Chapter 36
THIRTY-SIX
CORRINE
It would have been so easy for me to haul off and smack Mina Sobel in the face. Claw her skin off. How dare she come here? How dare she accuse me of trying to ruin her life? Didn’t she know? She had a life that could never be ruined.
Her life. She had no idea what I’d been through.
She’d probably been handed everything she wanted since she was a baby.
Probably a straight-A student. Teacher’s pet.
U of M Law School. A job for the county government where she never had to worry about health insurance, even without Lock’s money.
She probably took it all for granted. She was the girl whose parents told her how special she was.
And they should. That’s what parents are supposed to do.
The problem was, I think she believed it.
I didn’t want to hate her. I didn’t want to be that girl.
But I’d been given nothing. Everything I had, I had to fight or beg for. And every time I had something, someone took it away.
Not this time. I could not let that happen. I wouldn’t survive it another time. Just the thought of hitting bottom again threatened to tear me apart. How many times could one person get back up? How much was I expected to endure and not break?
Mina would be just fine. She would hurt. She would be sad. She would feel rejected. But you can’t lose something that was never yours in the first place. It would take time, but eventually, she’d see that.
I went to the top of the stairwell and peered out the window. I felt myself start to sweat. She had just gotten in her car. She smacked her hand against the steering wheel. Though I couldn’t hear her, she was yelling. Screaming, maybe.
Then she cried. A couple walked around her car to get to the sidewalk.
They were arm in arm. Laughing. The woman saw Mina.
Her face fell. I saw her mouth something to her companion.
They seemed uncomfortable. Should they stop and see if Mina needed help?
I didn’t think Mina knew they were staring at her.
She smacked her steering wheel again. Her hair flew around her face as she yelled at no one.
She looked insane. Unhinged. For a moment, I was scared. Had she come close to actually hurting me? What if she’d had a knife or something? Maybe I never should have opened the door. I thought I was clever. Instead, maybe I was just lucky.
Mina’s face was beet red. In another moment, it looked like she’d actually start foaming at the mouth. The couple must have thought the same thing. The man tightened his grip around the woman’s waist and hurried her along away from Mina’s car.
I bolted the door and put my back against it. She knew where I lived. I suppose that wouldn’t have been that hard for her to find out. Had I misjudged her completely? Could she be dangerous? I knew I couldn’t take the chance. I was done being anyone’s victim.
Lock called to me from the bedroom. “Mina? Is that Mina?”
I pushed myself off the door and walked toward him. “Don’t worry, my love. I got rid of her. She won’t be coming back. I’ll make sure.”