Chapter 29 #2
“Well, they didn’t. I take care of us. The night they died, my mom asked me to watch him, and I snapped at her.
She got nasty with me, then hung up. I found out they left Noah with a neighbor and got trashed, then wrapped their car around a tree.
Police found all sorts of fun things in the car, but I’m just glad they didn’t hurt anyone else. ”
Sitting quietly in the cool breeze, I pull her closer to me. I can’t erase the pain she felt growing up and taking care of herself when she shouldn’t have had to, but I’ll be damned if she has to do it now—her or Noah.
“So, what happened?”
She offers me a sad smile. “I got Noah. He was only two, and I looked good on paper. I had a stable income and was almost through college. My grandmother, the one who took me to the hospital, was at the funeral and played the part of a grieving mother well, but afterward, she turned back into the monster I knew she was. She knew I’d been granted custody of Noah and tried to fight me for it.
It wasn’t to take care of him, no.” She scoffs.
“I knew she wanted the money he would have gotten from my parents. They had a small life insurance policy somehow, but as soon as it was over, I gave her what was left. I didn’t want anything from them. ”
“Is she still around?” I hate to ask, but I need to know.
“Yeah, she pops up every now and then like a cockroach. It’s never to see us, but there’s always some threat about taking Noah. She can never have him, though. I’d die before I let it happen.”
“I don’t understand how he got in trouble then? He’s a great kid, Cora.”
Smiling, she nods. “Yeah, he really is. Apparently one of the other kids at recess made fun of him. I guess the boy somehow heard or figured out that our parents are dead and was picking on Noah because I take care of him, not them.”
“Are you serious? What a little asshole.” It makes me want to go after a kid, and that’s wrong… I think.
“Yep,” she agrees, making a pop sound at the end. “But Noah and I have this rule. If you tell someone to stop bothering you, and they continue, and you’ve asked them twice, well then you’re free to defend yourself.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah. Apparently, the boy got a group of kids to call him ‘Dead Mama Noah,’ and he hit the kid pretty hard in the face. Supposedly, his nose might be broken, but really, I think it’s because the little asshole’s mom is in the PTA and the dad is a teacher in the district.”
“You’re shitting me?” Note to self: find out who his parents are.
“Nope. So now I’m off, and I don’t want to hire a sitter, so he’s coming with me to the library tomorrow, but I can’t have him in the shop.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?” She scowls at me.
“I said bullshit. The whole thing. Baby, I can’t undo what’s been done to you or Noah, but I promised I’d make things better for you, and I’m going to. Go grab what you need for you and Noah, then come on.”
“Atlas, I don’t know—”
“Nope. Trust me.”
Cora’s eyes stare at me for a minute or two, trying to gauge if I’m serious or not. I’m dead serious. I won’t leave without them. She must see it on my face because she finally agrees. “Okay.”
When she walks back into the house to grab some stuff, I send a text to the guys to let them know I’m bringing Cora and her brother with me.
He can hang out in the employee room we have in the back.
There’s a TV and stuff, so I know he’ll be fine.
The guys and I all learned how to fight and channel our anger, and even though Noah isn’t an angry kid, I know this will be good for him. We’re good for him.
The entire drive back to the shop is quiet.
I demanded they ride with me, and I promised I’d bring them back.
Cora’s the epitome of a light soul. She’s been touched by darkness, and instead of letting it pull her down, she chose a different path.
She’s so kind and good to everyone she meets that you would never know what she’s gone through.
It makes me feel like I’m not worthy of her. Looking at her sitting in the passenger seat, I know I’m not, but I’ll be damned if I give her up. She’s meant to be mine. I feel it in my soul.
After having the crap kicked out of me in foster homes, I fed into the anger. My body is marred with miscellaneous scars and marks from the years of abuse I suffered at the hands of people who were supposed to take care of me. Burns, scars, cuts—you name it, I’m probably wearing it.
Cora carries scars as well, but now I realize most of hers are on the inside.
Pulling outside the shop, I make a plan to get Noah settled and fed.
I brought in dinner for Cora as promised, and I also brought extras in case the guys wanted to eat.
Grabbing the bag Cora packed for Noah, I twine our fingers together.
Noah walks by her side, silent with a small scowl on his face.
“Well, look who it is!” Kash booms from the front desk. “Finally, something nice to look at while I work. I’m digging the sexy librarian look, Cora,” he jokes, earning a smile from her.
I glare at him as he shrugs his shoulders. I’ll kill you. I mouth the words over Cora’s head. I don’t want to say it out loud, given what she’s already going through. “Guys, this is Noah, Cora’s younger brother. Noah, these are the guys.” I do a quick introduction before herding them into the back.
Noah doesn’t say anything, he just waves.
“You can get him set up back there. The remote should be on one of the tables.”
“Alright, let’s go, punk.” Cora jerks her head in Noah’s direction. “Back here, and don’t touch a thing.”
Nodding, he quietly follows her back to the hallway, looking at everything as he goes.
As soon as she’s out of earshot, I glare at Kash again. “Seriously, I’ll kill you. Don’t talk about my girl like that.”
