“Not all the time. You can’t trust everyone. Not everyone is a good person.”
“True. So is Cora a bad person?”
“No.” I look at her quickly. “I mean, I don’t think she is,” I admit. There’s nothing but light when I see her. It’s not the cliché angels and sunshine kind of light, but a different kind. If there was a human embodiment for solace or comfort, it would be her.
“Then it’syouwho’s the problem. You owe that girl an apology, Atlas. We both know that.”
I sit quietly and think about how she’s been trying to be nice the last few weeks, and I’ve just been a dick. I just want to be around her all the time andnothave to share her.
“Right, Atlas?” Emma presses, bringing my attention back to her. She grabs the ice cream from me and eats a few more bites, waiting for my reply.
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“No guessing. You do. I’m disappointed, Atlas. You, of all people, know the power that words can have. We don’t know what everyone is going through.” Emma swirls the ice cream, deep in thought. “Why just tonight, I held up the line at the grocery store. There was a young girl behind me, pretty as can be, but she had a little boy with her. She looked too young to be a mother.” She clicks her tongue.
“Why’d she have a kid out so late? Isn’t it a school night or something?”
“Because she was getting supplies for a sick kid, by the looks of it. Sports drinks, crackers, soup, and if the kid beelining for the bathroom, still in his soccer uniform, was any indication, I’d say it was for him.”
“Your point?”
“I left my card out in the car.”
I groan. “You do that a lot.”
“Yeah, yeah, but I hate carrying a purse. It screams,mug me.Anyway, when I ran back out to the car to get it, I got a call from Rhett telling me you had left, which, coincidentally, I already knew from Kash, but he figured you’d be headed this way. I lost track of time and realized I’d left everything back in the store with people in line.”
“Okay?” I say, genuinely confused about where she’s going with this.
“That young girl with the sick kid behind me, paid for my groceries and refused to take any money for them. She was leaving as I came back in. The poor kid got sick in the bushes outside, and she still stopped what she was doing to rub his back.”
“Lucky kid.” I remember the time I threw up on the carpet at the Baxtroms’ and had to clean it up myself, while almost vomiting again.
“I don’t know what’s lucky about that. My point is, I don’t know that girl, and she helped me, even though she was obviously having a way worse day than I was. We’re all just doing our best out there. Some of us more than others.” Her eyes slide my way.
“Fine. I’ll apologize to her when I see her again. Happy?”
Emma smiles at me and nods.
“You can stay here, or you can leave, but I’m going to bed.” She gets up from the table and walks toward the hall. “By the way”—I turn toward the sound of her voice—“make sure you clean this up before you go.”
Laughing, I shake my head. Figures. “You know it. Night, Emma, and… thanks.”
“Anytime, my boy.” She walks over and wraps her arms around my shoulders to hug me. I fight back the urge to flinch, but Emma still notices.
“One of these days, you’ll realize you turned into a good man, Atlas, and you’re not that angry little shit who graced my doorstep all those years ago.” She kisses my cheek. Leaving me to my thoughts and some dishes, Emma heads to bed.
I acted like a dick, and I know I should apologize, but that means focusing on why I was acting like a jerk in the first place. The idea that Cora could already belong to someone sent me into an angry haze, and I demanded answers like the jealous jackass I am.
I want her attention to be focused on me, but I can’t figure out how to not be myself when I’m around her. Whenever I’m near her this feeling of jealousy rears up, and I don’t know how to suppress it.I’m so fucked.
As I finish up the last of the dishes, it finally dawns on me. The only thing that makes sense is to get rid of whoever my competition might be. I can’t be away from her anymore. It’s time to make Cora mine, and I pity anyone who stands in my way.
Chapter Eleven
Cora
The entire weekend was spent cleaning vomit and changing bedding, but fortunately, Noah looks mostly human. I had to cancel my shift at the shop on Saturday, but it was Seth who answered when I called. I didn’t tell him about Noah; I just said I needed time and would see them next week.
