Tito, the guy I finally was able to buy the fake IDs from, was one of Asshole’s cohorts. A low-life drug dealer who bounced down at the slime bar Nutter’s. The place creeped me out, and even worse when I met Tito.
Cisco came up close to me—too close as his breath heated my neck and made me want to vomit. “He really liked you, you know. Said he’s always wanted a woman like you.”
I scoffed as I moved away from him. The last thing I wanted was to have him that close and Jeanine getting some weird jealousy thing. She was never too level-headed. “Tell him I already paid him. The deal is done. I don’t owe him anything.”
It was just another horrible decision I’d made—making a deal with the likes of Tito. I couldn’t seem to ever get one right. That one, though…That was a bad decision to deal with him and I had known it deep down. At the time, I couldn’t think of another way to get the fake IDs. I definitely didn’t have money, and needing a passport—something that was much harder to come by—was much more expensive than I’d originally planned. I realized now that those two didn’t seem like they’d only take my one-time payment. I couldn’t go to jail for something as stupid and petty as counterfeit IDs.
Cisco moved in closer to me and my eyes flicked over to Jeanine’s. His hand rose to brush a stray hair from my face, and the anger flashed in Jeanine’s eyes. As I went to shove his hand away, he caught my wrist tightly, making me cry out in pain.
“Maybe the deal wasn’t finished from Tito’s perspective. I’d expect a visit from him if I were you.” Cisco sneered as he turned back to Jeanine. She pasted on a smile, quickly disguising her flash of anger just a moment before.
Cisco bent down and gave her a chaste kiss before turning to leave. “See ya, babe.” He grabbed the door handle with both Jeanine and I watching him closely. The door shut and I still stared after it.
“You know,” Jeanine started. Quickly, I remembered her jealousy outbursts from back in the trailer park. She hated how much Remy liked spending time with me instead of her. “If you fucking take Cisco like you took Remy from me, I won’t hesitate to call the cops on your ass.” She brushed by me, knocking me off balance when she checked me in the shoulder.
I needed to hurry up and get the hell out of there. Trouble was brewing, and if I wasn’t careful it’d be yet another mistake in a long line of them I’d be making.
If I had only gone to Alex or even Granny’s house way back when, instead of running away with Remy. That one decision—if I had just gotten that one right, all my other choices would have turned out better. My life would have turned out so much differently. But it hadn’t. And now I was stuck with it. I closed my eyes and my forehead touched the cabinet door. Alex. Everything always led back to Alex.
Five
Alex
“Sleuth Mysteries?” Sarah’s eyes widened and the flecks of gold shimmered more than they had at the park.
I scratched my neck, wondering if she really thought I was a creep or if she actually liked the idea. “You were reading that mystery book the other day and so I thought maybe you’d like to go out with me to this place.”
I’d called Cassie and begged her to tell me what time Sarah’s next shift started. If anyone didn’t think I was prying before, they’d think I was now, but I wasn’t sure when else I’d be able to ask her out. I wanted to give it one last try with her before she completely wrote me off.
“A date?” She looked at the tickets and spread them apart. I wasn’t sure if she had realized there were two tickets before.
“Well, yeah.” I cleared my throat, realized how nervous I was, and tried to shake off my teenage-like nerves. People walked by on the sidewalk as we stood outside The Freckled Maiden, and I inhaled deeply while waiting for her answer.
“Um. Thank you. I mean, it’s very thoughtful of you, but I shou—”
“Before you turn me down, we could show up separate if you’d prefer. I wouldn’t want you to think I was really stalking you and knowing where you live.” I swallowed and threw her a nervous smile.
She smiled back—an honest one that melted my heart and brought me back to when I was a teenager asking out Cory. That smile was Cory’s, and I even got the same sweaty, nervous palms that I had the day I first asked her out. We’d been friends for probably about three summers and had gone everywhere together. I was sure she had the same feelings for me, but asking her out was basically laying all the cards out on the table and letting her know how I really felt about her. Now I was doing the same with Sarah. My heart throbbed inside my chest as I awaited her answer.
