My imagination is working overtime, conjuring up all sorts of things Art has planned for me tonight. He probably has a secret dungeon to torture me in. But I’m resolved to face whatever he throws at me head-on. Loud banging sounds at the front door, startling me.
“There’s no way you can avoid me now that we live in the same state!” Anneli yells.
Oh, fuck.
“What’s going on?” Mom asks.
“Nothing, you know how theatrical Anneli can be.”
She raises an eyebrow, giving me a skeptical look. I hurriedly move towards the door when the loud banging starts again. A noise complaint is the last thing I need after living here for less than two months. It’s bad enough my neighbor caught me in a compromising position last night. Hopefully he didn’t recognize me.
“Hold your horses! I’m coming!” I swing the door open.
“You’ve been ignoring me!” Anneli yells.
“Shhh.”
“Don’t you ‘shhh’ me. And move out of the way so I can come inside.” She brushes past me.
“I was going to call you in the morning.”
“Oh no, you’ve got some explaining to do and I want answers now!”
Adrian was livid I abruptly ended our courtship earlier. Soon after, Anneli started texting and calling.
“Hey, Missy.” She waves.
“Hi, sweetheart. Are you and Cin having a fight?”
“We most certainly are.”
“We’re not,” I counter.
“Auntie Anneli!” Sebastian runs over to wrap his skinny arms around her torso. “Did you bring a special treat for me?”
“Not this time, kiddo, but next time I’ll bring five pounds of candy so you can drive your mom crazy.”
I scrunch my face at her. “He’ll be staying with you until all the sugar is out of his system.”
“Beat it, squirt. I have a bone to pick with your mom.” She grabs my arm and pulls me into the bedroom before closing the door for privacy.
Anneli will probably try to persuade me to change my mind, but I won’t budge. My mom and Sebastian deserve the finer things in life, and I’ll be providing it to them by any means necessary.
“What the hell is going on, Cin? Adrian is pissed, and I don’t blame him.”
I sit on the bed. “I ran into Art again today.”
“What the fuck does that have to do with you and Adrian?”
“Everything.”
She sits beside me. “What happened?”
“Art owns the nonprofit organization where Adrian volunteers.”
“Did he threaten you? Is that why you ended it?”
“No.”
