He makes it sound like it can be easy.
I know from experience that it never is.
My eyes slice back over to Eli, watching him as he sidesteps and ducks when his trainer throws a fake swing at him. I hear his voice like he’s standing in front of me again with the promise of having a remedy that works like no other.
It isn’t Jack or drugs but starts and ends with my fists.
For the first time ever, I wonder if he might know what he’s talking about.
NINETEEN
COLSON
Old text messages…
Colson:I took Sebastian’s bag of M&M’s. Let’s bet on how long it takes him to realize they’re missing.
Violet:Oooh. What does the winner get?
Colson:One hell of a kiss.
Violet:Just a kiss? This seems like a trick. I think he’ll figure it out today.
Colson:I’m saying a month.
Violet:No way. Purposely trying to lose now?
Colson:Absolutely.
Colson:I never said where the kiss would be. Though I have a pretty good idea on where it should be.
Violet:I always knew you were a tricky trickster.
I shiftmy car in park and look up at Stewart’s fancy law building. The last time I was here, it changed my life. I can hardly wait to see what’s in store this afternoon.
When Aunt Bess called after leaving Gulliver’s and asked if I’d meet her, I was reluctant. I haven’t spoken to her since the last time we sat down with her lawyer. I don’t really want to now but would rather get it over with and not have to leave the house once I go home.
I’m hanging onto the small chance that Stewart found a way around the marriage license ordeal. Maybe it was a scam all along. A copy of a fake, and Mom wasn’t truly married to Clyde Lincoln after all.
I don’t let myself think about that possibility for too long as I ride the elevator up and approach the same receptionist Aunt Bess spoke to last time. She guides me back to Stewart’s conference room, Aunt Bess and Uncle Thad already present when I walk through the door.
“Colson.” Aunt Bess gets up from her chair and walks over to me. There’s worry in the depths of her eyes. She wants to know if I’m okay but is afraid to ask. It’s probably best that she doesn’t. For a split second, I wonder if Sebastian told her what happened, but then she wraps me in one of her hugs, and I know he didn’t.
He’s still loyal to me, even after I screwed up.
Warmth encases me, and it’s hard to let go of it when I’ve been shivering in subarctic temperatures for so long. I’ve purposely forced myself outside in blustering temperatures so I’d go numb, but Aunt Bess has always been a fireplace.
“I wish you wouldn’t pull away,” she says softly, pulling back and looking me over for harm. “Things didn’t go so great last time we were here, I know that. I’m hoping Stewart has better news for us today. He’s the one who called the meeting. He’s trying to find a way around our current predicament.”
“You had no idea that she was with him?” I ask her for the first time.
“When we were teenagers, her and Clyde would spend time together,” she discloses. “I had no clue it had gotten serious enough for them to getmarriedbehind everyone’s backs.”
“They hung out?” She’s never mentioned this before. “So, Mom and Clyde were friends?” If that’s the case, then at what point did it go south, and where does Clyde’s lifestyle fit into all of this?
“Yes, they were friends at one point, I think, when we were in high school. Long before he got deeper into his illegal activities.”
I give her a hard look, unsure of how to feel about this. “Why didn’t you ever mention it?”
