Brenda wanted a normal school year. Instead her mom died.
Salma needed space from her sister and terrible ex. Or else she'd lose her mind.
Delilah didn't think she'd have any more problems after moving far from her hometown. That was until she becam...
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❝Sometimes it takes a heartbreak to shake us awake & help us see we are worth so much more than we're settling for.❞ -Mandy Hale
I DOUBLE UPDATED, READ CHAPTER 53 FIRST
✏️ SCOTT ✏️
"Sue that motherfucker for every penny she's got," proclaimed my sister, taking more offense to what Rita did than I myself. My sister Toni graduated a year before me, passing her LSAT within the following semester and getting accepted to the best law school in California and second best in the country overall, entering Stanford Law at the start of this term.
She had plans for bigger and brighter things, promising to remain the favorite child in the family by going to school for what my parents wanted her to be. I was told to be a doctor, and instead wanted to further their disappointment in me by getting an English degree.
Their persuasion worked wonders on Toni though, swaying her career choices in their favor. Before she went to law school, I had an overprotective sister. After she got in, I had the same overprotective big sister, but this time with a head filled with legal terms to use to win my battles.
"I have no reason to sue her, for what?" I shrugged, taking the cup of coffee off the table and bringing it to my lips. I took a slow, letting the rich blend coat my tongue like an unwavering hug against a brisk wind. It was chilly inside the diner, but warmer here than it was outside so I couldn't complain. The snow started around noon, but had calmed down for the most part. Our table was close to the entrance, bringing in small gusts of air in from the frigid cold.
"No reason?" Toni scoffed. "She lied about you having HIV. That's grounds to sue. It's among one of the four forms of defamation. You have every right to sue her, and guess what? You would automatically win and ask for whatever you want from her. There's laws in place to ensure that for cases like this."
"I want nothing from her."
"I don't see why you don't. I'd take everything from that woman, especially the clothes on her back and the scholarship she's on. She could've ruined your livelihood if she kept spreading that lie. HIV is no joke or laughing matter."
"She cares about me."
Toni coughed so hard on her orange juice she had to grab a napkin to catch the pulp dribbling out of her lips. Disgust riddled her features, scolding me as though I was Rita in the flesh. "She has a sick, twisted way of showing care for you."
"I want her out of my life, Toni. Can you grasp that? Suing her means I have to see her again and continue this fight when it really should've all ended the day I broke up with her."
"Can you remind me why did you broke up with her again? Besides being a full-time psycho."
"I broke up with her after realizing how insane she is," I clarified with a crack of a smile, "It's like crazy girls are magnetically drawn to me. I swear, it's a curse."
The bell above the door rang and Toni smiled up at the new arrival. There was no need for me to look behind me to see who it was. I knew it was our brother Roman, showing up half an hour late to our breakfast.
Every winter for the last three years, weeks before Christmas, the Scott kids came together to plan what we'd get for our parents. We pooled our money together to get them a nice tropical vacation or something pricey for our parents to gush over and brag about at dinner parties with their neighbors and friends.
"What's up losers?" Roman boomed, crashing into booth with no sight of a winter coat.
"You walked out of your car with just a thin sweater?" I eyed him. "Aren't you cold?"
"As the ancient Caribbean proverb goes, a hoe never gets cold."
Toni remained unfazed, surprisingly me when she patted his shoulder. "I'm glad you're being honest with yourself. This is a step in the right direction. At least you're more honest than Scott."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You say you're magnetically drawn to crazy girls. I call bullshit on that entirely. You like crazy girls until they show you how crazy they can get."
"That makes no sense. I need examples."
"What about the time you went for that girl at the check-out line at the mall? After she noticed your card wasn't going through, she said 'your card might've not gone through, but maybe my number will.' And instead of just leaving it at that, you gave your number to her anyway."
"Hey, I had no idea she was the freaky type and would try to stuff her thumb inside of me the first date."
"Stuffed her what?" Roman gulped, "Wh...where? No, wait I'm scared to ask."
"She worked at Spencers." Toni added. "They sell fucking dildos and butt plugs there. You knew what you were signing up for."
I shook my head. "That happened over a year ago. Why are you bringing up old shit?"
"No, I'm not bringing up old shit. I'm showing you there's a pattern. You asked for examples, and you got them. There's a trend in your dating life you're ignoring. You have a type and it's a potent and particular type of crazy."
Resting on the table, her phone screen lit up with a message. I couldn't make out the sender, or even the content of the text, but I could see that she on one of those dating apps I avoided at all costs.
"You're on that too?" I huffed. "Sounds like you're into the crazy type, too."
Toni forced a laugh out, sounding fake. "I like keeping my options open."
"Options open to strangers who could put you in a dangerous situation?" Roman asked. "You're wasting your time on those dumb apps, sis. You're better off going to a bar or party. They all want the same thing, to fuck or flirt until they figure out they can't get a fuck."
I winced at his vulgarity, hating how blunt he got around our sister. It wasn't that we weren't expressive to each other in a setting like this, but I'd never get used to the idea of talking about sex with my sister and little brother.
"My best friend married a guy she met on here over a year ago," Toni announced, "So you can't say it's that hopeless."
"You have got to be kidding. None of these doofuses are serious."
Roman snatched her phone, typing in the password faster than she could stop him. Slipping out of the booth, he went to my side across the table from her and unlocked the messages she had received. From how fast he was scrolling, I almost missed...almost.
There, in the top portion of her screen, was a new match she had gotten from an awfully familiar face. Baring an emotionless expression, Hector practically looked asleep in his profile photo. Nonetheless, I recognized the man I'd been looking for. Salma had noted to me that he was a suspect in messing with Jaxon's car during the night his car slid into a ditch and altered his world forever.
The police hadn't given us any more leads on their investigation on Jaxon's disappearance. His whereabouts were still a mystery. And from what Salma said, Hector had every reason to be the man in the vehicle Jaxon willing went into that morning outside the hospital.
"Give me that phone," I ordered, taking it from my brother without waiting for a reply.
"What is it?" Toni asked.
I couldn't stop a smile from forming, gazing up at her with a new found purpose. "You're going on a date."
