“Why am I not surprised?” I snort.
“You handle her just fine,” she promises me. “Not everyone is brave enough to take her down a peg. The fact that you are is a good thing.”
“Well, someone has to.”
She leans my way, lightly bumping her shoulder with mine. “I’m Ruby, the way.”
“Raven,” I return.
“Hey, you’re the new bartender at The Wandering Raven, right?”
“That’s me.”
“Those Montgomery twins are a nice little snack, right?”
A visible flush colors my cheeks as spots dot my vision. If it wouldn’t get me arrested, I’d knock this bitch out right here, right now.
I loosen my tightened jaw to respond. “Have you had them for a…snack?”
“Oh, yes.” Ruby smiles to herself as whatever memory she has of them comes forward.
Cage the rage. Cage the rage.
She gives me a smirk. “Have you had a taste?”
Maybe this woman doesn’t know how close she is to death right now.
Ruby does a small hop in her seat, angling her position to face me. “You little slut! You totally have. We should compare notes.”
Okay, no. This has to stop.
“Just because we’ve had sex with the same people doesn’t mean that we’re in a club.”
Ruby’s face pinches, filling with tension. “And it’s a wonder why no one sat next to you.” With her parting jab, she stands, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and stomps out of the meeting in her extremely high Prada heels.
I don’t want to admit that her hit landed, but in a way, it did. Am I that obvious? Do I have a sign on my back that says, “Loner but not by choice?”
I can’t let it show that she got to me. I’m in a room full of sharks, and they’re just waiting for me to bleed.
As soon as Kaitlyn ends the meeting, I’m out of my seat and down at the front of the school, waiting for the bell to ring. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long, and I’m able to make myself look busy as the other moms exit the school by staring at my phone, pretending to text and scroll. But really, I’m playing Wordscapes.
Droves of children rush down the hall, excited for the end of the school day. They laugh with each other and play around, causing even more chaos. I’m searching for Noah when I finally notice that he’s one of the frolicking children. He’s caged in by two boys his age on either side of him.
Is one of those kids his bully?
But…he’s laughing genuinely. His smile spreads from ear to ear, and the other two boys laugh with him. Noah’s shoulders are loose, not stiff. His eyes are full of light, not trepidation.
Witnessing this monumental step passed his obstacle has my throat clogging up and my eyes watering.
When Noah finally notices me, he says bye to his friends and runs straight for me, waving around a piece of paper. “Mom! Guess what? Today, I made a map of the United States out of noodles.”
I swallow my emotions to reply to him. “That’s so exciting, little king! Do you?—”
“Miss Henry.” Noah’s teacher, Mrs. Burke, stands behind Noah with her arms folded.
Tucking Noah into my side, I plaster a fake smile on my face. “Mrs. Burke, how are you?”
Her eyes dart from side to side. “Tell them I did what they asked. It stopped.”
