing me hadn’t dampened my mood, but Sloane sure would.
“I can hear you, you know.”
Just get it over with, or she won’t go away.
Huffing out a breath, I turned around to face my nemesis—Ruby swiveling with me—and came face to face with Sloane. She wasn’t alone, of course. Nope, two of her friends, the same ones from high school, were with her. The three of them had the same looks on their faces as they did years ago.
You know, the one where they look down their noses at you, as if trying to let me and anyone else know they were better than me.
“What do you want, Sloane?” I couldn’t hold the irritation from seeping out of my voice. “You could have just kept walking and not stopped to chat.”
Ruby leaned over. “I wish Alley were here. She would be so proud.”
Whenever I found my backbone, I always thought the same thing. That had me giggling, and Sloane's eyes turned to slits. Her claws were about to come out, but I didn’t want to deal with her right then.Not ever is more like it.There was a party happening soon, and my family was waiting for me.
I thought when the custody suit dissolved and I’d signed the papers they wanted me to, maybe I’d be lucky enough to never run into them again. That wasn’t the case, but it didn’t mean I had to give her any of my time.
“I don’t know why my husband ever touched you or why he let you off the hook, but I’m not feeling so generous.”
When Sloane took a step toward me, her followers doing the same while flanking her on each side, Ruby pushed herself in front of me.
“Back the fuck off, now!”
The venom in my sister's voice echoed through the store, and I watched as heads turned toward us. Peeking around Ruby, I noticed that Sloane also saw and flashed a phony smile at everyone. I just rolled my eyes; the woman was a bad actress.
“Wait until Alley hears about you,” I said behind Ruby’s back.
Quieting her voice so those around couldn’t hear, she said, “How cute. You got your friend here protecting you.”
I stepped around Ruby and linked my arm with hers. “My sister.”
Sloane's nose turned up. “What?”
“This is my sister, and you are nobody.” I started to pull Ruby away, which was a struggle. I had a feeling she still wanted to give Sloane a piece of her mind. “We’re leaving now.”
When we got a couple feet away, Sloane yelled out, “You may have gotten away once?—”
She was cut off by a manager who had come to check on the commotion. When he approached us to ask if everything was alright, I looked back at the posse behind me, and they had vanished.
I shook my head in disgust, and we spoke with the nice guy for a few minutes before finishing our shopping.
But all the way home, something was bugging me.
Sloane’s words before she disappeared.
At first, I thought she was talking about the lawsuit, but it felt likemore. It was a gut feeling, I just couldn’t figure out why, and then, before I knew it, we’d pulled back up to the house.
