AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Opal flinches at my scream. I can’t look anywhere but her scrunched mouth, still unable to peek at the damage I’ve caused. On the flower-slaughter I committed.
Luna’s bridal bouquet is ruined.
There’s no time to fix it or order new flowers for tomorrow. No time. No time. No time.
“I—What—Fuck!”
“—on this one particular dahlia,” Opal finishes her sentence in a whisper.
One flower. Just one.
At the slowest speed known to mankind, I slide my gaze to Luna’s bouquet.
“It’s okay, Amara,” she adds while I check out the flower she was talking about.
Poor thing. But it’s fixable.
“Little baldie.” My fingers skirt along its remaining petals and down the stem. “You barely survived my assault. Say thank you to Auntie Opal for saving your life.”
I grab the bouquet from the bottom, tilting it toward her as if the flower could actually thank her. She raises an eyebrow at me and that’s it. Doesn’t call me a freak.
We both are. We both accept one another, which is so rare for me.
So wonderful.
“I know what to do.” Opal sidesteps me and moves to stand at my side behind the counter. She shoots me the shortest wink known to mankind before placing the bouquet in a vase. “Auntie Opal will patch you right up.”
A giggle escapes me and I blow her a kiss she doesn’t catch. She’s too busy working her magic. Moving the flowers from here to there, blending the wounded dahlia into her healthier sisters.
“There it is,” Opal announces. “Perfectly imperfect.”
“Thank you, Opal.” I gesture to the rest of tomorrow’s order that covers every available square inch of the floor. “For this. And the rest of the arrangements.”
“Just doing my job.” At the last word, creases appear on her forehead. She shifts her gaze to the bouquet. “Speaking of… Any news from your parents?”
The million-dollar question.
They haven’t spoken to me for the past two weeks. No note of eviction has been taped to the front door. I haven’t received a call from their lawyer telling me to pack the fuck up. When I searched for the sale listing a week ago—the one I saw a day after their announcement—it wasn’t there.
They haven’t listed it on any other site, either.
I can ask them what’s going on. If not for myself, I owe that to Opal. And yet, I haven’t picked up the phone and called them.
I’m too busy working and scouring other available places in the area like crazy. I choose to focus on the positive. I have to.
Something has to turn up.
Until then…
“I haven’t found another place. But we’re not being evicted in the meanwhile.” My lips twist, a million emotions swirling in my heart. “I know it’s unfair to ask you to stay while all I have to offer is hope. I won’t.” Carter and his possessiveness come to mind, and I repeat one of the things he said to me. “I wish I could handcuff you behind the counter. Keep you with me. Except it’s illegal.”
Her nose scrunches. Then she smiles. “That’s a bit extreme.”
“Yup.” I shrug. I am extreme. Denying it is futile. “I’ll go to prison, and I like my freedom. So I won’t do that.”
“I’ll be kinda pissed off, too.” Trust a weirdo like Opal to be okay with my crazy shit.
“Yeah, you probably would,” I concede. “So, to answer your question, I don’t know.”
