Page 57 of All the Ugly Things
“Know what?”
“Know that you were kicking me out of my home!” I shouted it, blood rushing through my veins and melting to the floor at my feet.
“Oh fuck.” Hudson crouched down and scooped up the envelope. “Lilly.”
His gaze came to me, tense and shocked. There was no way after all they already knew about me they didn’t know this.
“What is this damn game you’re playing? What? Find the lonely girl in an apartment that’s getting razed and treat her like one of your needy foster kids?”
“I didn’t know,” Hudson said. He held the envelope in his hand at his side and I glared at it, wishing I could time travel.
Yesterday there was hope inside of me.
Today, there was ground dust and ash. Is this what I got for trying to trust people?
“Bullshit.”
“I didn’t. I didn’t know you lived in those buildings.”
“You knew I was in prison, where I work, and where I go to school and you expect me to believe this?”
“Lilly. Wait.” David stepped forward, speaking gently. It grated in my ears. “Let’s talk about this. There are options. Better ones.”
“Safer ones,” Hudson cut in and that damn caring tone in his voice sounded so much like Josh’s I barely restrained myself from flinging my hand across his cheek.
“I want nothing from you,” I seethed, and turned to Mr. Valentine. “Or you. Stay out of my life and out of my business. Now. If I need to find a new place to live, I already have someone I can call.”
And in all the excitement of yesterday, I’d completely forgotten to call Ellen to ask her to find me a new place to live. So, I had options. I wasn’t going to end up homeless. But it could take weeks for Ellen to find something that would work for me, and based on the letter I scanned, I haddays.Where the hell would I go? Back to the halfway house?
A sob ripped from my throat at the thought. The place had been horrible.
I spun, leaving them slack-jawed and with shock on their faces. Thank God the elevator door opened immediately. I stepped in and caught sight of them when I had to turn and hit the button to take me to the ground floor. Both of them had hands on their hips, looking so similar. If that door didn’t close in a half-second, I was certain at least one was preparing to yank me out of the elevator.
“I mean it. Stay away from me.”
Thankfully, the doors closed right as tears fell down my cheeks.
For once, I thought someone had a genuine interest in me.
So much for trusting people.
* * *
I walked homefrom Valor Holdings. I dodged Friday afternoon commuters walking to and from lunch on their breaks, blind students precariously making their way down the uneven sidewalks outside the School for The Blind and Visually Impaired, around 801 Grand. By the time I reached the gas station on the west side of downtown, my chest burned and my feet killed. My ribs were screaming in pain but the last thing I wanted to do was be trapped on a bus. I needed the time, the space, and the fresh air to think.
By the time I returned home, I needed a long soak in a bathtub I didn’t have and an assortment of pain meds and muscle relaxers.
After locking and securing my door, I stripped out of my clothes, kicked them toward my laundry basket set up in a corner with a wood top I also used as a side table, and climbed into the shower.
Cursing the Valentines the entire time.
Less than an hour later, I was still seething. A mixture of fury and heartache made my heart continue to flip-flop. Had I overreacted? They got what they deserved. Damn them. Was it a mistake? Were they truthful? Which time had they lied?
I couldn’t make sense of all the running thoughts in my head, and as I popped in a frozen meal for an early dinner, I almost wasn’t surprised at all there was a knock on my door and Hudson’s voice calling out my name from the other side.
Given all of our other interactions, I almost expected him earlier.
Because I wasn’t entirely stupid, I checked the peephole first.
