Page 63 of Christmas Coffee

Celyn

Uncle stands there smug and I know there’s more. He steps in front of me, blocking my path, keeping me from immediately chasing her. “It’s not always obvious, is it?”

“Get out of my way,” I snarl, ready to rip his fucking throat out.

The dog whimpers and cowers as it crawls under the couch. Uncle smirks, confidently. “When a pretty face like that shows up, you’d never think she was capable of such malice, but you knew. Deep in your heart you knew something was wrong with her or you would have never ordered this report.”

Every muscle in my jaw is strained, tensed, and ready to fight. If I swing at him, he’ll have me for assault. It’s exactly what he wants me to do. He’s baiting, hoping I’ll snap and let my fists fly. No matter how much I hate him in that moment, there’s no way in hell I’m giving him the satisfaction. I sidestep him without a word and rush down to the street. I call out her name, pacing the wet pavement, searching the road for her face, but she doesn’t answer. She’s gone. Nova is gone. My uncle ripped my heart out of my chest in one swift movement.

I didn’t pull the report because I thought she did something. It was the opposite, I thought she was hiding or hurt by someone. Is it possible that I misjudged her so badly? What the hell did she do that gave her a criminal record that would make her run away like that? The look on her face was more than embarrassment, but I won’t know why she ran unless I look at the report myself.

Anger floods me as I shove through the door. The man has the audacity to linger. He strokes Karma’s wide head from his seat in the center of the living room. “Well, that was predictable,” he says softly without looking up. “Really, Celyn. She’s too young and violent.”

I glance around at the papers littering the floor and pick them up. I shuffle through, reading as fast as I can. What did she do? I read quickly, seeing things I already know—her birthday, her old address, and her old business. Then I see she graduated high school at fourteen. That alone isn’t odd, but it corresponds with an arrest record that fills the bottom of the page and spills onto the next sheet.

Uncle says from his seat. “She’s practically a felon. Well done. They make for the best fucks, assuming you’re looking for a cheap thrill.”

Nova was nearly fourteen years old when it happened. I scan it quickly, my heart breaking as I read it. Her mother’s boyfriend was living with them at the time and they’d since parted. There was an incident, but the details are missing. The man, Frank Cecil, broke her arm and Nova bludgeoned him with a trophy. When the police showed up, the officer tending to Nova tried to help her and she attacked the young cop with the same trophy. She wouldn’t release it or say what happened. Nova said she was guilty, but the officer seemed to intervene and had the charges dropped. He’s the one who arranged to have her record expunged. I turn to the third and fourth pages, looking for more of the story to explain the rest, but there is no more. Just a note that says additional details cannot be found at this time. That can’t be all of it. I sift through the papers.

Uncle speaks up. “It’s not there. I already read through it. Nice touch, by the way. Having her background checked that thoroughly was something I would have done. You paid for expunged records, which shows you never trusted to her start with—ordering a search that deep.”

I slap the papers down on the table and growl at him. “She matters to me more than anything. If you destroyed any chance I had with her—“

He cuts off my threat from his seat. “You did that yourself when you ordered the report.” Uncle stands and sighs loudly. “Celyn, you know what I want. Stop this childish claim on Bardenbey and things can go back to the way they were. I’ll leave you with the apartment, the car, and still offer you the allowance. It’s more than gracious. Take it. This is the last time I’ll offer you such grace.”

I shake my head and fold my arms over my chest so I don’t murder him where he stands. “If anything, you just made me more determined to win. When I’m on the board at Bardenbey, your power won’t run unchecked and I’ll hold you accountable for everything you’ve done. Your ass will end up in a jail cell and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

I rush out of the apartment and down to my vehicle. I pull out slowly on the slick streets. I have no idea where she’s gone. I should have talked to her. I should have told her. It feels like I’ve been gutted alive. Then it comes to me and I know where she went—to Tinselly. She has to be headed back toward her sister’s house for her car. If I can get there first, I can stop her.