“Mom.” My severe tone cuts her off. “Take your image worries and your campaign and shove it up your ass.”
“Connor,” she hisses, attention swinging between everyone in the room. “Are you cranky from surgery?”
“Vivian, give him a break,” Dad complains.
Nice sentiment, but too little too late, Dad.
“The come down’s a bitch, but no. I’m done playing your political games. I’m not your dancing circus bear anymore, effective immediately.”
“We can talk about this later.” She sniffs importantly. “When you’re feeling better.”
“Now’s good for me. The thing is, Mom, you have no way to control me anymore. You want the car back? Take it. I’ll buy a new one when I move out.”
She narrows her eyes. “With what money?”
It’s clear from her expression. She thinks she’s got me.
I turn the laptop. “The trust fund from granddad is very generous.” He never told her how much he set aside for me. “And from personal investments. I don’t need you. You can’t keep me under your thumb. If you try controlling me, I’ll release the detailed documented account of your affair with your campaign manager.”
Color drains from her face and her smug look falls before she plasters another blank mask in place to cover for the slip. It’s not as detailed as I make the threat to sound, but my reputation precedes me. She believes my bluff. Still, I go for a final blow.
“Everything. I’ll leak it to your political rivals and the press.”
“Fine,” she snaps.
Thea returns to my side, taking my hand. Together we stand as a united front against my overbearing mother. Nothing has ever felt better.
Forty
Thea
The finishing touches on the sour cream donuts are perfect. They smell amazing and I can’t wait to see Connor’s face when I show him my awesome skills icing these gunshot wound confections, especially with my hand still a little sore from the cut on my palm. It’s almost healed now, along with my other bumps and bruises from that night.
The donuts are more gruesome than my usual style, but it’s worth it to make Connor smile. I set my piping bag aside and lick excess red glaze from my fingers. With the decorating done, I take off the apron protecting my sheer blouse and the high waist fitted goldenrod corduroy skirt with buttons down the front.
Another one of my resolutions: I’m no longer dressing to hide my body. Once I found out the reason Mom was always on my case, it chased away any remaining self-consciousness, allowing me to dress in whatever feels good. I’m moving forward, not letting anything that happened stop me from enjoying my life.
Every day Connor tells me how beautiful I am, echoing my inner goddess of confidence.
I don’t have to choose between Secret Folder Girl and myself, I can just be who I am because I’m enough.
Things are finally settling down. It almost felt weird to start the second semester after such a whirlwind over winter break.
When Connor was discharged from the hospital, we combed the internet, news stations, and talked to Maisy’s dad for any information on the people who took Mr. Coleman into custody. Almost a month later and we still haven’t heard anything.
Connor told me about the necklace he broke into the house to retrieve and how intense the hackers were about it. He is certain those guys killed Mr. Coleman for revenge. They did seem dangerous. But that man is a monster. He won’t be free to attack any other girls.
As for myself, I have an appointment with a therapist specializing in cases like mine to begin working through the trauma I went through. The first thing I did the morning after the hospital was call Maisy over and tell her everything I’d kept from her. She hugged the life out of me, promising to be there for me. It felt good to be open with her and get it off my chest. Pushing the truth out was hard, though. It came in starts and stops, interrupted when I couldn’t speak from my throat tightening with emotion.
I’m a little nervous to continue unpacking the things I haven’t looked at directly about how Mr. Coleman abused me. The pain is so fresh it sometimes blindsides me out of nowhere. Victim. It’s still a weird word in my mouth, as if it doesn’t feel like it should belong to me. But does anyone feel like they’ve achieved the arbitrary required level of trauma before it feels like the right word? Maybe no one ever feels like it’s theirs.
I’m learning to accept the shape of it, because I can’t erase it or pack it away in my brain behind walls.
Not thinking about it won’t make it go away. It’s something I have to face in order to move forward. It doesn’t have to change who I am or define me.
