Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Sally
“I’ll throw him into a burning house.” My mom’s threat makes me laugh.
“Ma, I don’t think the fire captain should be threatening arson.”
“Why go to the trouble of burning a perfectly good home when I can just run him over with my car?” Richie adds.
“I’m going to beat the shit out of him.” Miguel doesn’t even sound like himself.
“I’m pretty sure I know a guy that can help get rid of a body,” Lotte chimes in, which rarely happens.
“Honey,” Mama voices now, “I really wish you’d stop telling us about all the dangerous people you’ve met while working in Grand Rapids.”
Ma scoffs. “No, Lynette, this is the perfect time to know someone like this. Charlotte, do you have their number?”
That conversation goes back and forth for a few more beats.
Currently, the Reed family members who are not present in Alliance with me are all on a multiple-person call.
We rarely do calls like this, but after our texts this morning, they set one up. I didn’t go into too much detail about that night with them. Moms already knew parts of it, but my siblings were all left in the dark.
I’ve spent the last ten minutes talking them out of murder. Not that Dalton doesn’t deserve jail time for what he did to me, but right now, it’s my word against his.
They’d play it off like he was just giving the poor trans girl what she wanted. Dalton might even find a way to use my sexual history against me, and I don’t want to air that out to people.
None of them know that Dalton is here in Alliance. Though, I’ve barely spent a minute alone since everything went down.
Three days later, I’m back at the pier. It’s just as crowded as before.
I just want to be next to Oliver.
“How’s everything with the house?” Ma asks, changing the subject.
“We’re packing up everything we can and then doing a deep cleaning.”
I’m hoping that taking the house apart while getting it ready for Richie to work his magic will uncover the last few letters.
I actually found another letter today. While packing some of the kitchen, I got frustrated and threw the book against the wall. A split second later, the ladder to the attic opened up, and I found more of the Gordons’ belongings. I never went up there as a kid.
What I didn’t expect was to find the letter just sitting out in the open, collecting dust.
Dear Sally,
Today is your 17th birthday. I find myself wondering what life we could have given you if we hadn’t given up.
I’m not sure it would be as good as the one your moms can give you.
Your dad still doesn’t like talking about that time in our lives, so until he’s ready, I’ll just keep writing these letters for you.
It’s the shortest letter so far. It feels like she just wrote random thoughts like this was her own therapy to get through feeling like a bad mother.
I laugh at the thought.
She wasn’t writing these letters for me, especially if I was never meant to read them. She just wanted to get rid of her guilt.
“For the princess,” Oliver hands me a cotton candy slushy, just like our first date.
Can I call it a date?
We weren’t anything special. Just strangers feeling each other out.
Before I can mumble a thank you, Oliver leans down and places a quick kiss on my lips. I feel the need to deepen it, but he’s already pulling away before the thought can manifest.
Quickly looking up at him, my cheeks flush before looking around the pier to see if anyone is staring.
Not a single person.
I let out a breath, trying to remember that just because Oliver knows I’m trans doesn’t mean suddenly everyone knows.
People stare when they know, and having all that unwanted attention can be a lot.
“Don’t worry. When we’re alone, you’ll get a real kiss.”
My pulse quickens, and my flushed face now feels like a fire.
He leans down and whispers into my ear, “Does that make you hot, princess? Don’t worry. You don’t have to answer that. I know it does.”
This is what I signed up for when putting a fling on the table. Though, this feels more like a boyfriend than a temporary arrangement.
That thought should scare me away, but it doesn’t, and I crave him more every day.
So far, we’ve kept the same arrangement we had before, but now he’s practically at my side anytime he’s not working, and he makes sure to kiss me every chance he gets.
Oliver sits down, placing a hand on my bare thigh as he slurps down his slushy without a care in the world, but now my eyes are on his hand.
He gives my thigh a slight squeeze before kissing my cheek.
“You sure are being affectionate today.” Please don’t stop anytime soon.
“Can’t help it. I’ve spent the last month and a half wanting to do this, but someone was slow to get the memo.”
“What memo is that?” I question teasingly.
“That staying away from each other was never an option.”
“How’s my favorite customer?” Adrian asks, patting the corner of the front counter. “What’s got you coming in?”
I smile. He knows me so well. Hopping onto the counter, I notice he’s not wearing his trans pin, and the flag isn’t on the counter anymore.
“Mostly just killing time.”
I already spent a few hours packing up the house and deep cleaning. The door to my birth parents’ closet needs to be fixed. Maybe Ollie or Jax can handle that.
“You gonna kick me out?” I already know the answer, but my grin is met with his.
