31. Chapter Thirty-One - Joyful Reprieve #2
Her tone softened then, curiosity replacing the humor. “Something bothering you?”
I hesitated. My body still hummed with adrenaline, skin flushed hot, defenses worn thin from the release of it all.
“Wiggle’s been getting a little stressful,” I admitted, dropping into a chair. “But it’s also… I’m still trynna settle down. Culv’s great, but it feels like things aren’t set in stone yet.”
Her brows lifted, familiar maternal knowing settling across her face.
“What exactly is going on with you two?”
“It’s complicated,” I huffed, dragging my fingers through my damp hair. “I guess we’re dating. Or trying to.”
She watched me quietly, the silence inviting more, but instead of responding right away, she turned and resumed beating the hell out of an old radio.
“Good workout?” she asked after a moment, giving me room to breathe.
“Very,” I groaned dramatically, leaning back in the chair. “But fun, surprisingly.”
“I told you it wouldn’t kill you,” she teased as she moved to open the door.
I scoffed. “Is this really what a mother-daughter bonding sesh should look like?”
She shrugged without missing a beat. “Probably. Who decides that anyway?”
As we stepped into the hallway, the overhead lights catching in her eyes, it reminded me that this was her way of reaching out.
Not through long emotional talks or heavy questions that made everything feel too exposed, but by letting us smash things apart and exist together in the wreckage without having to explain a damn thing.
“I mean, true,” I giggled as I peeled off the rest of the protective gear and tossed it into the bin, my muscles throbbing with the good kind of ache. “By the way, Anna wants to go shopping with Eunice and me. Would you wanna come along?”
“That sounds like a wonderful day out,” she mused, her voice slipping into a thoughtful cadence she always used when mentally sorting through schedules and responsibilities.
“I’d have to check if it aligns with my calendar.
” She paused mid-thought, catching herself before laughing softly.
“Well, that’s what the old me would say.
But if it involves the Scarbroughs, Julius wouldn’t mind one bit. ”
I grinned and nudged her shoulder as we stepped outside, sunlight spilling across my face and making me squint. “Your new boss sounds super lax.”
“He’s a good man,” she said simply, though there was something almost fond in her tone. “And Eunice is a sweetheart. I end up dealing with Liam and Anna quite a bit too. Their family’s… complicated, but they’ve been kind to me.”
Complicated didn’t even begin to cover it. The word felt like a polite little bow tied around something else entirely.
Still, I didn’t say that.
I just nodded, letting the warmth of the sun settle into my skin as we crossed the parking lot.
My body felt looser than it had in days, the tension worked out through broken glass, bruised muscles, and the violent satisfaction of smashing things apart.
There was relief in that. Room to breathe again.
I was just about to make some sarcastic comment, probably something about complicated families becoming my new favorite genre, when a voice cut through the air to my right.
“Ira.”
I turned toward the voice.
Standing there with a half-smirk curling at his mouth and the permanently disheveled aura hanging off him like a wrinkled hoodie he refused to wash was Carter.
A strange tightness twisted low in my gut that wasn’t quite nerves so much as a sharp blend of annoyance and surprise, locking my shoulders up.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked, my gaze flicking past him toward the building we’d just stepped out of like I might’ve somehow hallucinated him into existence.
“That’s where I work on the side,” he said, jerking his chin toward the rage room facility like he’d just revealed some huge secret. The corners of his mouth lifted with smug satisfaction.
“Seriously?” I blinked once, then again. “That’s pretty cool, I guess.”
“Innit?” He grinned, but it didn’t fully settle on his face. His attention drifted past me instead, eyes raking downward before slowly climbing back up again with a flash of recognition that made something sour twist in my chest.
Because his gaze didn’t land on me.
It landed squarely on my mother.
For half a second, my brain stalled trying to process the sight of Carter very obviously checking out my ma like she was some woman his age and not the person who’d literally raised me. Heat rushed into my face, disbelief snapping behind my eyes.
Was he serious right now?
“Uh… this is my ma,” I cut in quickly, tucking my hair behind my ear with an awkward twitch like maybe I could physically reset the moment.
“Oh—um—nice ta meetcha!” he blurted, lifting one hand in a stiff, uncertain wave that looked nothing like his usual cocky ease.