This is another facet of myself I will learn to treat gently.
I’ll find my new normal with the support of my loved ones at my back.
Constantine nudges my leg with his snout, huffing at me when I lift my brows. His big brown eyes dart to the counter and back to me.
“One more piece, you little pig.” I feed him a morsel from the broken bits of cake that didn’t make the final cut. I scratch under his chin as he chomps happily. “Good boy. Let's take these outside for everyone.”
Lifting the tray of bullet wound donuts, I head out back, where Connor and our friends lounge on the terrace around the blazing fire pit. My heart swells at the sight of them all. It reminds me I’m not invisible or alone.
Everyone has a quilt wrapped around them, Devlin and Blair curled together in a cushioned loveseat, Maisy sitting cross legged barefoot on a lounge chair, and Connor holding one side of his blanket open for me to nestle beside him.
Constantine comes when Blair calls him, flopping at her side while she grins, snapping pictures with her phone. His tongue lolls out, drawing a laugh from me at his blissed out expression. We’ve been bonding over our love of dogs. Now when she sends her friend Gemma dog posts on Instagram, she includes me in the group chat and begs me for pictures of Constantine all the time.
“I come armed with baked goods,” I announce.
“Yes!” Maisy unfolds her legs and snatches a donut from the tray. She takes one look and cracks up. After taking a big bite of her bloody donut, she hums in bliss. “My sugar queen.”
“I think you mean mine,” Connor says in an amused tone. “What’s so funny, little Landry?”
Maisy points her half-eaten donut at him. “Dude, you have got to drop that. I might be younger than my brother, but I can still kick ass.”
“Play nice,” I shoot over my shoulder, offering the tray to Blair and Devlin.
He examines the choices with a smirk. “Oh, I like these. Nice eye for detail.”
Blair takes two donuts, biting into the first while admiring the second, nodding in agreement with her boyfriend. “Gruesome. These are rad as hell.” She closes her eyes and hangs her head back. “Tastes so good.”
The corner of Devlin’s mouth lifts and he leans into Blair’s space to give her a languid kiss. Seeing her enjoying herself always makes his chiselled features soften in fondness.
I set the tray on the ottoman between Connor and Maisy, taking a donut for myself and Connor.
“Come over here.” He lures me to his side with a charming, crooked smile that pulls heat into my core. He knows exactly what kind of effect it has on me as he tugs me down onto the wide cushion, enveloping me with the blanket. “That’s better.”
“What’s that?” I ask, nodding to the real estate page he has loaded on his phone. “Looking for an apartment already? I thought you were joking when you told your mom you’d move out.”
He tucks his phone away before I get a good look at the property he was checking out. “It’s nothing. I’m just looking right now, but once I find the perfect place, I’ll show you.”
Narrowing my eyes, I do an impression of one of his favorite memes. “Keep your secrets, then. Donut?”
He takes it while I bite into mine, staring at what I made for a long beat. “Your baking is taking a turn for the gory, huh?”
I try t
o contain my grin, but I lose the battle. “Do you like it? How does the blood taste?”
“You tell me.”
He swipes his finger through the decorative frosting and holds it up to my lips. Cheeks hot, I part my them and dart my tongue against his fingertip. His gaze is locked on my mouth, dragging his teeth over his bottom lip.
“I’m about to haul you off to the pool house.”
I tap his chest with a light smack, lowering my voice. “Don’t tease me, then!” Wrapping the blanket tighter around us, I drop my hand to his lap, running it over his semi-hard dick. “You brought this on yourself. We’re hanging out with our friends.”
With a groan, he drops his head back. I break a piece off my donut and feed it to him. He chews for a minute.
“It’s delicious, baby. It always is with you.”
Maisy, Blair, and Devlin sound off in agreement, reaching for seconds.
There’s nothing like feeding the people you care about with something you baked with love. “I’m glad you all like them.”
