Wrecked (Clayton Falls) - By Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,49
that Tim was stationed in Wilmington and we’d have to move.”
She stopped to take a drink of water. “We told my parents and, of course, they didn’t take it well. My dad told me I was making a huge mistake. He told me not to marry Tim. That I should stay home and let them help. I thought the best place for a baby was with both parents. My dad said Tim was trouble—but I didn’t listen.
“I started nursing school, and Tim was deployed to Afghanistan. Noah was born while he was away. A few months later, Tim was gone.” She wiped a tear off her face. I pulled her into my arms.
“I was devastated, but I knew I’d get through it. I had Mel, and Noah was a pretty easy baby. But then everything came crashing down. Out of nowhere, these guys showed up telling me that Tim owed them money. Lots of money. Even the death benefit from the Army couldn’t cover it.”
“What?” I stiffened. This was a part of the story I wasn’t expecting.
“I explained I didn’t know about the debts, but they made it clear that paying them was the best option.” She shivered. I wanted to kill the bastards for threatening her.
“I didn’t have the money. I had virtually no savings, and was already taking out loans for school and childcare. I turned to one of my brother’s friends that I knew could help. I knew this friend wouldn’t tell my parents. I refused to let my dad know he was right, and bringing Tim’s parents into it was out of the question. They would have blamed it on me.”
“Do you still owe this friend money?” I brushed some hair off her face. Her cheeks were damp. I just wanted to make everything better.
“Eight thousand.” She looked down.
“How much was the debt?”
“Over a hundred thousand. The money we got from the government covered most of it, but I had to borrow the rest.”
I tried to contain my anger. Her husband left her with over a hundred grand in gambling debts? “That’s why you worked so much this summer, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I never should have married Tim. I should have listened to my parents. In a way, this was all my fault.”
“Stop.” I put a finger to her lips. “It’s not your fault.”
“It doesn’t matter either way. I just wish I had the money to go back to school.”
“This friend you borrowed money from, is it a guy?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes. But it’s not like that.”
“What’s his name?” I didn’t want any more surprises. I also knew I’d find a way to pay it off. I wasn’t going to let her feel in debt to anyone.
“Austen.”
“Does he live in Ridgeview?”
“Yes.”
I stroked her back. “Does he know you’re with me?”
“No, but what does that matter?”
“What if he’s trying to take advantage of you, Em?” I didn’t want to hurt her, but she could be really naive and way too trusting. She probably shouldn’t have trusted me.
“He’s a good guy. I saw him when I was home. He told me he was interested, but backed off immediately when he realized I was interested in someone else.”
“Okay. I’m glad you’re telling me all this. I need to know about it.” I was also thrilled she’d picked me over her brother’s friend.
“I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn’t want you to look down on me.”
“Look down on you? Me? Like I could look down on anyone?” I couldn’t believe she’d worry about that.
“You did something stupid and reckless, but it was one time.” She gripped my shirt in her hand like her life depended on it.
“You think that’s the only stupid thing I’ve done?”
“It isn’t?” She looked up at me. Her face was swollen from crying and all I wanted to do was make it better. Maybe showing her my skeletons would help.
“I played college football for one season.”
She wiped her eyes. “Really? Where?”
“Georgia. Everyone told me to go to UNC, but I wanted SEC, you know?”
“You wanted a more competitive team.”
“Yeah. But, of course that meant I got no playing time. I couldn’t deal, so I drank my anger away.”
“Did you get kicked off the team?” She put her head back down against me.
“Uh huh and that was it for college for me. I came home and suddenly I didn’t want to be the hero anymore. What did it matter if we won state when I was in high school if I couldn’t even