“Your girl?” He smirks. “‘Bout time. We all had a bet on when it was finally going to happen. Pay up, bitches!” he tells Rhett and Seth.
“Seriously? You guys bet on us?” I don’t know if I should be offended or annoyed.
“Yep. The buy-in was a hundred bucks, and they both figured you’d waste time until at least after Halloween. That’s next week, baby, so I’m ahead of the curve. I always knew you were impatient.” He laughs, taking the money from Rhett and Seth.
“You son of—” My reply is cut off when the door opens, and a man steps in holding a vase of roses. And they’re not just any roses; they’re black.
“Hey, guys. I have a delivery for a…” He looks at the card. “Cora.”
The guys all look at me, but I shake my head. I didn’t send them. Why would I? I’d just bring them to her.
“No one here by that name,” I lie.
“What are you talking about?” Rhett asks. “Cora works here, dummy.” He looks at me and then tells the delivery guy he’ll sign for them. Dreading her reaction, I make a quick plan to get rid of them as soon as the guy leaves.
“Oh, I forgot. Mila gave me muffins for you guys. There are cranberry ones and chocolate chip ones too. Oh, what’s that?” Cora asks, causing all of us to turn around. They don’t know about the note and other flowers yet.
While her gaze is focused on the guys, I quickly grab the white card off the top of the bouquet and shove it in my pocket. The black roses are sitting in a clear vase with a deep red bow tied around it. It gives me the fucking creeps.
“Oh, Kash got some black flowers for the shop. Decorations for Halloween,” I blurt out. It’s a lie, and it kills me to lie to her, but it’s better if she doesn’t know.
Kash looks from me to Cora and must see my pleading expression, so he goes along with it. Nodding in agreement, he adds, “Yeah. I figured, why not? Black roses are kind of Halloween sexy.”
Laughing, Cora pats his shoulder as she walks to the desk. “I don’t know what you learned about black roses, Kash, but they’re definitely not sexy. They’re a symbol of death and grief. You may want to check your sources, buddy.”
“Here, I’ll move them.” I grab the flowers, and she gives me a grateful smile. “We’ll put them by Kash’s station since he thinks they’re so sexy.”
Cora starts to say something but pauses when the phone rings. “Muffins.” She points at us. “I’ll tell Mila if you don’t eat them.”
Walking away with the flowers, the guys follow me to Kash’s station.
“I’ll eat Mila’s muffin if she wants.” Kash grins.
Fighting the urge to smack him, I settle for a scowl instead.
“Get rid of these fucking things as soon as you can,” I growl in a low voice.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
Rhett and Seth are looking at me like I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have. Opening the card, my blood freezes when I see the message.
Time’s Up.
“Dude, what the fuck is this?” Seth grabs the card from my shaking hands. I’m pissed. Someone is going to pay for this.
After he reads it, he glances in Cora’s direction. Fortunately, she’s still on the phone. My body trembles with rage, and I know someone will feel my wrath. I won’t rest until this gets figured out. Maybe I should move in with her for a bit.
“I don’t know. There were roses at her house last night with a weird message, and now this. I’m going to fucking kill whoever it is. She doesn’t know the other ones had a card either.”
Tuning the guys out, I notice it’s past seven. Cora still hasn’t eaten. Leaving them at Kash’s station, I turn back toward the reception area. Good, she’s not on the phone anymore.
“You hungry yet?” I ask her.
“Starving. It slipped my mind with everything going on today. You want me to order something?”
“Nope. Come on, baby, I made you dinner in the back. There’s plenty for Noah,” I explain, grabbing her hand.
The guys don’t say anything as we walk past to the employee room. Noah’s sitting on a couch at the side, reading a small book, and looks up when we enter.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Nothing. Just going to heat you guys up some food.” Pulling the containers out of the fridge, I pop one into the microwave. Noah looks from me to Cora, as if seeking permission. “Grab a drink if you want and have a seat. It’ll be ready in a few.”
When the first container is done, I set it aside to cool and then pop the other one in.
The entire time, I will my hands to stop shaking.
I’m so fucking mad. Cora called off to take care of Noah because he got in trouble for fighting some shithead kid who made fun of him for having dead parents.
Now she’s here, getting threats and flowers?
It makes no sense. How could someone hate a person so fucking perfect?
Pulling the second container out, I set them both on the table for her and Noah. I feel a surge of pride when her eyes flash in appreciation. “I told you I could cook, Firefly.”
“Are you going to eat too?” she asks, pointing to the other containers.
“Nope. I had some earlier. I’ll be out working. You eat and take your time.” Standing from the table, Cora walks over to me and wraps her arms around my torso. It calms the angry ache in my chest, but barely. Eying Noah over her head, I see him tucked into his food, lost in his own world.
“Thank you, Atlas,” she whispers. “For everything. Not just dinner.”
“You’re welcome, Firefly.” I kiss the top of her head, then lowering my lips to her ear, I whisper, “Dinner didn’t taste as good as you did, but I’ll live. Enjoy, pretty girl.”
Walking out of the breakroom, I steal a glance at her flushed face. Smiling at her, I head back out to the lobby and try to figure out how badly I’m going to have to beat Matt’s face in. There’s no one else who could be sending her flowers, right?