Page 68 of Stoker's Serenity

Caroline Caruthers had bullied me all through junior high and high school… She’d made my life a living hell and looking at Lydia now, I could see the resemblance. A lot of the things Caroline had done were so cruel I’d blocked them out. She’d been one of the first killed in Kyle’s rampage and despite how poorly her sister had treated me, despite how her sister was attempting to treat me now, my heart went out to Lydia. Were it not for Stoker calling her out, I probably never would have seen it, guessed, or known.

“How dare you,” Lydia seethed.

I shook my head. “I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I said. “Far from it. I would, however, like to go on my vacation, that you approved, and when I get back, I would like to see if we can come to a working arrangement that we can both live with.”

“Nah,” Stoker said. “You’re going on your vacation, an email’s already been sent to HR. Let them deal with her. We’ll send another when we leave, I’m tired of bitches like these taking shit out on you that was outside your control. Come on, Orchid. Let’s go, you’re off work.”

I didn’t know whether to be mad or relieved that it was out of my hands… I’d always secretly wished someone would take it out of my hands, would stand up for me and give me the breathing room I needed, but at the same time, I felt like I should have been careful what I wished for. I tried to be kind, and this was no exception – what Stoker had suggested he’d done sounded cold, calculating, and borderline cruel.

It was hard standing there watching Lydia glare at me through angry unshed tears, but Stoker was right – I hadn’t done anything. I hadn’t known, so why was I still being punished for it all at every turn? I just wanted to live my life, make ends meet, and carve out the tiniest bit of happiness for myself.

“Clean out your locker,” Lydia said coldly.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll do that if and when HR tells me to,” I stated.

One of my co-workers crowed, “Alright!”

Megan rushed forward and thrust my purse into my hands, and Stoker murmured, “Let’s go. We’ll sort it out when we get back.”

I was sort of shell-shocked and nodded my head, feeling a little bobble-headed as he turned me and, arm around my shoulders, led me out of the store and out into the mall. As soon as I stepped out of the giant archway into the high-ceilinged thoroughfare of the mall, I let out an explosive breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, and the trembling started.

Adrenaline. The adrenaline is wearing off.

I think it was the first of any kind of confrontation I’d been in where I felt I may have just come out on top. Usually I lost, and lost badly, even though I never instigated anything. A good confrontation had always just left me emotionally wrecked and in tears. A bad one had left me on the floor in various stages of broken or bleeding.

This was different, but my body and mind couldn’t seem to handle it, and the tears and emotional wreckage were threatening to wash in with tsunami force.

We needed to leave. I needed to go outside, and I couldn’t let anyone see.

“Hang on, Orchid. Almost there,” he crooned as we walked briskly out to where my car was parked.

“Were you being serious about the emails?” I asked.

“As a heart attack, baby. I had Radar hack your shit and Hope helped write it. I knew this bitch was going to try something after everything you’ve told me these last few weeks. My timing was fucking impeccable today, though. Coming up on you right as she tried to spring it.”

“I am so going to lose my job,” I said shaky.

“No, you’re not, and if you do, who fucking cares?” he demanded as we breezed out the doors into the oppressively hot Florida summer day.

I stopped, rearing up short.

“I care!” I cried. “I lose my job, I’ll lose my home, and Mrs. Sedgwick depends on me and –”

“Stop, baby. Easy, now.” He pulled me into his arms and I gave a panicked, broken little sob.

“I love you,” he murmured and I froze.

“What?” I jerked back in his grasp and looked up at him. “What did you just say?” I couldn’t believe that I’d heard him right.

“I said, I love you… and I’m not going to let anything else bad happen to you if I can help it. I’m sick and tired of people handing you this raw deal and yeah, I’m even a little mad, a little disappointed in you for just taking it but, babe, I think that’s honestly because no one ever gave you the notion that you actually could stand up for yourself, let alone taught you how.”

“You love me?” I whispered in awe. I was thoroughly stuck on that one point, and for me, it was a really big one. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone other than Linny told me those three little words, let alone meant it as fervently as Stoker did. I mean, I could see it in the depths of his kind liquid dark eyes as he smiled down at me and smoothed some of my dark hair out of my face.

“I do,” he said, and I bit my lips together and tried very hard not to cry for a very different reason.

I lost, and Stoker, chuckling, pulled me in and held me tight against his chest as I sniffled against his vest in the bright sunshine and oppressive humidity surrounding us.

“Come on, everybody’s waiting outside your place to make this ride,” he murmured, and I nodded and got myself together. He followed me home, and sure enough, when I went to turn into my garage, my street was lined with motorcycles and several of the men and women of the Kraken were sitting on the steps or standing around on my landlady’s front porch while she poured them all glasses of sweet tea and they chatted.

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