Sorry I made you guys wait but I was super busy over the holidays...still am... Hope you like it
:)
Chapter 12
Corinna’s POV
Flynn didn’t say anything when we got into his truck and started to drive away. I kept my eyes glued to the small house with the rotting porch and the chipped paint, seeing Howie peeking through the window until we were out of sight.
We drove in silence as my heart pounded and my stomach roiled. I shifted slightly in my seat and I could smell marijuana in my hair, reminding me of everything that I’d left behind and everything that had been brought up by seeing her again.
My hand gripped my seatbelt tightly as we drove through the city, heading towards the section of town that my father lived in and still Flynn sat silently beside me, his eyes firmly on the road ahead of him and both his hands on the steering wheel. My gaze traveled over his long fingers, focusing on the veins and tendons running towards the top of his wrist, making me think of those same fingers between mine, keeping me steady as my heart cracked.
I tore my gaze from his hand and looked down at my own, a part of me wishing he was still touching me to keep the panic at bay. I winced when I thought of the pills he must have seen in Barb’s bag when I’d sifted through the contents and the way she’d stumbled around the table to get to me. A choked sound escaped from the back of my throat when I replayed the image of her falling into the chair before taking a long pull from the joint.
I was still thinking of the awful scene when Flynn moved suddenly and I flinched, bringing my hands up to shield my face but I lowered them when I realized that he was only reaching for the heat controls on his dash. My eyes met his and I felt a shock when I saw the rage in their depths, the light green colour darkening as his eyes followed my hands until they rested on my lap. His jaw tightened and his gaze met mine again just as someone behind us honked their horn and we both faced forward to see that the red light we’d been stopped at had turned green.
He let out a long breath and pressed on the accelerator, moving us forward and driving one handed as he reached out and turned up the heat, his eyes focused ahead of him once more, a muscle ticking in his jaw. I cleared my throat, wishing I could escape the tension in the vehicle but we were still a few minutes away from my house. “Cold?” I asked, unable to handle the silence any longer.
He shook his head and glanced over at me when he said, “You’re shaking.”
I gave a dismissive laugh and rubbed my shaking hands on the tops of my thighs, trying to collect my usual aloof attitude but finding it difficult. “I’m not cold, just restless. Actually, I could walk the rest of the way home if you wanted to drop me off. You can just tutor me tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone right now.”
My eyes connected with Flynn’s and the sincerity in his gaze made my heart clench and the threads of my control snap. “Pull over,” I croaked, the lump in my throat growing to mammoth proportions and I turned my face towards the window just as the first few tears started to stream down my cheeks. “Let me out.”
“No,” he said firmly, his voice strained with anger. “We’re almost home.”
I gritted my teeth, keeping my gaze focused on the scenery passing by as I cried silent tears and prayed that he didn’t notice.
Finally, we pulled into my driveway and almost before we stopped I had the door open and I was out of the car, holding my bag in my hand and heading towards the house with a purposeful stride.
I had almost made it when Flynn reached out and gripped my wrist, turned me to face him but I kept my head down, using my hair to block my face from him. “Let me go,” I said, my voice low and steady even though I was falling apart on the inside.
“We have to talk about this, Cory,” he said softly, the concern in his tone making my heart clench.
“No we don’t. Just forget about all of this, okay? Pretend you never saw h-her and I’ll do the same,” I said even as the tears continued to drip down my cheeks but I kept my eyes firmly on his chest.
“I’m not going to forget it,” he said, taking a step closer to me until I could feel his body heat and suddenly, I wanted to lean against him again. I wanted to feel that sense of calm move through me the way it had last time.
“Then just let me go,” I said quietly, my voice less steady now, my knees starting to shake with the effort of keeping myself from sobbing.
“No.”
“Flynn,” I said, my voice choked with tears as I tugged on my arm. “I don’t want you to see me like this,” I whispered, my voice catching halfway through the sentence, giving me away and making me flinch.
“I won’t look,” he said softly before he stepped even closer and wrapped his other arm around my back, pulling me to him until our bodies were flush against each other.
I held my breath, staying stiff in his embrace telling myself to pull away, to make him leave but my body wasn’t listening to me. That sense of calm was moving through me, making me want to just stay there in his arms forever, to depend on him like I hadn’t depended on anyone in years. Finally, I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t act aloof or pretend like I wasn’t affected and I let out a sob and leaned fully against him, letting go and just crying right there in front of my house with Flynn’s strong arms supporting me. “I’m sorry,” I choked out between sobs as I soaked the front of his soft sweater with my tears.
