Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Pen was thankful Willa had the day off and they were getting together early. She hoped Willa didn’t mind spending so much time with her.
After seeing the psychologist two days in the row, Pen was feeling particularity raw. She needed something to distract her from the demons popping up inside.
Willa wanted to take her to one of her favorite coffee shops close to the beach. Having so much freedom was a little odd for Pen. She liked it, but she was having trouble filling her days. She could only think about her situation so much before it drove her to anger and hopelessness.
There was a knock at her door, and for a moment she panicked and searched for a hiding place. But she was in California and no one knew where she was. She was safe.
She checked out the peephole, seeing it was Willa. Before opening the door, she turned off the alarm.
“Hey, are you ready?” Willa asked.
“I think so. I have sunscreen that I found in the bathroom. I don’t have any flip-flops. I was supposed to go shopping with Remi, but she got a cold.”
“How about we stop by a place that isn’t expensive and get you some sandals for the beach. You need to go down and get your feet in the water to celebrate your freedom.”
“Sounds great.” Pen glanced around, seeing that no one was watching them before stepping out. They were at the coffee shop in less than fifteen minutes, and it was as beautiful as Willa had said.
“The shop is around the corner. We can go after we have some coffee and food.”
“Sure, that sounds great.”
They placed their orders and took a seat outside under an umbrella. The area was nice, the outside seating comfortable. Because she’d lost so much weight, some chairs were hard on her bones.
“What is one thing you really want to do?”
Pen sat back, staring at the palm trees blowing in the wind. The blue in the sky was such a beautiful shade. But that wasn’t what Willa had asked about.
“I want to figure out what I want to do with my life. I know that sounds weird, but I need to keep my mind busy. I can’t sit around all day doing nothing. I know I need time to heal, but I need something to do.”
“What kind of jobs did you work before?”
Their coffee and treats came. She’d ordered a bagel. Of course it was huge, and she knew she would be eating on it all day.
“Um, well, that’s the thing. My father was freaking wealthy and wouldn’t let me work. Then I went off to college, and that’s when I was taken. Honestly, I don’t think I could do something customer facing. I like books. I don’t know if there are any book related jobs I could do.”
“What about librarian?”
“Don’t you have to go to college for that?”
“You do. There’s a college not too far from here that offers courses in library science. You could take a few courses and see if you like it.”
She nodded slowly, thinking about going back to school. Talking about it now wasn’t as scary as it had been a week ago. Of course, everything a week ago had been scary.
A man moved close to their table, swinging a chair around to sit at their table. His knees bumped into Pen’s, and she pulled her legs away from him. “Excuse me, young ladies.”
Annoyance flashed through her, so she moved her chair away from him. His lips tipped down into a frown as his eyebrows pinched together. In seconds the smile was back on his face. She didn’t trust the guy, and she hoped Willa wasn’t friends with him.
“I was wondering if you two could solve a question for me and my friend.”
Pen wasn’t in the mood to entertain some pompous jerk who interrupted them in the middle of their conversation.
“No.” Her voice wasn’t too loud when she spoke but just saying that word gave her confidence.
The guy jerked back his head like she’d slapped him. “Excuse me?”
That gave her even more confidence. “I said no. We are in the middle of an important conversation, and you just butted in like you have no manners. Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to butt into the middle of conversations?”
The guy opened his mouth then shut it a few times. Willa raised her eyes and made a motion with her hands.
“Go on, now. You should leave us alone so we can talk.” Willa looked unmovable as she stared at the man.
“Well fuck you, too. Damn bitches. You’re fucking ugly, anyway.”
The man stood up so fast and hard the chair he was in fell over. People were staring, and Pen wanted to hide. She’d been brave for a quick moment, but his angry reaction reminded her of how she’d been treated and she cowered.
“Your parents should have taught you manners,” Willa called after him. “You interrupted our conversation and sat at our table without asking if you could. Stop being rude to people.”
Willa had said the words she wanted to say but couldn’t find her voice. She feared the other customers would be angry that they’d interrupted their peace, but the other people at the outside tables told the men to stop bugging women.
Pen reached out and grabbed onto Willa’s arm. “I can’t believe I told him no. I mean, before being taken, I certainly would have told him to stop being a jerk.”
“You were brilliant.”
“So were you. Telling him to leave was wonderful. Thank you. For a few seconds I felt like my old self. But then fear took over.”
Willa squeezed her hand. “You’ll get there. I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself.”
“Thank you. I feel better.”
Willa finished her sandwich, and Pen wrapped up the rest of her bagel, knowing there was no way she could eat more.
They walked down the street to the shop Pen had mentioned and she bought a pair of flip-flops. Being out on the sand felt glorious.
Warmth spread through her and she raised her hands, drinking in the goodness. They both laughed as they ran out to the water. After moving toward the waves, then scurrying back a few times she was exhausted.
“Sorry, I can’t keep up.”
Willa locked arms with her and they laughed as they headed back up the beach to sit on a bench. She sighed as she sat, moving to get a little more comfortable.
“I missed stuff like this. Just hanging out, having a good time with friends.”
Willa nodded. “When I left my ex. I didn’t have much money. I lost all of my friends, and I had nothing. This place healed me. Maybe it was just the people, but we have a really good group of people who will feed your soul.”
“I know being friends with you has helped.”
“I’m glad we’re friends. I hope you stick around because this is nice.”
“It is.”
“You look great. Can I take your picture so in a year you can look back and see how far you have come?”
“Sure.”
Willa took a few shots and then sat back beside her. Pen stared out at the waves rolling in. It was very nice. Thoughts of Foster seeped in. She wanted him home but knew whatever he was doing was important.
His work had saved her. Before, when she was locked up, she had been preparing for death.
She’d craved it, but now, she was happy to have life again.
It wasn’t perfect, and she still had so many decisions to make and so much crap to work through, but because of Foster and his friends, she had the opportunity to work through her mess and heal.