65. Teenage Thoughts
Teenage Thoughts
Sheridan
Istop counting at ten thousand dollars. Who has ten thousand dollars just lying around their house to give to a friend? It’s not like she had time to drop by a bank.
Is she just that rich? Her husband does have a private jet.
So yeah, possibly, but they don’t live in a castle in the woods or like a mansion mansion.
This money…it’s too much. Way too much. I shouldn’t take it. But it would give me enough space to pay for the difference in Grammie’s medical care and find a place to live until I make enough to cover both.
My royalties are getting pretty close. I could pay her back. Would she take it?
Will she take it back now?
Probably not.
This is enough to give me a hand up. I shove the money back in the envelope and under the seat of my car and shove my partially used toilet paper roll in front of it. No one will look there.
Right now, I need to grab some food to survive on. Tonight is going to be spent in my car either way. There’s no way I could find a place on no notice.
I pull into a parking spot a bit away from the market and stop. There’s no point in bringing my purse in…I don’t need to be checked for shoplifting one more time. Just my wallet will do.
Rhys’ tattoo shop is hard to miss. I love the graffiti-painted walls and the logo on the door. Everything about her place screams seen.
An intrusive teenage thought pops into my head.
Fly might not have loved me…but I love him and I always will. If I can’t be with him forever, I can keep a tiny piece of what we had alive on me.
It’s such a beautiful way to make it through the pain.
A small tattoo wouldn’t cost much. I can live on cold ramen and granola bars for a month.
Worth it.
Teenage intrusive thoughts shouldn’t win, but I find myself wandering towards the shop.
She’s probably busy.
There’s no way I’ll just walk in and she’ll be able to take me.
Rhys has clients who come from around the world to have her tattoo them. I’ll just walk in, and when she says no, the intrusive thoughts will go away.
Little bells chime on the door as I step inside.
Rhys steps out into the main room. “Sheridan. It’s so nice to see you.”
I doubt that. Though it is possible. She didn’t grow up here. “Hey, I was wondering if you had time to do a small tattoo?”
“How small?”
“I’d like to add a crown to my butterfly.”
“A crown to your butterfly?”
“Yes.”
“Something tells me there’s a story there.”
“Don’t all tattoos have one?”
“Yours are always worth the time. I got a copy of your latest series. Will you take a trade? A tattoo for an autograph on my copies? What do you say?”
“Sure, but I can pay.”
“You are. Those books aren’t just my favorites. My husband has been talking about the series for months and months. Trust me, I’m getting the better deal.”
Wow. Cool. “Thanks.”
“Now tell me a bit about this tattoo.”
“It needs to be simple, elegant. Have a hard edge, but there needs to be a beauty to it. Oh, and it needs to be a guy’s crown. One that princes wear.”
“A prince, you say? What is his name?”
“Fly.”
“No!”
“Yes.”
“No way. I know a guy named Fly. He’s a biker.”
Does everyone know Fly? “In Children of Chaos.”
“You and Fly? Consider me mind-blown. That guy never gives any woman a serious look, let alone a reason to get a tattoo. Tell me everything.”
I sink down into a chair next to her drafting table. “There’s nothing really to tell. It was a vacation romance.”
“You don’t get tattoos for vacation romances. I mean, some people do, but not you.”
Fine, that’s probably true. “He was more than that. He was everything. You’ve met him. You can understand what I mean.”
“I can. I felt the same way when I realized I loved my husband. You’ve only been gone for a short while. This must have been a whirlwind love affair.”
Wait. What? “How do you know how long I’ve been gone?”
“You know how this town is. They’ve been talking since Jimbo kicked you out. He’s been chewed out by half the ladies in this town. There has been a group looking for your car to see if you were there, but even that, no one was able to find. They’ll be shocked to find out you were in Silent Valley.”
“I’d prefer no one know about that.”
“They won’t hear it from me. I so get not liking to be the topic of conversation around here. If you’re looking for a place to stay until you find a new place, we have a spare room. It’s yours as long as you need it.”
What? “Um, thanks. I’m good.”
“They said that you’d say that. But I still thought I’d offer. Sometimes a safe space to land is more important than our pride. That was a hard lesson for me.”
“Who said that?”
“The Ladies’ League. Gertie said she’s never met a stubborner woman than you. And that one day you would find a man who wouldn’t let you get away with hiding from him. She’s right…no one hides anything from Fly.”
I did. I hid the truth about who I am. “Why does she think I’m stubborn?”
“Because you are. You’re going to sleep in your car rather than accept help from anyone. Don’t tell me you weren’t planning on it. I’ve been there, done that. Only on a shorter scale.”
“Accept help? People hate me. They stare at me and point at the poor thief.”
“What? Is that really what you think the town thinks?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Not at all.” She lifts a paper off her table. “What do you think?”
The crown is hard but soft, and it works perfectly with the butterfly. “I love it.”
“Well then, let’s get you prepped and ready, and I’ll tell you all about what the town thinks about you.”
***
“Thank you so much for the tattoo and for the talk.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll bring the books by the shop tomorrow for you to sign them.”
“Thanks.”
“And the room is there if you change your mind.”
“I probably won’t, but thank you.” Warm air greets me as I step outside into the afternoon sun. It’s odd being down here.
You’ll get used to it.
Just like you’ll get used to the fact that Fly never called. Though he could have called while I was in the shop. I forgot my phone in the car.
He might have just slept in…
“Excuse me, are you Sheridan Wholes?”
I turn and find a beast of a man standing right next to me.
He’s not a resident of Beach Haven, and dressed in that suit, he definitely isn’t a tourist. Alarm bells go off in my brain.
Lie.
Except he knew my name. “Yes, can I help you?”
“You’ll be coming with me.” He opens the door next to him and shoves me in before I can take a breath to scream.