He just shushed me and rubbed his hand over my back in soothing circles that made me cry harder.
My bag slipped from my shaking hand and landed on the pavement with a thump but I barely heard it as I continued to sob, slowly bringing up my arms to wrap around Flynn, clutching the fabric of his shirt in my fists, needing something to hold on to. I pressed myself more firmly against him, forgetting everything except for the feeling of comfort and calm that was washing through me until finally, my tears started to slow and eventually stopped.
I still didn’t move away, just stayed with my arms wrapped tightly around him and his arms holding me close, not trying to push me away and I couldn’t help but wonder when was the last time I’d let someone comfort me like this but I couldn’t remember. “I hate it that she does this to me,” I whispered, my voice muffled against his chest. I wasn’t sure if he heard me but his arms tightened a little more, making it almost hard to breathe but I found that I didn’t mind. I couldn’t explain why his mere presence seemed to calm me down but for some reason, it did and at the moment, I was too weak to push him away. “It’s always been like this,” I said, even as I told myself to shut up, that Flynn knew more than he should already. Apparently my mouth didn’t believe in self preservation because when I opened it to breathe, words spilled out instead. “I thought I was past the point of blindly trusting her.” I swallowed hard, feeling a few fresh tears pool in my eyes as I croaked, “How many times does she have to hurt me before I get the message?”
“She’s your mother. You’re genetically programmed to trust her,” Flynn said softly, rubbing his hands over my back soothingly, making me forget that I’d been standing in his arms for way too long.
“Is that how it is with your dad?” I asked quietly, keeping my cheek against the wet spot on his chest, unused to asking other people personal questions. I wasn’t really the type to reach out to others.
“Yes,” he said simply and my hands on his back felt the muscles there tighten at the thought of his father. “When he’s sober, he’s the greatest guy in the world but when he’s drunk, I can’t even recognize him anymore. The first few times he hit me, I believed him without a hint of doubt when he told me it would never happen again but he always broke his promises until I was old enough to fight back.”
“Flynn,” I said softly, backing up so I could finally look him in the eyes, feeling like I was in some alternate reality where someone might feel like talking to me was helpful, that I was the type of person that could provide comfort. My eyes locked with his light green ones and the pain and concern for me that I saw there stopped my words in my throat. I swallowed hard and opened my mouth to speak, not sure what I was going to say but it didn’t matter anyway because the sound of a car in the driveway made my gaze swing to the side, my words forgotten as I watched Jesse and Aaron step out of Aaron’s car, their eyes locked on the two of us where we stood with our arms still wrapped around each other.
“What’s going on?” Jesse asked, approaching us and hastily, I pulled back from Flynn, putting some space between us and dropping my hands to my sides. For a second, Flynn didn’t move, just kept his arms around me as I tried to pull back and when I swung my gaze back to him, his eyes were focused down on me, their expression unreadable.
“Let go,” I said quietly, squirming slightly in his grip as I frowned up at him. After a moment, his hold on me loosened and his hand fell to his sides, his eyes burning into mine, making my frown deepen as I wondered what he was thinking.
“Corinna,” Jesse said, making my eyes swing back to him, seeing concern and suspicion in his eyes as he looked at Flynn before focusing on me. “What’s going on?” he repeated, taking a step closer to me and reaching his hand out to lightly grip my arm. “Were you crying?”
I shrugged and planted a crooked grin on my face. “What can I say? Girls, they get emotional sometimes.”
“What happened?” Jesse asked, his forehead wrinkling in a frown.
I raised an eyebrow at him and my smile widened slightly. “I heard a sad song on the radio.”
“You’re lying. There’s been something on your mind since we went for pizza. Why are you just getting home now?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said easily, bending to pick up my bag, trying to discretely brush a hand over my cheeks at the same time to wipe away what was left of my tears.
“Cory,” Jesse said, his voice strained as his hand tightened on my arm forcing me to look at him again. “You can talk to me about anything, you know that don’t you?”
My smirk faltered and my heart clenched as I looked into Jesse’s blue eyes that were so much like our mother’s. “Okay,” I said softly, giving him what I hoped was a reassuring smile even as I vowed never to drag him into anything to do with Barbara. His memories of her weren’t tainted by the truth the way mine were and so far, she’d shown little interest in her son which I was grateful for. I’d go back to her in a heartbeat if she even so much as threatened to reconnect with Jesse.
