never has been.
Rich turns to open the door when it opens for him, and I watch as Cara walks through. She’s looking down at her phone but must sense the body in front of her because she pauses, nearly jumping out of her skin when she sees Rich standing in front of her.
“M-Mr. Malone? What’re you doing here?” She looks terrified.
He smiles. “Just came to pay Jackson a visit, but I better get going. We’ll talk soon, Jackson.” He gives a small wave and heads off, leaving Cara standing there looking shocked.
“What was that?” She whisper shouts as she shuts the door.
“Sit down. We have to talk.” She pauses her way to the kitchen, dropping the bag on the floor and turning towards me.
“Well, that doesn’t sound good at all.” She mumbles.
I shake my head. “Put the damn milk away and get over here, will you?”
She gives me a snarky look, but does as I say, putting the groceries away silently and then coming to sit on the couch where Rich sat.
“So? Tell me why Richard Malone was in my house.” Her eyes are wide, like she still can’t believe it.
“I called him over here.”
“Why the fuck would you do that?”
“I wanted his opinion on something. And I know I should have discussed it with you first, but I needed to get his insight on it before I said anything.”
“Well fucking tell me what it is!”
“I think we need to move. We need to get out of here.”
Her jaw drops and she stares at me blankly.
“Cara?”
“What?” She murmurs.
“Why are you looking like that?”
“We’re moving? Where are we going?”
“You know that land on the south side of town?”
“Yes?” Her voice gets a little shrieky.
“I’m going to buy it. We’ll get something like this, nothing big. This is our lifestyle, and that’s not going to change. But we need something better, safer for Wesley.”
She leans forward, pressing her face into her knees as she lets out a sob.
“Why are you crying?” I grab her chin and tilt her face up.
“I’ve… I’ve just been wanting to get out of here for so long, and it’s finally happening.”
“So, you’re not mad?”
She looks up at me, tears in her eyes and pure joy on her face. She stands up and settles into my lap, wrapping her arms around me and giving me… a hug?
A fucking hug. I don’t even remember the last time someone gave me a hug.
“Thank you.”
I lightly wrap my arm around her back, settling my palm between her shoulder blades. I can feel her body trembling and I want to punch myself for not thinking of this sooner. She’s obviously been unhappy here for a long time.
“Thank you for taking me in when you didn’t need to.” I mumble, burrowing my face into her neck.
She shakes her head. “It’s not taking you in. I wanted to be with you. I still do. I’m glad we got through it. I feel like we’re better… stronger.”
I nod into her neck.
“You feel it too?” She asks.
I push her back, looking her in the eyes and saying. “I was hesitant at first because I didn’t want to be a burden, but I think the real reason I didn’t want to come was because I was afraid things would be different. You wouldn’t want to be with me anymore, and I’d just bring you down—”
“I never—”
I cut her off. “It doesn’t matter what I thought, because it’s so much better than that. Whether or not you would have brought me in, or we would have got back together. Because we’re meant to be, and we always were. You’re mine, and I think you always have been. It just took me a while to realize that.”
Her eyes flood with tears again, and I pull her to me, kissing her. Promising her with my lips and my hands and my fucking soul.
You’re mine.
Wesley is mine.
We’ll get out of here, be a family.
We’re meant to be.
We were always meant to be.
16
Cara
Age sixteen
I pack up my shit, throwing the little amount of clothes I have in my backpack. I don’t even bother to fold anything, just stuffing it in with every ounce of anger I have in me.
I’m done.
Completely and utterly done.
Jed is a piece of shit. So is my mom, but Jed is something from another planet. I’m tired of his leery gaze and his unnecessary anger. His own shitty life has to get taken out on me, and I’m done with it.
My mom was working this evening at the