My ma gave him a polite, clipped nod, her expression calm and unreadable.
“Nice to meet you as well.” Then her gaze shifted toward me, something unspoken flickering there. “Ira, I’ll leave you to finish this discussion.”
And just like that, she turned and headed toward the car, her stride composed and unhurried, not even glancing back as she opened the door.
I stood there a moment longer, my pulse beating harder than it should’ve for reasons I couldn’t fully untangle. Then I stepped closer to Carter, keeping my posture casual even while I stayed guarded underneath. I took a hit of my vape, washing away the uncertainty.
“Anyway, what’s up?” I asked, watching him shift his weight like he suddenly didn’t know where to put himself.
He avoided my eyes completely. His gaze dropped to the pavement before flicking toward the edge of the building, like looking directly at me had somehow become harder than he expected.
“Ya never messaged,” he mumbled. “I was expectin’ you.”
My head tilted slightly, confusion knitting my brows together.
“I’ve been busy,” I answered honestly, folding my arms loosely as I studied him.
Carter genuinely didn’t understand the rhythm of girls at all. Everything about him felt reactive, clumsy, and slightly off-beat. He didn’t lead well and didn’t follow through smoothly either.
And yet, there was still effort there. Awkward, imperfect effort.
“Fancy hangin’ out sometime?” he asked, uncertainty threading through his voice beneath the hope, like he was already bracing himself for rejection before I even answered.
I resisted the urge to sigh.
“Like when?” I asked instead, pushing for something concrete.
Carter scratched at the back of his head, relief visibly loosening his posture when I didn’t immediately shut him down.
“I’ll keep ya posted,” he said vaguely. “Thinkin’ ’bout a do.”
“Hmm. Maybe,” I replied, letting the uncertainty linger between us like perfume.
I was giving Carter a taste of his own medicine.
It wasn’t like I wanted anything to do with him.
Honestly, I was more than content with Culver, especially with all the sexually charged tension constantly simmering between us.
Carter was boring, and I probably should’ve realized that before I slept with him.
Carter lit up like I’d just handed him a prize.
“Just shoot me a message,” I said lightly, my lips curling into a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “I might be available. Who knows.”
“Brilliant,” he replied, backing away slowly now that he’d clearly taken the hint. “Anywho… later, Ira.”
“Bye-bye,” I answered, lifting my fingers in a lazy wave.
I didn’t move until the door clicked shut behind him and he disappeared into the building, already slipping into the category of things I didn’t plan on remembering.
I sighed as the car door shut behind me, the sound sealing the conversation with Carter inside the vehicle along with us.
“He’s that boy,” my ma murmured, reaching for her seatbelt.
I turned toward her slowly, eyes widening when I realized she’d already put it together.
“You caught that?”
She shrugged, one hand resting loosely against the steering wheel like it was just another small observation. “Is he important?”
“No,” I answered too quickly. “I wouldn’t even call him a friend.”
The silence that followed wasn’t heavy, but it wasn’t empty either. She tilted her head slightly, a familiar perceptive look sharpening her expression enough to cut straight through any excuse I could’ve built.
“Are you playing with Culver’s feelings?”
God. Of course she went straight there.
I groaned and sank back against the seat in mild defeat.
“Of course not. I’m not playing with anyone.” Even while saying it, I could hear how flimsy it sounded. Not because it wasn’t true, but because she’d already started forming her own conclusions.
“Do you want Culver?” she asked, like I hadn’t spoken at all.
Tension flared beneath my skin.
“Do you even—” I cut myself off, my voice pitching higher than I wanted before I forced it back down. “I did say we were dating, so of course… I want him.”
“I just think you two look well together,” she replied casually. “I don’t want you ruining things before they’ve even had a chance to blossom, ladybug.”
“I’m not ruining things, Ma,” I muttered, clearing my throat as I turned my gaze toward the window instead.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at her directly, not with all that longing and doubt twisting around inside me, the way Culver’s intensity pulled me closer while still making some stubborn survival instinct want to run in the opposite direction.
Her expression softened, the edge melting into something unmistakably maternal.
“Whatever you decide, Ira,” she said quietly, reaching over to brush a strand of hair off my shoulder, “I’ll stick by your side. Just remember to be safe.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I muttered, a grin tugging at my mouth as I shook my head at her usual reminder.