“So why were you crying?” he asked, his blue eyes alight with concern as they traveled over my face.
“It’s really no big deal. I just saw an old friend who wasn’t very happy to see me. I’ll be fine,” I said vaguely, shrugging my backpack onto my shoulder, willing him to drop the subject.
“Which friend?” Aaron asked, stepping beside Jesse, his chocolate brown eyes a couple shades darker with anger.
“What are you going to do, beat them up?” I asked, placing a hand on my hip and giving him an incredulous look.
“Yes,” Aaron and Jesse said together.
I shook my head, and felt my lips twitch a little as I looked at their serious faces, each of them ready to kick the shit out of anyone who wronged me. “Forget it,” I said mildly, turning my back on them to face Flynn again, my eyes resting on the damp spot on his shirt and for a second, I felt embarrassed for falling apart the way I had but I just straightened my shoulders and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Ready to study?” I asked, walking past him smoothly, not waiting for his answer as I headed to the door and entered the house.
“Don’t you think you should tell Jesse the truth?” Flynn whispered in my ear as he followed me into the hosue, his breath on my neck making an odd tingling sensation travel down my spine but I dismissed it as a result of exhaustion from the day I’d had.
“No,” I said simply slipping my shoes off and heading towards the dining room with Flynn right behind me.
“He has a right to know,” he said softly at the same time as Aaron and Jesse walked into the house.
“I don’t care,” I hissed, looking up at him steadily, trying to tell him without words that Jesse was not to be involved.
“Cory,” Flynn said, gripping both my arms in his hands stopping me from turning away from him. He opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut again when Aaron flung his arm around Flynn’s shoulders, having to go on tip toe because Flynn was a couple inches taller than him.
“You know Flynn, you spend an awful lot of time with my girl.”
“She’s not your girl.”
“I’m not your girl,” Flynn and I said at the same time, sending a glare at Aaron who just grinned back at me.
“Not yet, but I’m growing on you, I can tell,” Aaron said sending a wink in my direction.
“Hardly,” I deadpanned and took a step back, making Flynn’s hands fall from my arms. “We’ve got work to do,” I said, turning on my heel and heading towards the dining room.
“All I’m saying,” Aaron said, following us into the dining room and sitting down next to Flynn as I took my books out of my bag, “is that the two of you hang out a lot and sometimes Flynn gets this look in his eye that makes me wonder if maybe there’s something going on between you guys.”
A muscle in Flynn’s jaw started to twitch as he narrowed his eyes at Aaron before opening his mouth to respond but I got there first. “Not that it’s any of your business but there is nothing going on between Flynn and me. He’s my tutor because I caught him at a moment of weakness and my brother has also forced him to keep an eye on me at school to make sure no one beats the shit out of me for the stupid crap I did in the past. Now, how about you leave so we can get some work done?”
“All right,” Aaron said cheerfully, standing and leaning over the table to plant a kiss on my forehead but I dodged to the side and gave him a disbelieving look. “Yeah, I didn’t really think that was going to happen,” he said and straightened with an easy chuckle, obviously not discouraged by my resistance. “Well, you two have fun and Cory, we’ll talk later about our date.”
“What date?” I said, my tone flat and bored as I flipped my physics textbook open to the right page.
“The date you agreed to go on with me.”
“Um, no, that never happened.”
“Yes it did. You agreed to go on a double date with me and Jesse and the girl that he almost totally blew it with. Remember?”
I blinked down at my textbook, the memory finally clicking into place from the pizza parlour earlier. I had been thinking only of my mother and as I watched the situation replay in my head, I realized that I’d agreed without paying attention to what I was saying. “I can’t make it,” I said smoothly, giving him a casual shrug.
He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at me. “You can’t back out, you made a promise.”
I sent him a crooked smirk and raised an eyebrow at him. “What in all that you’ve heard about me, makes you think that I give a shit about keeping my promises?” I asked, my voice low.
Something shifted in his eyes and his usual grin was nowhere to be seen as he cocked his head to the side and gave me a considering look. “You’re not like what they say, Cor. I don’t know what went wrong four years ago but from what I see, you’re a perfectly nice girl who’s just misunderstood and I know that you’re not the type of person who goes back on her promises.” His lips stretched into a half smile and his eyes warmed a few degrees as he looked at me, warming my heart just slightly at the same time. “I really like you Cory and I hope you can give me a chance.”