“Okay. Yes. Since you say that we’ll meet there. And there’s no pressure.”
“None,” I told her immediately.
She nodded her head, the corners of her mouth turned up again. I slid one of the tickets out from her fingers, making sure not to disturb the other one. “The date, time, and address are all on there.”
Looking down at her ticket, she nodded again. I swear we were both like teenagers between her blushing and me stammering. I’d asked tons of women out and had no problem, but why I was obsessed with Sarah and becoming extremely nervous around her, I wished I could explain.
A guy brushed between us to get inside, and I stepped aside and looked at my watch quickly, knowing that I had to leave soon.
“I need to get going. I’ll probably see you soon, since you’re starting your shift.”
“That sounds good.” And she actually seemed sincere about it—which was good since I planned on sitting in her area anyway.
She hitched her thumb, gesturing she was going inside, and I immediately pulled the door open for her.
“I’ll see you later.” She smiled and I nodded eagerly. My heart thrummed inside my chest as I wiped my palms on my jeans again. Maybe I could turn her thoughts about me around. Maybe.
“I’m so glad we’re having lunch there. I’ve always thought it’s the cutest little pub!” My grandma could turn a biker bar into something she would absolutely love. My mom’s mother was always the caretaker, always the one who stabilized everything in my life. I used to love visiting her during the summers. It was the one place where I felt safe and cared for. My mom would have a fight with my dad over the phone and then all hell would break loose. Between her irrational screaming and drinking, I’d always wished I could have moved in with my grandparents.
Pappy passed away a couple of years ago, and since then I made sure to fly Granny down for a visit or I’d go up to see her every once in a while. Granny was always active with her friends, and I was convinced that’s what kept her going even though she missed my grandfather terribly.
I smiled at Granny before turning my gaze back to Sarah. My eyes seemed to try to find her no matter where she was in the bar.
“Who are you…” I turned to see Granny staring at Sarah, too.
“Oh my.”
“What?” I followed her sightline back to Sarah, who was pouring a drink from the pitcher she had just set down on someone else’s table.
“Isn’t that…? No. It couldn’t be. Could it?” Granny’s brows pulled together, and the way she had just said that made me want to press her. My heart throbbed, praying Granny saw the same thing I had.
“What are you talking about, Granny?” I asked as I inhaled deeply.
She smacked my arm lightly. “That’s little Cory Whyte. Remember?”
Relief spread through me that she saw the same thing in the new waitress, and it really was Cory. It wasn’t like I didn’t already think Sarah was Cory, but hearing her say it, I wanted to shout it out loud.
It was Cory. The girl who always held my heart no matter how old I got. No matter what woman I looked at, none would ever compare to my first love.
Cory had tried to hide her dark roots with the bleach-blonde hair, but little did she know it only added to her allure—something that made her stand out even more. Funny that I could look at her right then and see her as little Cory, the girl with dark hair and tomboy ways, who could always pun
ch any boy out. My stomach wouldn’t stop flipping around just like it had whenever I was around her. The same feeling had returned. The one when I’d almost get to Granny and Pappy’s house—I wasn’t excitedly nervous because I was seeing them. It was because of her.
I stared at the woman who had insisted her name was Sarah. Her deep, coffee-colored eyes held mine for a moment before they noticed Granny and widened. Then she darted her eyes nervously away. I stood and walked toward her. She looked up and then back down to the glass she was holding.
“Cory?” I said her name as a question, hoping she’d confirm it on her own.
It was all in slow motion: as she turned back to the bar, the glass on her tray slid and tipped off, tumbling to the floor. Glass shattered everywhere. I raced to help her pick up the shards of glass strewn about the floor, but couldn’t contain my excitement. I reached for a piece of glass, unable to stop staring at her.
