Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,258

made?”

Cookie sighs on the other end, and I know she’s probably sitting in her screened-in porch, smoking a cigarette.

“Kid, most people never forget the mistakes of others. And for your family, as well as the people I wronged when I was drinking myself to death … a big part of their memory when it comes to you is pulling you out of that meth house and driving you to rehab. It’s just a fact, sweetheart. A crap one that all alcoholics have to come to terms with. The people you hurt may forgive you, they may love you, but we don’t have a stun gun or something that can erase your worst moments in their heads.”

I nod, not that she can see it. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve had to come to grips with in the recovery process. I know I fucked up, I know my brothers know that, and I know they have every right to be skeptical of my every move. But … I just wish it didn’t have to be that way.

“Do you think moving out is a bad idea?” My voice is anxious, because her opinion matters to me.

Cookie knows who I am, maybe more than a lot of people close to me. Because we share the same demon.

“Doll, I have a favor I can call in. I personally think it’d be good for you to get out of your mama’s house. Now, I agree with your brothers; owning a house is a pain in the ass and not something you ought to do right now. But, I do think you’re ready for a space of your own. Let me see what I can wrangle up, and I’ll let you know by the end of next week.”

A breath of relief whooshes out. Just talking to her makes the knot between my shoulders ease.

“Thanks, Cookie.”

“Now, let me sleep. I’m an old woman, and if this isn’t a booty call, talking to anyone this late isn’t worth losing beauty rest.”

Chuckling, I bid her good night and then walk the rest of the way home.

10

Ryan

“And, that’s how you build a simple website using the most basic form of HTML.”

I finish my lecture, glancing around the room at the kid’s computer screens. The class is comprised of six girls and four boys, and I’m geeky enough to admit that I’m fucking pumped this summer STEM class has girls as its majority gender.

The afternoon hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. Actually, it was kind of fun. I went all the way back to the basics, starting at the simplest level for these middle schoolers who were blank slates when it came to anything hacking or coding.

Ten faces stare back at me, expressions ranging from satisfied with themselves to anxious with more questions they want to ask me. I’ve never felt this sense of contentment, of going through an entire lesson and imparting knowledge to someone else. Not even when I’ve coded a huge project or found where a data leak came from when a Fortune 500 hundred company hires me.

“Ryan, how would I add a scrolling header? Say, if I wanted to add more than one picture or add to the top of the website?” Marie, a girl in a Slytherin shirt with beautiful dark curls, asks.

I click back onto my display screen, splashed across the whiteboard from a projector in the ceiling, to show them how I do it on my own desktop. I can hear a few of them clicking around, and others just watching me.

I forgot what it was like, to discover the great wide world of the Internet … and its underworld. When I first started dabbling in coding and hacking, I’d just been playing around by myself. I was a self-taught woman; sure, college courses helped refine my skills, but by the time I went to my alma mater, I was surfing around the dark web with Internet dregs ten years my senior.

Watching these kids’ brains open up to the possibilities of what a computer held, and what it could do at their disposal … it was the first real moment of passionate interest I’ve had for my craft in a long time.

“I think that went well.” Hattie nods as the bell rings to end the period, pleased with me and probably herself for suggesting it.

“Me too, and I have to say … it was kind of fun.” A small smile graces my lips as I watch the kids rush