“Then leave before I call the police and have you arrested for loitering,” Annie threatens, arms folded over her chest.
Taking a step forward, Bri looks down her nose at me and sneers, “Enjoy your time with them…. While you have it, that is.” Then she turns and walks away.
“Friend of yours?” Annie asks, arching her brow.
Laughing, I gesture toward where Bri is angrily stomping through the exit. “Yeah. Besties. She’s just mad I won’t braid her hair anymore.” Looking around the room, I see that most people are still invested in their projects and haven’t heard what happened. “I’m sorry about that, Annie.”
Softening her eyes, she waves me off. “Don’t worry about it. You handled yourself just fine. I mean, who comes to the library of all places to harass someone? That girl has a screw or two loose.”
Laughing, I nod in agreement. “Why is it always the pretty ones who act so crazy? I guess we can’t have it all.”
“Agreed. No Noah today? I didn’t mind him coming in.”
Thank God Noah didn’t come in with me today. That’s not something I’d want him to witness. “No, he’s um… hanging out with my boyfriend.”
A big smile flits across Annie’s face. “Spill. I want to know everything.”
Forgetting about Bri and her special brand of crazy, I tell Annie all about Atlas, leaving out the parts where he plays with my body like it’s his personal playground and that he’s very big on saying I’m his. We’ve only been together a short while, and I don’t think the way he feels is usual.
Although I don’t think how I feel is all that normal either.
After my shift is finally over, I head out to my car, enjoying the cool evening. Halloween is next week, which means it’s also Noah’s birthday, and Atlas’ too, I guess. Maybe I can talk the guys intohaving a party or something for him at the shop. I don’t know if they have any outside friends, but I bet I can ask the Morgans to watch Noah.
Making myself a mental list of things to pull together for it, I don’t notice the figure waiting next to my car.
“Not going to say hi to your own grandmother?” Bea stares at me with contempt. She’s sitting on one of the benches outside the library under some trees. The wild thing is that anyone passing by would have seen an old lady sitting on a bench, minding her own business, not having an idea of how truly evil she is. I wonder if she ate any orphans today, like the monster she is.
Every time she goes away, I keep hoping her name will appear in the obituaries, but I’ve had no luck. Evil never really dies anyway.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want. You can’t keep me from him forever, you know.” She smiles at me. The gaps in her teeth add to her personality perfectly. “I was hoping to see him today. I thought he’d be with you.” She grins, making my blood freeze.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, he got himself in trouble, didn’t he? It’s a shame that kids can be so mean.” She tilts her head, assessing me. She wants a reaction, and I refuse to give her one, even though I’m panicking.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Leave us alone, Bea.”
Bea shakes her head and stands, walking toward me. I’m not above punching an old woman, but I hope it doesn’t come to that. “Did you learn nothing as a child? Family is everything, Cora. They’re there for you through thick and thin. You never really leave each other. It’s in your blood.”
Her words chill me to my soul, but I’m done with this conversation. “You’re barking up the wrong tree, Bea. I spilled enough blood for this family, so you can go to hell.”
Her smile vanishes, and a dark look flashes across her features before she rights her expression. “Okay then, Cora. Have it your way.” She hobbles away, her gait slow. I watch her walk past me,glancing around the parking lot for her car. I didn’t think she could drive, so how is she getting around?
Refusing to let her see me panic, I meet her gaze when she turns back to look at me. “Goodbye, Bea.”
She gives me one last look as she gets into the passenger side of a car at the end of the lot. The windows are tinted, so it’s impossible to tell who’s driving. How could she possibly have any friends? After waiting until the car leaves, I get into mine and take a deep breath. My hands are shaking as I try to start it.
It doesn’t matter that I’m a twenty-something-year-old woman; there is something scary about her. I can’t imagine what she did to my father growing up to turn him into what he became, but it couldn’t have been good.
Trying to shake off the sense of foreboding that courses through me, I pull out and head to the tattoo shop. Ensuring Noah is okay is my top priority; everything else is secondary.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Atlas
I’m counting down the minutes until I can see Cora again. I had an early client today, so after Noah and I grabbed some pizza for lunch, I brought him into the shop with me. Kash wasn’t super busy, so he offered to keep an eye on Noah for a bit while I worked. I may have gone a bit overboard, but we spent the morning wandering around town.
