Page 186 of Ice Darling
A dark premonition crawls over me, and the puzzle pieces start to form a much more sinister picture than I anticipated.
With new eyes, I read the captions under the pictures posted after Gwendolyn’s death.
So many shared your face. But no one shared your soul.
Some people looked up to you. Some people looked like you. But they could never BE you.
There are two sides to every story. You took yours with you.
My heart beats faster like it does when I can see the puck in slow motion at the pinch point of the game.
The husband’s captions are all carefully ambiguous. Just on the edge of being a threat without actually crossing the line.
And yet…
I sense the double meaning, the bitterness, and the blame.
Maybe this isn’t simply a matter of Cordelia feeling guilty for being at odds with Gwendolyn.
Maybe there’s something—or someone—keeping her chained to that guilt.
My fingers curl into fists. Maybe the voice telling her she’s not fit to be a wife and a mother isn’t hers at all.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Cordelia
Another day passes without getting any calls from Renthrow.
I miss him like crazy, but I also miss Gordie.
Stepping back from a relationship with him makes me feel awkward about how I should handle things with his daughter. I don’t know if Renthrow will want me around Gordie after what I said. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.
What kind of man would let a woman who doesn’t want to be a mother around his precious six-year-old?
At the garage, I go back and forth on whether calling Renthrow just to ask about Gordie is a good idea.
“I shouldn’t,” I mumble to myself as I tape up the wires for a faulty timing sensor. “It’s a bad idea.”
Maybe Gordie’s better off without me.
Maybe…
My phone rings.
Gordie’s name flashes on the screen.
Thrilled, I stop what I’m doing.
“Hi, Gordie!” I say excitedly.
“Delia,” her voice sounds thin through my phone, “I need your help.”
My muscles pull tight with pressure. “Of course, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”
“Vinnie’s having a birthday party but”—Gordie drops her tone—“ever since I went to her house that time, she’s not sitting with me anymore, and she laughs when I walk by.”
“That doesn’t sound like Vinnie’s being very nice.”