“Hush, you know I’m not doing that.” Adrian walks around the shop, collecting a few flowers.
I love watching him work as he walks through the assortment of flowers. Today’s bouquet is orchids, lilies, and red roses.
“I heard something interesting from Daisy and Karena.” Adrian grabs the last rose.
My back straightens up.
“Don’t look so tense,” he laughs, coming around and grabbing plastic wrap and ribbon. “I heard you’re dating Oliver Moore.”
“People think we’re dating?”
Adrian’s brow raises as he sets the bouquet on the counter next to me. “Are you not?”
I open my mouth to say we’re not, but nothing comes out. This isn’t good. I already can’t deny the rumor, and I don’t think I want to. The idea makes my heart beat faster in a good way. Not filled with anxiety but filled with a calm reassurance.
“I didn’t mean to assume, but Daisy said she saw you two a couple days ago, and he kissed you every five minutes.”
With my cheeks starting to flush again, I bury my head in my hands. People were watching, and I just wasn’t paying enough attention.
The idea should fill me with dread of being clocked, but really, all I can think about is the fact that Oliver so openly does all of this without me even asking for him to do it.
“We aren’t dating.” The words taste bitter.
“He’s obviously smitten with you. I should know. I was the same way with my wife in the beginning.”
“Was?”
He lets out a deep laugh. “Still am, but now it’s borderline obsession because I think about her every minute.”
That sounds nice, and the smile on his face tells me his mind is full of love.
I want that.
“Oliver has a good heart,” Adrian adds. “He constantly helps people who need it. Karena and Daisy love him, and the kids that want to surf look at him like he’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
This town loves him, and he loves Alliance just as much.
I hate this town. Maybe not as much as before—there are good things here and good people—but that doesn’t change my decision.
Before I can agree, the door chimes, and in walks the fluffy brown hair I’ve been spending all my time with.
He greets me with a smile and then offers a hand to Adrian. “Good afternoon, Mr. Grimes.”
Adrian waves him off. “You know to call me Adrian.”
They shake hands before Oliver turns to me. “You ready to go?”
I nod, ready to climb off the counter, but Oliver places both his hands on my hips, lifting me off effortlessly. I have to hold in a yelp as he lowers me to the floor and places another kiss, just like before, on my lips.
He really does kiss me every chance he gets, no matter who’s around. PDA should be gross, but I don’t want him to stop.
Ignoring Adrian, we wave our goodbyes and walk out of the shop.
“I have something I want to show you,” Oliver says as he leads me through Alliance.
The tides from Lake Michigan sounds off to our side. An orange hue envelops the sky as the sun starts to set.
After twenty more minutes of walking with our fingers still laced together, we land in front of a mechanic shop called Jennings Garage. I give Oliver a look.
“Jaxon’s deadbeat dad used to own the auto repair shop and scrapyard, but it got passed down to his best friend. Jaxon is supposed to take it over soon.”
I nod along. “You said you wanted to show me something?”
“Yeah.” He takes my hand and leads me over to the side of the garage. His feet cement in front of a van. “When I was a kid, I dreamed of running away, but as I grew up, that dream felt less and less realistic.”
I have to stop myself from cringing. Our dream of escaping our lives was never convincing. We were twelve years old and planning some great adventure, like the ones you’d see on TV.
“Eight months ago, I found the van back here, and it felt like fate, which sounds stupid, but I really believed this was the universe telling me to travel. I didn’t want to be like my parents, running away and never coming back, but forcing myself to stay here and refusing to see the world feels like a disservice to everything I wanted as a kid. ”
The van looks like it’s in good shape. I know nothing about cars, so that thought doesn’t hold much weight, but it looks freshly painted.
A simple light-blue coat covers the van.
I thought he would choose green. The side has lettering on it in the green color I’ve always associated with him. Oceania.
“What’s stopping you from leaving?” I regret the words immediately because the light in Oliver’s eyes dim.
Oliver lets out a deep breath. “Aside from money? Fear. Fear that after I leave everything is going to change. I’ve spent so long needing a routine to survive, but once I leave it’s will be gone and I’m never going to get it back.”
My hand squeezes his and I bring up my other arm opening myself up so he knows he can hug me. Oliver pulls me into his chest in a tight embrace. It still surprises me that my body doesn’t tense up when she touches me. He might be the only one that can ever hold me like this.
“I’ll leave someday. I have to leave and live out the dreams we made.” Oliver whispers more to himself than to me.
I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips. He still wants to fulfill our childhood dreams, and I love that about him.