She gave me a single nod. “I’ll see you Friday.”
“I’ll see you then.”
Walking out of Evangeline’s office, I felt lighter, not having the weight of anxiety from having that conversation holding me down any longer. I’d been able to get exactly what I wanted simply by asking for it, something I’d heard repeated to me time and time again when I’d been talking about my hangups in life whenever I went to group. But the smile on my face as I rounded the corner of the backroom of the club made me so damn proud. If felt like I was finally putting into practice some of the things I’d learned in group that I hadn’t had the opportunity to put into action just yet.
Ever since my life had been shaken up by the return of Troian and the arrival of Qwill, I felt like I’d been growing into the person I was always meant to become. I felt a twinge ofpride and pain thinking about how proud my parents would be of me if they could see me now. Even so,Iwas proud of me. I’d accomplished so much in such a short amount of time.
I stepped outside onto the sidewalk beyond the doors of Downpour, taking in a pure breathe of the fresh air, feeling light and free in a way that felt like the feelings weren’t leaving me anytime soon.
Chapter 27
Being backat group again felt great. After my meeting with Evangeline, I'd spent the rest of the day planning out the next phase of my recuperation. I'd decided that having another session at the support group was a great idea, so that was my next plan of action. Luckily for me, there was one scheduled for the day after I'd spoken to Evangeline.
I owed the community center a lot for always seeming to get me back on track when I felt overwhelmed as hell. That's why I was planning on giving back. But I was waiting after the session so I could speak with Claude. He was more than just the person that led group, he was a part owner of the center itself. He was half of the entire reason group even existed. And in my opinion, I owed him.
As people were communing after the group session, I moseyed my way over to where Claude was, conversing with one of the new attendees.
I stopped in front of him just as the new person excused themselves to rummage around the snack table full of lukewarm coffee and a variety of pastries. Claude offered me a warm smile as I completed my approach.
“Thayer,” he nodded, sliding his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I was glad to see you here tonight, especially after hearing about what happened to you.”
It seemed like everyone within my life, no matter how closely related or however substantial, knew about what had happened at the warehouse with the Rhodes twins. I wasn't upset that everyone knew, it was just a weird thing to be a part of such a sought after headline that had clearly rocked the community. Now I knew how Bas felt about being a part of the riot at the blood center.
“Yeah, it was a lot.” I admitted gingerly, letting a heavy sigh escape my body. “I figured a session at group couldn't hurt.”
Claude placed a swift pat on my shoulder. “Well I'm glad you're alright.”
I nodded, feeling the sudden nerves envelop me with an anxious noose around my neck. I'd been planning on doing this since last night but now that the moment was upon me I was suddenly very aware at how wild it was for me to be doing what I was about to do. I didn't want Claude to think anything negative of me. But I quickly pushed that feeling aside. Claude, along with the rest of group, knew the most intricate details about me. If they were going to start judging me now, they had a lot less reason to than when I'd first come through the doors of the community center.
“Listen,” I began, my voice already shaking with the present nerves. “I had another reason for coming to group today, and that's to talk to you personally."
"Oh?" Nothing within his tone indicated that he was feeling one way or the other, just genuinely curious about the set up I'd initiated.
“You're one of the co-owners of the center, right?”
“That's right.” Claude beamed, tilting his head inquisitively. “Why do you ask?”
I cleared my throat. “This center has given me my sense ofself back. That's not something I could ever put a price on, but I've been doing some thinking lately and I'd like to give back.”
Reaching into the pocket of my denim jeans, I pulled out the already filled out check that had been burning a whole in my pocket. Even when I presented the check for Claude to grab, he kept eyeing me with confusion, his eyes rocking back and forth between the check and my dark eyes.
Wordlessly, Claude pressed the check into his palm and glanced over the amount. His comforting eyes widened in astonishment, once again teetering from the minuscule piece of paper that now held so much weight.
“Thayer, I can't accept this.”
“You can.” I nodded. “I know it's not as much as the center may need, but—”
“Not much?” He lowered his voice and leaned closer to me. “This istwo-hundred thousanddollars!”
I smiled sheepishly, shrugging my shoulders. “I’ve come into some money recently and I want to give back to the center.”
Claude's surprise swiftly turned to something more sinister and suspecting. “This isn't hush money from the Rhodes family, is it?”
“What? Of course not!”
Honestly, it wasn't that crazy of an idea for him to voice. From what I'd learned about the Rhodes family from my brother, their reach knew no bounds and their desire to be above the law couldn't be satiated. I was still waiting to hear from Troian in regards to Madison. Apparently, having her younger sister arrested for the petrylle kidnappings and her twin sisters fleeing was a combination that was keeping her busy.
Focusing my efforts back on Claude, I shook my head.