Surrounded by our friends and wrapped in Connor’s arms, my heart is full of the brightest joy. It breaks through any shadows, lighting me up with an ember of warmth that makes me feel stronger.
“Face mask self-care day tomorrow. You in?” Maisy points between Blair and me.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” I say. “Do you like face masks, Blair?”
She blinks, glancing at Devlin. He rubs her arm, dropping a kiss on her shoulder.
“Uh, sure. I’ve never done one.”
“Oh my god! Girl. I’m about to change your life. This is it, this is our bonding moment. Come with me.” Maisy gets up, taking Blair’s hands. “This can’t wait. We’re doing this right now. Come on, Devlin. You’re doing one, too. We’ll film it and put it on our stories. Baby’s first face mask!”
Leaning against Connor, I laugh at Blair’s perplexed expression. “Go on, she doesn’t have an off switch when she decides to do something. It doesn’t take long and it feels good.”
“Take lots of pictures,” Connor says. “I want proof of our Devil Boy in his true form.”
Devlin flips him off.
Maisy snaps and points at Connor. “You’re right. Is your hair long enough for pigtails? They’ll look like horns. It’ll be bomb.”
“Aren’t you, like, quiet at school? What the hell?” Devlin asks, bewildered.
“Not around people that know me,” she says.
“Never underestimate the quiet ones, bro.”
I shake my head. “You did. Look where it got you.”
“Yeah?” Connor pulls me on his lap, trapping me in his strong arms as he puts his lips by my ear. “It got me a lapful of this.”
I laugh and yelp as he attacks my neck with kisses. No matter what happened before, I’m safe and loved now. The shining truth of it glows in my chest.
“Okay, enjoy the make-out time,” Maisy says as she herds Devlin and Blair through the back door. “Don’t get too frisky. Or do. You know, self-care. Peace, bitches.”
“You heard her,” Connor murmurs, angling my head back for a languid kiss. “Mm, you always smell sweeter when you bake. I love it.”
I shift around on his lap so I can face him, looping my hands around his neck. “How does your arm feel? I know you think you’re superhuman, but the sling only came off a couple weeks ago.”
“It’s good.” He takes my hand that was cut and brings it to his lips, kissing each of my knuckles. His gray eyes meet mine, full of warmth. He’s quiet for a moment, taking me in. “You hold my heart in your hands. Promise you’ll take care of it, okay?”
I give him an impish smirk, cupping his jaw. He drops another kiss to my healing palm. “Like take it for walks and keep it fed? Easy, it’s just like caring for Constantine.”
Connor wraps his arms around my waist with a playful growl, dragging his mouth over my skin. “You know how I like to be fed, baby.”
“My heart is yours, too,” I say after he stops teasing me. “It always will be.”
When he kisses me again, we lose all track of time, warmed by the fire and our love.
Epilogue
THEA
December, 11 Months Later
Squinting from the cryptic note Connor gave me to the numbers above the row of shops on the main street in downtown Ridgeview, I huff. After a quick kiss good morning, my boyfriend disappeared from our apartment, leaving behind a handwritten note that sent me on a wild scavenger hunt all over town. He loves these games, and I usually end up delighted by his surprises, but I would have enjoyed it more if we spent the morning cuddling in bed instead of roaming all over Ridgeview.
“This can’t be right.”
I glance up and down the street, standing in front of an empty storefront with big windows covered in paper. The shop sits between a florist and an art gallery, both decorated for the holidays. It was recently for sale. I secretly passed by it every day on my way to work making pastries at the coffee shop, imagining how nice a mural would look on the wall inside. It would be a big sun and moon celestial painting surrounding the name of my future bakery—Eclipsed Tarts Baking Co.
The sign in the window reads Sold.
So much for my big dream. It was too expensive, anyway. Commercial leases in Ridgeview have pretty much put my plans on hold until I sell a kidney to get my startup.
