Page 98 of Songbird: Black Kite
“Yes, you did.”
“What? When?”
“In your letters,” he said simply, and my stomach clenched. “You said you needed me.”
“Hawk,” I said, gaping at him. “I sent that letter over fifteen years ago.Thatwas when I needed you. Not now. Not when it feels like I’ve finally got my life together.”
“Bird—”
“No.” I cut him off. “I don’t know what you think you’re going to accomplish, being here now, but it won’t be anything good.”
Looking away, I took in the room we were standing in, the memories of the time I had spent in this house fighting for space in my head against the memories of Hawk’s hurtful words all those years ago. “I did what you asked of me, Hawk. I followed all the rules I was given to the goddamn letter. Every threat you made, I took to heart. I told you the other night I didn’t want any trouble, and I don’t. Please.” I hated the desperation that had crept into my voice, but I couldn’t help it. “Just leave us alone.”
“Threats? Rules?” he questioned, staring at me intensely. “Wren, I don’t have a fucking clue what the hell you’re talking about, but I think you should start at the beginning.”
Chapter fifty-eight
Wren
Fifteen Years Ago
“Yourtotalistwenty-sevenforty-eight,” said the woman at the counter, her judgmental gaze assessing me over the rim of her glasses.
Digging into my wallet, I hunted through all the bills, counting out twenty-one dollars in fives and ones. Even after I’d dumped out all the loose change, I was still three dollars short.
I sighed, looking at the items she’d just rung through. I needed all of them, but maybe I could get by without the deodorant.
For now, anyway.
“Come on, girl,” the woman snapped, and I jumped, spilling some of the coins that had been in my hand onto the floor. “We don’t have all day. There’s paying folks behind you, you know?”
“Sorry,” I muttered, feeling my face heat in embarrassment. “Can I just take the food? I’ll leave the other stuff for another day.”
The woman huffed, but complied, removing the deodorant and the shampoo out of the bag. She reached for the last non-food item, but paused, looking at it before looking pointedly at me.
“I think you’ll still be needing these.” She shook the container of prenatal vitamins loudly, and I ducked my head again.
“Yes, ma’am,” was all I said. When she’d told me my new total, I handed over the cash before gathering my single bag and darting out the door as quick as I could.
I supposed I should have been used to it by now, the judgment and scrutiny from small-minded folks. Everyone in town knew by now that I was pregnant—it wasn’t like I could hide a six-month belly anyway—but it seemed to get worse as the weeks went on. It was as though they all seemed to expect my situation to somehow change, and when it didn’t, they were even more disappointed in me than they had been the day before.
Sighing, I started walking, the heat of the August sun making me regret putting back that deodorant. I trudged along, my feet aching after my early morning shift at the diner. I still had to do the closing shift at theBurger Barntonight, but if I hurried, I could maybe catch a nap after I prepared an early dinner for Sabrina and her mom. I’d been so lucky, getting to move in with them after my dad kicked me out, and I tried to repay them in whatever way I could, which really just translated to cooking and cleaning. Tonight would be chicken and dumplings, the easiest thing I could manage on a budget.
I was standing at the corner, waiting for the light to change and trying to pretend I didn’t hear the whispers from the two ladies behind me—ladies I used to get smiles from at church picnics—when a sleek black car pulled up in front of me, stopping right in the crosswalk. I stared, seeing my confused face reflected back at me in the shiny glass.
The whispers behind me had turned into interested mutters by the time the rear window started rolling down. I had to admit that I was as curious as the rest of them.
At least until I saw the face that was now staring back at me.
Tori. The awful red-headed woman I’d had the unfortunate experience of meeting in Minneapolis.
She stared at me in clear disgust, her eyes drifting down my form to my clearly protruding abdomen as her lip curled, revealing those straight, perfect teeth that were too white to be natural.
“So, it’s true, then,” she said, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of sadness in her voice.
For a moment, I just stood there, stunned, as my free hand dropped to cover my belly, as though I instinctively needed to protect it—protect my baby—from this woman.
But if she was here, then Hawk must have sent her. He was on tour for a few more weeks, which I knew from my obsessive tracking of the band’s website. Somehow, he must have gotten my letters, and he sent Tori to help me while he finished the tour.