“Cory, it’s you. Isn’t it?”
“No,” she hissed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice was barely audible, yet the anger was unmistakable.
I lowered my voice, unsure why I was doing it, but had to know. “It really is you. It has to be.”
She turned just as Cassie came out of the back room with a broom and dustpan. Cory’s hands shook as she took the broom from Cassie while her eyes darted around the room nervously. Why didn’t she want me to say her real name? It was her, I was certain now. How I’d been face to face with her all that time and hadn’t trusted my gut instinct—I felt like an idiot.
Cassie helped me finish picking up the shards and tossing them into the garbage.
“I got this,” Cassie said to me. “Get back to Granny.” I stood but couldn’t stop staring at Sarah, er…Cory, who wouldn’t look at me at all.
I went down the hall to wash my hands, thinking about the whole situation. Why hadn’t she wanted me to say her name? Cory. After all that time, I still hadn’t gone a day without thinking about her. Hell, every woman I was with, there was always a fleeting thought about what it would be like to be with Cory instead. My hands shook as I gazed at my reflection. I had changed so much over the years; maybe she was just surprised to see me. There she was—in my favorite bar.
My thoughts churned as I reassessed my original plan of chasing “Sarah.” It seemed all out the window since Sarah was definitely Cory; for some reason just seeing her again made me want to at least find out what happened. I pulled on the brass handle and walked into the hallway just in time to see Cory running down the hall with her purse hitched over her shoulder.
“Hey!” I called out and followed her out the back way, catching the door right before it shut. The alley was just as I’d always pictured it; with how many times I’d been in the bar, I’d never been back there. The alley was darkened even though it was still daylight out, and immediately I wondered why she’d chosen this way to leave instead of the front. To escape me, obviously, but I had no idea why.
“Cory!” I called, watching her silhouette run down further.
“Hey.” Cassie’s voice brought me back to where I was. She was staring at me quizzically but then told me, “Sarah said she wasn’t feeling well. Granny’s in there—you should get back to her.”
I nodded as I continued to stare down the alleyway, but all I could think about was if she was coming back or not. Had I just chased her away for good?
“Do you have her address, by chance?” I asked as I followed Cassie back into the bar.
“Yeah, but I’m kind of hoping she lied on her application. It’s in a really shitty area. Hell, I’d never go down there.”
“Really?” When we were younger we had always talked about the type of house we’d live in. Maybe it wasn’t always a house we’d get together, but I knew for sure she’d always talked about a small cottage type of home not far from a small city center so she could be in walking distance to her bakery—another dream she had. I’d always told her I’d build her the perfect house, since of course I was going to build houses. I smiled to myself as I thought about how I could build the perfect house for her now. If she still wanted me to. Considering she ran off like that, she must not have.
“Yeah. And she always seems so nervous, I wonder what’s up with her. I’ve tried asking, but never really got much of an answer.”
I nodded, taking the slip of paper Cassie handed me. “I’ll see if I can talk to her.”
“You better get back to Granny. She’s looking a bit lonely over there.” Cassie laughed as she nodded her head toward the table. I didn’t have to look to know that Granny already had a couple of new friends to chat with. She made friends wherever she went. Sure enough, a couple at a nearby table were having a full conversation with her.
“It was her, wasn’t it?” Granny asked as I sat back down in my chair and nodded.
“Yeah, but she’s been calling herself Sarah. I’ve been staring at her every day since she started, and toyed around with the idea that she looked so familiar.” I picked up my beer and took a sip.
“Well, you were in love with the girl you knew.” She patted my hand just as Cassie walked over to the table.
“Granny, how are you?” Cassie reached over and hugged her.
“Cassie, I’m doing well. How’s that boy you were seeing?”
