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The warmth of his voice in my ear makes me flinch. “That’s right, Kali. I am a sick bastard, but you’re the town slut. And a beautiful one at that. You should come over later. I’ll make it worth your while. You’d be able to buy that shirt.” His gaze travels over me, leaving a trail of filth.
Tears form, and I blink them back. Don’t you dare cry for this man. Why is he doing this? How can he be so hateful? The plastic hanger breaks in my palm. The snap is the jolt I needed. A jolt to wake the hell up and remember why I’m here, shopping.
Because I have money. And with money comes power.
God, I’d love to smear my winnings in his face.
“I suggest you take a step back, Mayor, or I’ll be your worst nightmare. If you thought I dragged your good name in the dirt before, just wait. You have no idea how much power I have now. And I’ll use every bit of it to take you down.”
His face hardens with anger mixed with a layer of confusion. I lift a brow with a sense of confidence I’ve never had. Where did this girl come from? I haven’t slept around since I was eighteen. Everyone knows I’m not the same wild child I used to be.
“And never talk to me like that again.”
I spin around, not giving him a chance to respond. The sales associate probably saw the entire interaction, but from her point of view, with our backs to her, we were just talking. She lifts a brow with a questioning expression as I stride to the register and place the shirt on the counter.
She looks down and huffs. “You broke a hanger? Do you know how much those cost?” she says with a snide tone as she takes the shirt off the broken hanger and starts to hang it on another one.
“I’d like to buy that,” I deadpan, stopping her in her tracks.
“Oh.” Her cheeks blush as she slides the hanger back off. Her eyes dart past me for a beat before she rings me up. I glance over my shoulder, and Hobie stands at the door with a perplexed expression.
That’s right, asshole, I can buy my own damn shirt.
Thankfully, by the time my new shirt is bagged, the mayor is gone. As I walk home with the bag in hand, I can’t help but think back to my time with Hobie. He took me in when I was twelve. The year he became mayor. I was a pawn in his election, a way to show his constituents he cared about the residents and how he wanted to give an orphaned girl from this very town a privileged life. Young, attractive, single man taking in a child. To say women loved him was an understatement.
That was all part of his plan.
He hired a full-time nanny the second I dropped my black plastic bag of belongings on the bedroom floor, and the only time he showed me attention was when we were out in front of people. I hated him. I craved attention from the one man who took me in, who was supposed to be a father figure. Hobie didn’t want to give me attention, so I found it in other places. He walked in on me having sex with an eighteen-year-old.
I shudder, thinking about his comment, wishing it was him.
I was fourteen.
Eventually, he said my extracurricular activities were affecting his career. In other words, he didn’t want to deal with me anymore. He made it sound like he had no choice but to send me back to the group home. People didn’t fault him because I was a troubled child, and no matter how stable a home he gave me, I needed help beyond his ability. I was painted as the town trash.
By the time I force the key into my apartment, I can’t shake his words off. Hobie’s breath is like a layer of ash from a fire on my skin. It burns. “I just wish it would’ve been me sinking into your wet pussy that night.”
Fuck.
I always wondered how long he’d been watching us. He said he had just walked in, but he made no noise. By the time we saw him, we had finished. Steve rolled my naked body off his chest, and that’s when we saw him standing in the doorway, arms crossed with a stoic expression. Steve jumped up and ran out. Hobie said nothing. Just turned around and left.
I retch, thinking about what he might have done after leaving the room. Stop! I yell at myself, not wanting to imagine him with a bottle of lotion and thoughts of a child.
Because that is what I was.
CHAPTER 5
Kali
Welp. My luck didn’t change at bingo.
Typical Friday night.
Except tonight, I didn’t mind dropping money for nothing in return. I even splurged for an extra card, drawing the skeptical gazes of those around me. A chorus of unspoken questions lingered in the air, as if my buying an extra card was noteworthy, and curiosity about the means of my departure. I shrugged off their questions and replied, “I’m feeling lucky.” However, nobody questioned if I had won the lottery, as if the tragic girl could ever receive such luck. I don’t blame them, though, since it’s still hard for me to believe.
The slight sting of loss I felt leaving the old converted warehouse was surprising. My last Friday night here. I can’t possibly miss this. Can I? I shake my head, determined not to admit that some of these people have wormed their way into my heart. A family I didn’t choose and don’t want, damn it. After the incident with the mayor, I didn’t think I’d miss anything around here.
Well, besides Pearl. And making Chip smile.
