Chapter 20 Remington
Remington
As I was pulling my T-shirt over my head, I heard a voice I never wanted to hear again.
It was shrill, rude, and being directed at the one person I never wanted it to touch.
I stomp down the hallway, reaching Lainey as quickly as I can, needing to have her in my touch to ground me in this moment.
I wrap my arm around her stomach and pull her little body close to me.
She lets out a sigh of relief and grips my forearm.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Cora,” I say in a very unwelcoming tone of voice.
Cora’s whole demeanor instantly shifts once she has my attention. I see her stand a little taller and stick out her chest a little more, as if it’s going to help her case. “I was telling your maid here that you were expecting me and . . .”
The fuck? I cut her off immediately. “No, absolutely not. First of all, this is my girlfriend, not my maid, don’t act so ignorant. Second, I was not expecting you, nor are you welcome here.”
Cora steps back with a gasp, as if I smacked her with my words. “Rem,” Cora says with a fake quiver to her lip, “what about the deal we made?”
Lainey looks up at me with questions written all over her face, ones I have no answers to. I give her a squeeze, trying to reassure her without any of my words.
“I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. We have no deals. I haven’t talked to you or seen you since the day we graduated.
” There is something off about Cora, and it’s making me uneasy.
I want her gone. I want her far away from me and more importantly, Lainey.
“How did you even know where I lived?” This question slams into my mind and makes that uneasy feeling double down.
As a public servant I keep myself unlisted and as private as possible.
I don’t take women or dates to my house and have been careful.
The only people that know where I live are the ones I choose to let know about it.
Cora rolls her eyes at me and says, “I knew you bought this place years ago, Rem. I did your realtor’s little sister’s wedding up on Casterview Lake.
Chitchatting is currency in my business.
I pick up all kinds of interesting information that people don’t even realize they’re giving away.
” She smiles at me in a sickeningly familiar way.
“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re unwelcome and need to leave.” I turn and guide Lainey back inside, then feel the claws of the past grip my shoulder. I hiss and spin back to Cora, batting her hand away. Pointing at her I say, “Do not touch me, Cora.”
“Mmm, I missed the way you say my name when you get all riled up, Remmy.” Lainey sucks in a breath behind me. This needs to end. Now.
“You know I hate when you call me that. Get off my property, and don’t come back.”
“What about our deal,” Cora whimpers at me pathetically.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say, getting more annoyed by the second.
“We. Made. A. Deal. We said that if we were not married by the time we were both thirty, we would marry each other. We swore it to each other.” Cora is looking at me like we sealed this promise in blood. In reality, we were children saying childish things.
“Cora, you cannot be serious. That is some bullshit, stupid kid thing we said when we were in middle school. That was not real.” I step back inside and take Lainey’s hand in mine.
Cora looks at our hands, and steam is practically coming from her ears. “We are almost thirty. A deal is a deal, Rem!” she shouts at me.
“I’d never make a deal with the devil, Cora.” I shut the door in her face and throw the deadbolt in place. Looking out the front window I see Cora stomp away, get into an old white BMW and zoom off at a speed way too fast for a family neighborhood.
Turning to face Lainey and my own shame, I see nothing but compassion on her pretty face. “Are you okay?” she asks quietly.
“Not really. I had no idea why she was in town, hoped she would just leave and I wouldn’t have to deal with her.
But that was beyond anything I would have ever guessed.
Cora was always a bit ridiculous and had wild plans, mostly they were silly and harmless.
That version of Cora you just saw, that was someone different.
She was unhealthy, unstable.” I rub my hand along Lainey’s jawline in a way that has become a habitual comfort to both of us.
“Yeah, that went from zero to unhinged pretty fast,” she agrees. “I think you should call Sutton and warn her. What if Cora shows up to Brooks and Books and bothers her?” Lainey worries, her hand finding the hem of my T-shirt, fidgeting with the fabric.
“We are definitely going to tell her what happened. I will call her right away. I don’t want Cora anywhere near you again or Sutton.” I am mortified that my past literally showed up on my doorstep for Lainey to have to deal with.
“I wonder what my eighth-grade marriage pact buddy is up to . . .” Lainey teases me.
“What! Who was he?” I playfully growl and spin her in a circle.
Lainey cracks up and says, “She was Abbie West, and we made a pact to marry each other because boys were the worst.”
“Oh, really? And what do you think of boys now?” I ask sliding my hand along the back pocket of her jeans and slipping my hand inside.
Grinning, Lainey says, “I still am not a big fan of boys and all the stupid games they play.” She takes her hand and runs it through my short hair. “But I am pretty crazy about one man in particular.”
“Is that right?” I smirk at her.
“Mmhmm.” Lainey kisses me and makes the warmth and sunshine that Cora dimmed with her sudden appearance shine brightly again.