My eyes widened slightly at the sincerity in his voice and I couldn’t seem to stop staring at him as he looked at me with his honest eyes. Not for the first time, I realized that he was very handsome with his brown hair cropped short, highlighting his angular cheekbones and strong jaw. He was tall and lean and his green t-shirt hugged his biceps appealingly but the only reason I was struck was the look in his eyes. He was one of the few people in this city who didn’t look at me as if I was some kind of escaped convict that they had to avoid and at the moment, there was something almost like trust in his eyes as he looked at me.
“You’re really not my type,” I said, ignoring the pang of guilt I felt in my stomach as I brushed off his sweet words as if they were no more than a piece of lint on my sweater. “Find someone else for your date, all right? I’m not going.”
Aaron let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped for a second as he looked over at Flynn seeking support but Flynn just kept his eyes focused on the book in front of him, his shoulders stiff and his jaw clenched as he concentrated on formulae that came so easily to him and seemed like a foreign language to me. “Jesse will convince you,” Aaron said after a moment, his shoulders straightening and his eyes shifting to me once more, a slight smile on his face as he backed out of the room with a salute and disappeared from view.
I resolved not to cave no matter how much Jesse begged me to go as I focused my attention on the page in front of me, jotting down the date and the number one in the margin before looking up at Flynn with a resigned expression. “All right, what are we working on today?” I asked, even though he wasn’t looking back at me. His eyes were still focused on the book in front of him and his hands were clenched into fists on the table. “Flynn?” I said when he still didn’t say anything and when he lifted his eyes to me, the green was lighter than usual, the colour more intense as something like anger burned in his gaze. My heart started to pound in my chest as I wondered what I had done to make him so angry, thinking over the past little while and coming up with a hundred things that could’ve pissed him off. “What is it?” I said, keeping my voice steady even as panic clawed its way up my chest, my stomach plummeting at the thought that Flynn would leave, that after what he’d seen today he’d realize that anyone related to Barbara had no hope and there was no point in tutoring someone like me.
A muscle in his cheek twitched, drawing my eyes there for a moment and I couldn’t help but compare his features to Aaron’s, noticing that Flynn’s jaw was just slightly wider and more squared and the light five o’clock shadow gave him a slightly darker appearance that Aaron lacked. Flynn’s cheekbones were just a bit more angular and his eyes were striking beneath his slightly too long hair that tended to fall over his forehead in disarray and the look in his eyes right now made me wish for Aaron’s warm gaze.
“Look, I know that we’re getting off to a late start but it won’t happen aga─”
“Are you going?”
I blinked, mentally backtracking, trying to figure out what he was asking me. “What?” I asked when my mind came up blank.
“On the date,” he said, his voice low and his eyes flashing with anger.
I raised an eyebrow at him and felt my lips quirk into their usual emotionless smile. “Why do you want to know?”
“You shouldn’t go,” he said, ignoring my question and keeping his gaze locked with mine. “Aaron will get the wrong idea.”
“Oh?” I said, keeping my smirk on my face as I leaned slightly forward as if I was eager to hear what he had to say but really, I was dreading it, afraid that he would mention my reputation as the town slut. “What idea is that?” I asked, not surprised when my voice came out steady.
“He’ll think that you like him,” Flynn said through gritted teeth but the anger in his eyes faded, replaced by an unreadable expression and when he spoke again, his voice was softer, more hesitant. “Do you?”
I shook my head, my smirk fading as I looked him steadily in the eye, trying to summon a snarky comment but finding it impossible. My heart rate picked up slightly as I thought of the way he’d hugged me tightly just letting me cry without asking any questions and I found that I didn’t want to be my usual smart ass self with him. “I’m not here for that, Flynn,” I said quietly, making him frown in confusion. “I’m not here to catch a guy or to go to prom. I’m here to graduate. I’m here because I never want to be like her,” I said, my voice wavering slightly through the last sentence.
His eyes darkened and for a moment, we just sat there in silence, staring at each other, my words humming through the air between us a part of me wishing I could pull them back and another part of me wishing I was type of person who could unload on someone else.
After a moment, he leaned forward, his eyes filled with conviction as he said, “You’re nothing like her, Cory. You got out from under her thumb and you’re working hard so that you’re future is different from hers. Anyone with eyes can see that.”
“No one sees it,” I whispered past the lump in my throat, his words meaning more to me than he would ever know.