Connor has been offering to get me going. I keep turning him down because he does so much for me. He already pays for our apartment. In a year he’s grown his finances even more, officially a self-made man from releasing an app he built that took off for its uses in preventing security breaches and identifying threats, especially predators. He doesn’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else if he can help stop it. He has been amazing in helping me cope with the fallout of my trauma, and I’m proud he put his skills to use for something good to help others.
But his scavenger hunt note led me here, promising my path to the future if I open the door.
“Okay. Here goes nothing.” I pull a face, bracing as I twist the knob. “Please don’t let me get arrested for breaking and entering.”
“You’re too cute for that,” Connor says, grinning from across the room. He’s leaning against a polished wood counter with the sleeves of his henley pushed up, painting a very attractive picture. “You’re about twenty minutes later than I expected.”
I hold up the paper as I enter the building, glancing around. It’s lit in warm muted light by the thin kraft paper covering the bay windows. “Leave better clues, then.”
“What? Which one was hard?” Popping out of his slouch, he plucks the note from me as his arm finds its way around my waist. “Number seven? No way, I made that one obvious.”
“Number three!” Gripping his biceps, I press on my tiptoes to kiss him. He tilts his head, a smirk playing in the corners of his mouth. “Hi. Going to tell me what mischief you’re up to today?”
“Thinking about it.” His hands slip inside my coat, fitting to my waist over my long black skirt with big sunflowers printed on it. He dips into the high slit with one hand as his other teases beneath my cropped sweater, tracing exposed skin. “Thinking about something else, too. Especially when you wear this.”
“When aren’t you thinking about that.” With a sardonic smile, I shrug out of my white wool coat—a replacement from the one I had last year—and drape it over the counter. It looks newly built. I don’t remember the photos on the real estate website having anything inside, but now it seems like whoever owns the place has been getting it ready. “Are we allowed to be in here? I saw the sign out front. I know you love bad ideas, but—”
“We’re allowed. This is actually one of my better ones.”
He follows me as I explore the main room. I imagine how I’d paint the wall, make the one behind the counter a chalk wall with an artistic display of the daily menu, and fill the back one with a similar poster mural of inspiration and positivity just like my old bedroom. I have one in our apartmen
t that grows every time I find something new to add. It would look perfect in my bakery to create an uplifting environment that will make people smile.
“Do you know who bought this place?”
Connor tucks his hands in his pockets. “I do.”
“What are they going to put here? It looks like a shop.”
He hums as if he’s pondering, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “A bakery, I think.”
“Really?” My face falls. A second later, I shake my head and turn in his arms. “That’s so great. Maybe I can get a job here instead of the coffee shop!”
Connor’s smile turns fond. “Baby. The building is for you. I bought it.”
It takes a moment for his words to register as I’m lost in the process of how to quit my job. I blink, digging my fingers into his shirt. “Wait what?”
He chuckles, kissing my cheek. “I’m saying it’s yours, all of it.”
“You…” I gape, gaze flying around the room. “And you built…”
“Yes. You kept showing me your Pinterest vision board, and I had Maisy help me design the style you saved most.”
I’m speechless, mouth working helplessly. Tears of joy prick my eyes. “Oh my god.”
“I want to give you the world. Help you achieve all of your dreams.” He brushes a knuckle under my eye to catch a stray tear. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? I fucking love it, you crazy, wonderful man!” Laughter bursts free as I crash into him, hugging him tight.
“Oh, f-bomb. I know I got it right when you start letting those slip.” He kisses the top of my head. “Love you, sunshine.”
“I love you, too. This is the best surprise. Oh my god.” I can’t stop saying it. “I’m opening a bakery.”
“You are.” Connor grins into the kiss he gives me. “I have one more surprise.”
“Okay, but you probably should’ve led with that one. I don’t think you can top this.”
Ruthless Bishop: Dark New Adult High School Bully Romance (Sinners and Saints Book 3) Page 31