Intent(51)
She whirls around, her blond hair flying in the air, and narrows her eyes defensively at me. “Who the hell am I? Who the f*ck are you?”
“I live here and you are trespassing here. Get out of my house and take your juvenile threats with you, or we can just let the police take you to jail and you can figure the rest out from there.”
She sneers at me, her face contorting in an ugly, unimpressed expression when my words sink in. But it’s all bravado and I know it without a doubt. I’ve dealt with bullies like her far too many times in my life. I dramatically drop my purse on the table in front of me and pull my cell phone out. “Have it your way, then. Tell Judge Edwards hello for me.”
The sneer morphs into pure anger, but there’s evidence of intimidation underneath. Her head snaps back to Zoe. “You’d better remember what I said,” she threatens. Turning on her heel, she stomps in my direction as she makes her way to the door. She stops beside me to issue her final warning. “And you’d better learn to mind your own f*cking business.”
I laugh in her face, truly amused at how clever she thinks she is when she’s really just showing what an idiot she is. “I’ll mind my own f*cking business when you get the f*ck out of my house.”
With an angry huff, she jerks the door open and slams it closed behind her theatrically. Concerned about Zoe, I rush to her to reassure her. “Are you okay, sweetheart? Who was that?”
“I’m okay,” she replies, but her hand is still slightly shaking.
“Who is she?”
Zoe shakes her head in repulsion. “She’s my cousin. She’s been away for a while and just recently came back to town.”
“What does she want from you?”
“She just found out I’m pregnant and what Jeremy did to me. She’s always been a diva, very popular around here, expects everyone to cater to her, and she’s so worried about what other people think. Anyway, she wants me to go after Jeremy and make him pay. She said I’m the talk of the town, that all the kids think I’m just white trash, and they’re planning to make my senior year unbearable.”
“How is it any of her business? How much can it possibly affect her if she didn’t even know you were pregnant before now? And who is planning things against you? None of this makes any sense.”
“It’s not her concern. She’ll just have to get over it. She blows things out of proportion with her temper and drama, then she quickly moves on to something else,” Zoe explains, basically dismissing the whole scene. “I have to leave for work now or I’ll be late. I’ll see you later.”
“All right,” I reply reluctantly. “Be careful, Zoe.”
I watch her leave and notice how her shoulders are still slumped, like she’s carrying the weight of the world on them. It seems the argument was worse than she wants to admit and it’s still taking a toll on her. With Zoe’s esteem teetering on the edge of oblivion at any given moment, it affects her considerably when yet another family member treats her badly. I wish I could shield her from all the negativity so she can be a happy teenager for once.
She still has six weeks until her due date, which is after I’m scheduled to return to work. If I return to work. If I return to New York. That’s a decision for a different time, though. Right now, I have a new idea for Zoe to consider, and it’ll be perfect if we can coordinate the timing. With my nails clicking furiously on the keyboard, I locate the section on the website that gives me all the information I need.
A few phone calls later, my plan is shaping up nicely and I have plenty to share with Zoe when she gets home. Now I can only hope she’s as excited about this as I am for her. All the documents are printed and waiting for her to review when she gets off work later tonight. Stretching as I rise from where I’ve been perched in front of my laptop, I realize my research obviously took more time than I’d planned since it’s already beginning to get dark outside.
I still haven’t heard from Ace. He needed his space earlier today, and I’m fine with giving it, but I can’t help but wonder where he is. Funny how quickly I’ve grown attached to spending evenings with him, seeing him during the day, and waking to the feel of his warm, steady breaths on the back of my neck while spooning in our sleep at night. This leads to a completely different discussion I have to have with myself.
“What are your intentions for this relationship, Layne?” I ask aloud as I begin to pace. My pacing used to drive Bobby insane, but it helps me to think through complex situations, plot out my course, and prepare for my next move. “Why did you allow yourself to get sucked into falling for him when you know you’re only staying here for a few more weeks? You told him you love him. You put all your cards on the table, laid them all out on display for him. But you haven’t committed to anything past the end of the summer. So what’s the deal? Are you going back home?”
My feet halt and realization dawns when my reply fills the air. “If home is where the heart is, then my home is with Ace.”
I wait for the feeling of dread to settle in my chest, the proverbial other shoe to fall and tell me I’m making a huge mistake. For logic to kick in and convince me I’m an idiot for falling so hard, so fast, for a man I’ve only known for a matter of weeks. For common sense to demand answers to the hard questions, such as what I plan to do about a job, where I will live, and how Ace feels about this decision.