“I do,” he said softly, slowly raising his hand from the table and reaching out to me, resting his fingertips on my cheek gently, giving me that familiar warmth and comfort that I was quickly becoming addicted to.
I bit my lip, finding it impossible to speak at the moment as I stared into his eyes, seeing the truth there, knowing that his words weren’t just empty, that he actually meant them.
He shifted his fingers slightly, pressing his palm against my cheek and unconsciously, I leaned slightly more into him, enjoying the way his touch made me feel, erasing all the panic I’d felt earlier, leaving behind a sense of calm that allowed me to breathe more easily.
“Cory,” he said, his voice huskier than usual. Something shifted in his eyes that made my heart rate pick up speed slightly as he opened his mouth to speak but before he got any words out, the doorbell rang, making us both jump and making me spring back in my chair, scraping the legs across the linoleum floor.
“I’ll get it,” I said, before clearing my throat and hastily standing, not looking back at Flynn as I made my way out of the dining room towards the front door, wondering what the hell had just happened. “Stupid,” I muttered, placing my fingertips on my cheek which was still warm from his touch, trying to figure out why I hadn’t backed away, why I hadn’t given him my patented smirk followed by a snarky comment guaranteed to erase any kindness from his eyes.
I shook my head, as the doorbell rang again, telling myself to just forget it as I clutched the doorknob and pulled open the door, my words dying in my throat when I saw the imposing figure standing in front of me.
“Dave,” I said, a genuine smile stretching across my lips at the sight of him.
“Cory,” he said, his deep voice echoing in his broad chest, his smile almost as wide as his face. “How are you?”
“Better now,” I replied, stepping into his outstretched arms for a bone crushing hug. “Jesus how much time do you spend at the gym?”
“A lot,” he said, grinning down at me as he loosened his grip and stepped back, keeping his hands on my arms as his eyes lost some of their happiness and his smile faded. “Listen Cor, I can’t stay long but I came to warn you that your mother’s back in town and she’s staying with Tracy.”
“I know,” I said quietly, my voice going flat at the thought of my mother and Tracy. “I saw them earlier today.”
He winced slightly in understanding and his hands tightened on my arms. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I said honestly, giving him a sad smile and a shrug. “But I’m trying.”
He nodded, his forehead wrinkled into a frown as his eyes searched my features, trying to figure out how to help me. He’d always been like that, even when Tracy, his own mother, had been a complete bitch to him, his concern had always been for me.
I leaned forward again, wrapping my arms around his waist as he wrapped his around my back, squeezing me tightly once more.
“You’re going to squash her.”
Dave straightened quickly and I jumped back at the sound of Flynn’s voice and when I spun to face him, he had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed on Dave.
Dave’s light brown eyes darkened with anger as he took in the other boy with a quick look. “Flynn,” he said, his voice low and filled with warning as he straightened to his full height, puffing out his chest in an attempt at intimidation that I had to admit was quite affective. His shirt looked like it might split if he took a deep breath and when he flexed his bicep slightly, I had to glance over at Flynn to see how he was reacting.
Flynn’s eyes were just as dark as Dave’s as he nodded at the larger boy, not looking afraid at all even though Dave looked like he could squash an elephant with very little effort. “Tank,” Flynn said simply, his voice lacking any warmth. “If you’re looking for Aaron, he’s downstairs.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m here to talk to Cory.”
Flynn raised an eyebrow at him and cocked his head to the side. “From what I saw, you weren’t doing too much talking.”
“I’m not much for conversation,” Dave snapped back, his fists clenched at his sides.
Flynn’s eyes flashed with anger and his spine stiffened as he took a step closer to Dave, looking like he wanted to punch the other boy very, very hard.
“I’m getting the feeling you two don’t get along,” I said dryly, planting my hands on my hips and shifting my gaze from Dave to Flynn as they continued to glare at each other, the atmosphere in the room charged with tension.
“Last time I saw him, he was insulting you so excuse me if I don’t want to be his best friend,” Dave growled, his voice rumbling dangerously in his chest.
“It’s in the past, Dave. He apologized and I forgave him already. Now he’s helping me pass high school so stop looking at him like you want to break him into pieces. I need him.”
Dave’s eyes swung to me and lit with surprise. “All right,” he said after a moment before swinging his gaze back to Flynn and narrowing his eyes in warning. “But if you hurt her in any way, you’ll have to answer to me, got it?”
