Page 94 of Unbidden

“I’m not done with you yet.”

It’s now that I realize we have more of an audience than just Tinsley.

“I’m so tired of this game you’re playing, Reed. I’ll concede. You win. You fooled me. You made me believe for one moment that you were different than the rest of these fake-ass rich people. Let’s just agree to stay out of each other’s way.”

“That’s not how this works, sweetheart. You don’t get to just walk away. Especially not after you screamed my name as you came on my hand the night before last.”

My blood boils. Any last shred of hope that what we had meant anything to him bleeds out of me.

“Fuck you, Reed.” I lock eyes with him, attempting to hide my pain but unwilling to let him knock me down.

“I believe that’s what you were begging me for.”

Tinsley gasps. “Reed, that’s enough.”

“It’s okay, T. Reed showed his true colors.” I don’t dare look away from him as I deliver my final blow. “He’ll always be a bully, never outgrowing this place, unlike me. I’ll be gone soon enough. On to bigger and better things. So get your digs in. Embarrass me. Humiliate me. Call me a whore. Insinuate that I fucked you every which way until Sunday. Do your best, because I know who you really are. A bully in the prime of his life.”

I watch as my words hit their mark. He goes to open his mouth, but my hand flies up to stop him.

“Don’t bother wasting your breath. You no longer matter to me.”

I march away with my head held high as the gathered crowd parts, allowing me a clear exit.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“You again.”

I slowly turn around to face the man I’ve only met once before.

Mr. Yates stands in the entrance of the diner.

“Welcome to Momma’s House. The door’s behind you,” I mutter as I start towards the counter.

“This your section?” he asks, pointing at one of my tables.

“I’m not interested in whatever you have to say, so please leave.”

“You look just like her, you know,” he says as he slides into a booth.

That makes me pause. Did he know my mom?

Of course he did. He probably grew up here like she did.

“That’s nice of you to say.”I guess.

“I don’t mean it as a compliment. Yes, Abi was beautiful, but she was also a siren leading men astray.”

“Whatever. I’m not going to stand here letting you trash talk my mom.” I move towards the kitchen, but his next words stop me.

“Did you know she was dating some poor sap when she got pregnant with you?”

I pause, turning to look at his face.

“Ah. She didn’t tell you that. When she broke it off with him and told him the baby wasn’t his, everyone was shocked. Not me. She was always flirting with me. Always wanting me to leave my wife, Michelle. She even asked me to claim the kid as my own and marry her. When I wouldn’t leave my wife, she tucked her tail away and ran with you.”

Is he telling the truth?

Is Elijah not my dad?

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