I place the last book on a shelf and just when I start pushing my cart back to the front desk I hear them.
“Whore.”
“Slut.”
“Disgusting ho.”
I turn my head slowly and see Vanessa and two of her friends at one of the study tables. Their eyes are on me with nasty smirks on their faces. I disregard the other two and zero in on Vanessa, our eyes clashing and holding. I stare her down without ever saying a word. In the past, I would always hunch in on myself for protection from her vicious, nasty words but something in me shifts this time.
It’s been over ten years since she became my sister. All I ever wanted in all that time was to be accepted and loved by her and her mother. I’ve given them so much power over the years. Power to hurt me, belittle me, stab at my fragile lonely heart. Jude told me he thinks it was her that put strawberries in the champagne that set my allergy off but I brushed it off, not able to believe she would do something that dangerous, no matter how much she dislikes me.
The longer the stare-off lasts between us, the more the weight that I carry starts to lift. And when it’s her that drops her eyes first, the weight leaves me completely. All the hurt, pain, and longing for her and her mother to be a real family to me goes away. She’s nothing, they’re nothing and I’m finally free. Maybe Tate’s right. Maybe we have to make our own family when the one we’re born with fails.
I turn away and push my cart back to the desk without giving Vanessa another thought. My man…men…are waiting for me.
I gather my bag and pull on my jacket, waving to my co-worker that I’m off and leave the building. I search for Tate’s car in the huge lot but am distracted when I hear the faint sound of someone being yelled at in an abusive way. I hunch into my jacket, nervously jerking my head around trying to spot whoever it is.
“Fucking useless…waste of my goddamn time and money…never going to amount to anything…such a fucking pussy…do as I say…”
The light wind only brings me snatches of what’s being said but it’s enough to make me ball my hands into fists in my mittens in anger. How dare someone talk to another that way! No one deserves that kind of abuse. I finally spot the red glow of Tate’s brake lights and move in that direction, ready to ask him to get out and search for the poor person being verbally abused but as soon as my hand touches the door handle, I realize it’s him on the phone in his car.
“Someone’s here, I’ve got to go, dad.”
I stare in shock through the window at Tate as he hits the button on his dash to end the call that was coming from the car’s speakers. Dad? That was his dad saying those things? I rip the door open and almost dive into the passenger seat.
“Tate…”
“Don’t! Savy, please, just don’t. I…it’s none of your business. I don’t want to talk about it.”
I force myself to swallow the angry words that want to spill out of me and instead, pull off my mitten and reach for his hand with a brittle smile.
“Let’s go home. It’s my turn to make dinner.”
The relief that washes over his embarrassment makes me want to cry for him but I stay silent as he nods and starts driving. We sit in silence with just the radio playing on low volume as he drives until he goes right past the turn to our house.
“Where are we going?”
He darts a look over at me but his expression is still unreadable.
“I’m taking you on a date. A real date, not for show.”
I smooth my hands over my plain skirt nervously. I don’t know why after this man has had his hands in my most private area, going on a real date with him floods me with nerves.
“I’m not really dressed for that kind of thing. If you take us home I could…”
His eyes dart my way again but this time I see a frown on his face. “No, you’re perfect just the way you are. You look beautiful to me, baby.”
An astonished, slightly amused gasp shoots out of me. Nice words but this is coming from the man that told me to go change from a similar outfit the first time he wanted me to go to his game. His hand flashes out and he runs a thumb down my cheek.
“I know you don’t believe me, Savy. But I mean it and I’m going to do my best to show you I’m being real with you.”
I turn my head away and look out the window, wishing with every part of me that he’s telling the truth.
SAVY
He takes me to a nice Italian restaurant and asks for a booth in the back where the lighting is dim and the tables around it are empty. When I try and sit across from him, he follows me, causing me to scootch over to make room for him. The waitress shoots me a small smile with a knowing look that has my blush creeping up over my cheeks so I duck my head to study the menu she hands to me.
Once we’ve ordered and she delivers our drinks and a basket of bread, he drops his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer until we are hip to hip. I don’t know why I’m nervous. We’ve been out together in public enough times that I shouldn’t be but this just feels…different. I still feel the weight of what I overheard earlier between us so I try to change that to something positive.
