“Well, let’s all dig in. This food’s going to get cold if we don’t eat it.”
Luciana started eating, but Rae only poked around at her food. Pushing it around to make it look as if she’d eaten it. Her mother didn’t pay her any mind, but I did. I saw the sadness on Rae’s face. The confusion behind her eyes. The way she hunched. The way she kept her eyes down. The way her smile slowly sank as she tried to keep it plastered on her face.
Her façade was breaking.
And that broke my heart.
She never needed a façade before. Why does she need one now?
I had so many questions I wanted to ask her. So many things I needed to know. Did she feel she could confide in this Pauline girl more than me? Her own boyfriend? Did I need to take a step out of the picture until she got through her first semester of college? Hell, her first year? Was there something I wasn't doing that she needed from me? Did she need some space?
I’d give her anything at this point if it made her smile. If it made her eyes light up like I saw with her co-worker earlier.
Fucking hell, I missed gazing into that smile.
Especially when I was the cause of it.
9
Raelynn
“Thanks for dinner, Mom.”
I nodded. “And thanks for the to-go for Cecilia.”
Luciana waved at us. “Tell her I said she can stop by anytime she likes! I’d like to catch up with her.”
Clint snickered. “I’ll let her know. Promise.”
“Bye, Mom!”
I tugged him out the front door and breathed a sigh of relief when the door slammed shut. We made our way for Cecilia’s car, thankful we had that instead of having to walk around. Thunder rumbled in the distance and I felt the temperature dropping. Pretty soon, the world would open up above our heads and dump water on us all night.
And I didn’t want to be home for it.
“Want to go for a ride?” Clint asked.
I smiled. “I’d love to.”
He opened my car door for me. “Where to?”
I shrugged. “Honestly? Anywhere that isn’t here.”
I climbed up into the car and he closed my door. Lightning flashed across the sky and I saw my mother’s silhouette at the window. She watched as Clint and I pulled away. I felt her eyes following us up the road, watching us until we disappeared from sight.
Fucking hell, I was glad to be away from that woman again.
“Are you hungry for dessert?”
I shook my head. “Not really.”
“What about some coffee?”
I shrugged. “Probably not the best idea when it’s nine at night.”
“So, we park and talk? Maybe with some snacks?”
I snickered. “You didn’t eat enough at dinner, did you?”