Cassie rolled her eyes as I chuckled. Granny had tried to fix us up, but she didn’t know the history between us. Cassie had slept with my best friend, Matt, and while I had teased her that we should get together, neither of us wanted to cross that line. It was too strange. Cassie had managed to dodge all of Granny’s attempts by making up fake boyfriends. I was pretty sure I’d know it if she were seeing someone.
“We broke up, but I found another guy.” Cassie smiled and her eyes flicked to mine sharing our secret before she walked off.
“What made you think it was her?” I asked.
Granny shrugged and stirred her sweet tea. “It was Cory’s eyes. I’d always thought you two would wind up together. It’s gotta be fate.” She shook her head and took a sip as I scoffed.
“You thought Cassie and I should be together.”
She laughed. “Well, sometimes I’m wrong.” She perked her brow at me. “And sometimes I’m right. What are the odds that Cory would be working at your favorite bar?”
After thinking about it, she was right. Cory had moved from Ohio when she was thirteen. Even though she never answered my letters or phone calls, I had given it one last shot a year later when I finally turned sixteen and got my learner’s permit.
“Pappy used to talk about how much in love you were with her, in order to steal his car and go find her.”
“Before she moved, she told me how much she hated her stepdad and how she didn’t want to move. I had to know why she wasn’t answering my letters or calls. Was it because she didn’t want to talk to me anymore, or was he interfering somehow? And when I finally had the means…” I shrugged as Granny gave a pensive gaze, her lips in a tight line.
“And you never heard from her after that?”
I shook my head, feeling the anger and frustration well inside of me all over again. “Her stepdad chased me away after telling me she ran away with…her boyfriend. I had no other way to figure out where she went or what happened.”
Boyfriend. It was possible she had one, I supposed. I mean, we were apart from each other for close to a year. She’d been almost fifteen when she ran away. But at the same time, she had sworn to me there’d never be anyone else—a promise under our favorite bridge we had to walk under to get to the baseball field. We both had always talked about how we’d want something like her parents had together before her had dad had passed away. We were both surprised when her mom came home with a strange man saying they were getting married. To this day, I still couldn’t figure out what her mom was thinking. She’d always looked terrified of the stranger and yet she was going to marry him?
Then they moved away and I hadn’t heard from Cory again. Until her stepdad to
ld me she ran away and the neighborhood kids confirmed it. Well, they actually told me while beating the shit out of me. That was the main reason I trained almost daily in martial arts. Heartbroken and confused, I had driven back home. Pappy took one look at me and said I was already paying for stealing his car. And I was still heartbroken that she hadn’t come to me instead of leaving with some other guy.
Granny patted my hand. “Well, now you can find out.”
I nodded. Unless she was running again.
Six
Alex
Granny always insisted she stay with a friend of hers when she’d visit, telling me I was too young to have an old grandma hanging around my apartment. I used to get upset, because honestly she was as much of a mother figure to me as anyone could be. That being said, that day, I was a little relieved I could drop her off and try to search for Cory. Especially since she finished lunch quickly and told me to hurry and go find her.
After dropping off Granny at her friend’s house, I punched in the address Cassie had written down for me into the directions app on my phone. I wasn’t sure if it was correct; she could have easily lied on her application. Giving it a shot, I veered my car in the direction my phone gave me.
The streets became increasingly ominous. Even in daylight, the area wasn’t a place I really wanted to venture. Why was Cory living there? I knew things had changed over the years, but I was still certain it wouldn’t be an area she felt safe in. Hell, I didn’t like the area at all. Having trained for several years in different martial arts, that was saying a lot.
“You have reached your destination,” the woman’s voice announced from the speakers of my car. I looked at the pizza joint and noticed the wrought iron stairs that led up the side to a door. I continued down the street, checking out the area before turning around to find a close parking spot. Not that I felt my BMW i8 would be safe there, not in the least. Hell, I wasn’t even sure my tires would still be on the car when I was done talking to Cory—if she, in fact, really did live in that dump.
Trust Me Forever (Forever Happens Series Book 2) Page 4