“Back at you,” Flynn replied, glaring back at Dave until the other boy nodded, stepping around me to shake Flynn’s hand.
I stared at the two boys, still glaring at each other as they gripped hands, neither of them willing to back down. “What is this, The Godfather? Why are you shaking hands?” I asked, stomping towards them and yanking on their joined hands until they released. “God, you guys are weird.” I shook my head, staring from Dave to Flynn in disbelief, knowing that it would be pointless to tell them that I could take care of myself. “Can we get back to physics now?” I said, rolling my eyes at the two of them and planting my hands on my hips in frustration.
“As...thrilling as that sounds, I’m not going to stick around for it,” Dave said, giving me a warm smile and leaning down to brush a light kiss across my cheek.
“What a shame,” Flynn grumbled, making Dave throw a glare at him.
“Cory, I’ll talk to you soon,” Dave said, giving Flynn the middle finger as he turned and with a last grin over his shoulder at me, he walked out of the house, closing the door firmly behind him.
When he was gone, I tilted my head to the side and examined Flynn closely, my forehead wrinkled in a frown as I tried to figure something out.
“What?” Flynn asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“I’m just trying to figure out if you’re as smart as everyone says because generally, smart people don’t try to pick fights with guys that are twice their size.”
“He’s not twice my size,” Flynn said, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes down at me.
My lips twitched at his defensive tone but my curiosity defeated my laughter and my voice was steady when I asked, “Why don’t you two get along? I mean, I can understand why Dave doesn’t like you because of what you said at his party that one time but why do you hate him?”
Something flitted across his gaze and for a second he remained silent as he stared down at me, his expression unreadable again.
“Flynn?” I said when he still didn’t say anything, just kept looking down at me.
“Reena!”
My heart skipped a beat in shock but I managed not to jump when Jake suddenly yelled from the front door and launched himself across the living room at me. I crouched down low so that he could wrap his small arms around my neck and I lifted him up, wrapping my own arms around his small body, squeezing tightly as my heart swelled in my chest with love for my half sibling. “Little man,” I said over his shoulder seeing Sandra and Donald in the foyer, taking off their shoes and chatting with each other with smiles on their faces and for a second, I felt such an incredible pang of longing that I lost my breath. I wanted those four years back. I wanted to truly be a part of this family, to watch Jake grow up and take a smiling picture with my father at graduation but when Donald’s eyes rested on mine and went cold, I realized that I was dreaming. My father could barely stand me. He’d warned Flynn away from me so what made me think he’d want to stand next to me for a picture? Giving myself a mental shake, I squeezed my brother again swallowing hard before saying, “Where have you been, kid? I missed you.”
“Missed you too, Reena,” he said, pulling back to grin at me.
“Did you have fun at school?”
He nodded and started telling me all about his day, most of it having to do with his best friend Peter and the adventures they got into with their twin toads, Freddy One and Freddy Two.
“Corinna,” Sandra said, stepping into my line of sight and cutting Jake off mid story.
I raised an eyebrow in her direction, getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach because of the way she was looking at me. “What?” I asked, not bothering with politeness.
She grabbed Jake under the arms and placed him on the floor, taking her eyes off me only for a moment to tell her son to run upstairs and get changed out of his school clothes and with a scowl on his face, he raced up the stairs, leaving me alone with Donald, Sandra and Flynn. When she looked back at me, I could see the anger and betrayal burning in her light brown eyes, making my defences go up immediately.
I planted a fake look of apology on my face and said, “Is this about the shampoo? I only used it once before I could buy my own. I didn’t think you’d even notice.”
“Your eyes are red,” she hissed, leaning closer to me and inhaling before lurching back. “Have you been smoking drugs?”
“Not lately,” I said with a shrug, my gaze unwavering as I looked at her.
“You smell like marijuana. Cory, please don’t tell me you’re really that stupid. I thought...” she swallowed hard and shook her head before focusing on me resolutely once more, “I thought we reached an understanding. I thought things were getting better.”
“Things are perfect,” I said sarcastically, taking a step back as Donald moved next to Sandra, his eyes lit with disapproval as he wrapped his arm around her waist and she leaned into him unconsciously, seeking comfort because her step daughter was a menace.
“Things are not perfect, Cory,” Donald said, his voice firm and unwavering, his eyes locked on mine, not giving an inch.
