Cash did some pretty shitty things last summer. But so did we.
Maybe this trip wasn’t about trying to escape from Isla or Archibald or NYU.
Maybe it was to show Ingrid and me that Cash’s anger—or whatever he’s feeling—is more justified than either of us are willing to admit.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Pacific Ocean
Ingrid
“Loretta's Laser Hair and Wax Removal,” I hear on the other end of the phone. “This is Isla. How can we whack that bush for you today?”
If Harvey the Hobbling Senior Citizen hadn’t just left my pregnant sister all alone, I might laugh.
But instead, I exhale.
“It’s Ingrid,” I say.
There’s a pause before she asks, “Are you needing to book an appointment?”
“No,” I tell her. “I was calling to see how you were doing.”
“Shit timing, Ingrid,” Isla snarls. “I’m a hardworking single mother. I don’t have time to check in and discuss my feelings.”
I take a moment to breathe as Wilder fills up the car with gas.
He shoots me a concerned look, but I just shrug.
“You weren’t answering my texts or phone calls to your cell,” I try again.
“I’m busy!” she snaps, but I hear the hurt in her voice.
She’s sad. Even if she’ll never admit it, she’s devastated Harvey left her.
“I’m sorry,” I offer.
“No one is as busy as I am, Ingrid,” she begins. I think about hanging up on her, but I also know Isla. She’s horrible and ornery, but she’s also human. She needs to get this off her chest.
“I’m sorry,” I say again.
“You have no idea how hard it is to be a single mother, work a part-time job, prepare yourself for a baby, and figure out how to sign up for online classes since I can’t obviously show my face on campus after this unfortunate scandal.”
I don’t have the heart to tell that her choices have led her here.
No one else’s.
Some people will create their own storms, but throw a fit when it rains.
There is no changing my sister.
“Is there anything I can help with?” I ask.
She scoffs. “You could stop being so incredibly selfish and let me have your room. My child needs a place to sleep.”
I roll my eyes. “Your child can sleep in your room, Isla.”With you, and your terrible decisions.
“You’re impossible.”
