Page 50 of Taming Tesla

Con

p.s. Drew you another picture of

my dick. You’re welcome.

The note was wrapped around another check. This time I kept it. Spent a lot of time looking at it. Deciding what to do with it. Coming to terms with what having that kind of money could do to change my life. My family’s life. A few weeks ago, I deposited it.

“Well, it was from a… friend of mine from Boston.” After everything he’s done for me, there’s no other way to describe Conner. He’s my friend.

“He sent you eight-hundred-fifty thousand dollars?” Grace hisses at me.

“Actually, it was a million. I’ve spent some.”

If possible, her mouth falls open even wider. “A mill—for what?” She sounds worried. “What did you have to do for it?”

I tell her everything. Not just about what happened with Patrick and me. I tell her about James. Sara. The video. The blackmail. At the end of it, she’s gaping at me again. “You set a million dollars on fire?” She shakes her head at me. “Are you crazy?”

“It felt like I was.” I stand, tossing my phone on the bed next to my suitcase. Being home, I realized that I might not need more, but my family does. Grace and Molly. Mom and dad. They’ve been struggling their whole lives, and it was selfish of me to do what I did, throwing that money away, knowing that I could be the one to put an end to it. “I want you to come to Boston.”

“Cari…” Grace shakes her head, mouth slack as she tucks a lock of her long blonde hair behind her ear. “I can’t—Mom and Dad… they need me.”

Downstairs, I can hear Molly squealing and clapping her hands because her favorite show came on TV. “Girls,” Mom shouts upstairs. “I’m leaving for work—Moll is in front of the TV… you better get a move on, or you’ll miss your flight. Snow’s coming down pretty hard out there.”

“Okay,” I shout back before looking at Grace again, waiting for the front door to slam shut before I continue. “Yes, you can. I paid off the house for Mom and Dad yesterday morning.”

“You what?” she squeals, sounding just like Molly.

She doesn’t have to say what I already know. Dad is going to freak when he realizes what I’ve done. Being several hundred miles away when he does will give him a chance to cool down. Hopefully. Either way, it’s too late now—and even if it weren't, I’d have done it anyway. “Dad won’t have to work so much. Maybe Mom can quit working altogether. They’re going to be okay.” I tell her. “We can get a place together in Boston. You can go to college. I can help you with Molly.” I kneel in front of her and take her hand. “Let me do this for you, Gracie. Let me get you out of here.” I stand up and let her go, reaching for my suitcase. “Just think about it, okay?”

She looks scared. Unsure. But she also looks excited. Hopeful. More hopeful than I’ve seen her in a long time. Nodding her head, she stands. Downstairs, Molly shrieks along to the opening tune to her favorite cartoon.

Hearing her daughter, Grace smiles. Takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Okay.”

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