remind me why I have to keep my guard up.
Who said ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’? Yeah, right. They’re either an idiot or a liar.
Like bullets, words have the ability to penetrate your skin. They dig deep and imbed themselves into your flesh, leaving scarred remains to serve as eternal reminders of their presence. They play on repeat inside my head, warnings, threats, and taunts I carry with me like a weight upon my shoulders.
“Oh.” I shift, suddenly uncomfortable. “So did you…” Shit, I can’t even bring myself to say it. To acknowledge the public humiliation the asshole bestowed on me.
Shelly’s eyes are regretful. “Yeah, I heard what he said.”
My cheeks burn bright knowing this sweet woman witnessed me at such a low point.
“Listen, I know there’s nothing I can say to change what he said and I won’t even attempt to apologize for him because well—he doesn’t deserve it. Malcolm is a vile snake of a man and everything that comes out of his mouth is pure poison.”
I snort. Yeah, you can say that again.
“But don’t let it infect you. Don’t let that blackness seep in and let him win.”
She reaches over and I jolt in surprise when she grabs my scarred hand, wrapping it tightly in hers.
We fall into yet another comfortable silence and not once does her grip falter. Every now and then her thumb brushes over the back of my hand. That simple gesture lights a tiny spark inside me, a glimmer of hope that maybe I’m not completely broken. My mind spins as I wonder what’s happening here. I’m pretty sure I just made friends with a complete stranger, and now we’re holding hands. Weird? Hell yes.
Do I let go? No.
Instead, I take the comfort that she’s offering me and use it as a balm to my bruised heart.
“Did you have any luck finding a job?”
And just like that, my peaceful, happy bubble bursts. One tear then another leaks from my eye and before I can stop myself, I’m full on ugly crying in front of my new kind-of-friend.
“I um, I had a couple interviews, but nothing that stuck.” I shrug. Honestly, even if I had made it past the interview phase, which let’s face it, is a rare occurrence. Any chance of an actual offer was squashed the second I mentioned that I needed to be paid in cash until I could open a bank account.
Essentially asking to be paid under the table puts any respectable business owner on edge. I always did my best theatrics to make them believe the practiced story, but it rarely worked.
Okay, it never worked.
I was fudged. Tonight is my last night at Angel’s Cove, and tomorrow morning I’ll be asked to leave until I can once again pay for a bed.
Shelly turns sideways to get my attention. “Listen, I feel like running into you here was a sign for me. I’ve been thinking about you since that day and it hasn’t sat right with me how it all went down. My bosses are good men. They believe in helping people… women in particular.”
I give her a look… Like, no shit! Because they want you to flash your naked boobies at men, of course they’re nice to you.
Shelly laughs and nudges my shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s more than that. They’re good people and I know if you let me talk to them, I can get you a job there.”
Logan runs toward Shelly, his arms stretched wide. “Mama, can we feed the ducks now?” he shouts before he slams into her, giggling like crazy. “I saw them from the top of the tower. A mama, baby ones too.”
“Want to feed some ducks with us?” Shelly asks.
I glance down at Logan, worried he’ll run away screaming after taking one look at me. He tilts his little head to the side as though studying me, maybe deeming me worthy of his mama’s attention. “You want to feed ducks?” he asks with the beautiful innocence only a child could have.
“Sure, I’d love to.”
Logan takes Shelly’s hand and we walk side by side while Logan practically drags her toward the duck pond. As we approach, I’m caught off guard when Logan’s little hand slips into mine. I smile at him and he gives me a toothy grin. “I love ducks,” he says.
At the edge of the pond, long, spiky reed grass grows along the bank. Shelly digs into her purse and pulls