“What about when I was gone?” I asked, tilting my head to the side, pasting a smirk on my face to hide the vulnerability I was feeling, wishing that she’d asked me what was wrong rather than assuming the worst. “Was it perfect then? Jesse never lit a school on fire or came home drunk? No one ever swore at you or acted out, it must have been heaven. Then I had to go and ruin it,” I said, shaking my head and giving them a sympathetic look.
“No family is perfect,” Sandra said vaguely, her eyes sliding away from mine, looking at a point over my shoulder.
“Ah, but it was closer without me, right?” I said, nodding in understanding, recognizing the truth in their eyes as I said it.
“Cory, just tell them the truth,” Flynn said close to my ear, his voice pitched low but it carried enough that they heard it.
“Flynn’s right, Cory. You might as well just come clean that way we can decide on the consequences together,” Donald said, his eyes lighting with respect as he glanced over at Flynn before settling on me again, turning disappointed once more.
I gave a snort and opened my mouth to reply but closed it again when Flynn spoke. “She didn’t do anything wrong so stop assuming that she did,” Flynn snapped, his sharp tone making my head whip towards him, my eyes widening at the sight of the anger in his gaze. “Why do you always assume the worst about her?”
“Flynn, this really doesn’t involve you,” Donald said, his eyes flashing with anger as they narrowed on Flynn. Sandra frowned, casting a look in my direction that I didn’t understand.
“Of course it does,” Flynn said, moving a step closer to me so that our arms were touching and my traitorous body leaned a little closer to him even as I told myself to move away. “You took me in when I needed a place to stay without a question. You showed me more kindness than I’d ever seen in my own family yet for some reason, you can’t show the same kindness to your own daughter.”
Donald shook his head, glancing over at me before facing Flynn again. “We tried, Tyler. You can’t possibly understand how hard it was for us but we did what we had to do. She was out of control and we just couldn’t deal with her anymore.” Donald let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair, his shoulders slumping forward in defeat. “I didn’t want it to be like this,” he said more quietly, giving his head a little shake. “But I stand by my decision to send her away.” He stepped slightly closer to me and reached out his hand to rest on my shoulder but I stepped back hastily, tripping on my own feet in my effort to get away from him, not wanting him to touch me at the moment. He gritted his teeth and curled his fingers towards his palm, bending his elbow slowly and lowering his hand back to his side as his eyes flashed with surprise and hurt along with the anger and disappointment that was already there. “Tell me why your eyes are red, Corinna. If you’re going to start up with this stuff again, I need to know.”
I shrugged, trying to make it nonchalant but I probably didn’t pull it off. My emotions felt like a giant exposed nerve and every word that my father said rubbed against me the wrong way, sending stabbing pains directly to my heart. It was getting harder and harder to keep my face a blank mask and I was getting that panicky feeling in my chest, telling me I needed to get out of there, now. “I’m not high,” I said simply, taking another step back, telling myself to keep my posture straight and to look Donald in the eye when I talked to him, to not give anything away. “Aren’t you proud, Dad?”
“Are you lying to me?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on my face, searching for any condemning evidence, making my heart lurch with pain.
“Only god knows,” I said lightly, shocked that my voice came out steady and sarcastic, that I even managed to place a smirk on my face.
“Corinna,” he said, his eyes narrowing further with anger. “Just give me a straight answer.”
“I did,” I said with a shrug, taking another step away from him towards the stairs. “You chose not to believe me.”
“She’s not high,” Flynn snapped when my father opened his mouth to argue some more, clearly unconvinced. Donald’s eyes widened as they connected with Flynn’s, obviously unused to his tone of voice.
“Careful Flynn, if you talk to him like that you might get thrown out too.”
“We didn’t throw you out,” Sandra said, her eyes wide with hurt and a bit of guilt.
“Really? Because it kind of felt like you threw me out.”
“We were trying to help you,” Sandra said, her eyes begging me to understand, to agree with her.
“Well good because it was very helpful,” I snapped, feeling the edges of my control start to fray.
Doubt flashed across Sandra’s eyes and she broke eye contact with me in order to look up at her husband whose own gaze reflected the same guilt and uncertainty that was in Sandra’s. “What happened while you were gone?” Donald asked softly, taking another step closer to me, leaving only about a foot of space between us and I felt my knees start to shake with the effort of not running away. It took nearly everything in me to look him steadily in the eye, to keep the smirk on my face.
“Is this the part where we have a heart to heart, Donald? Should I tell you about my hopes and dreams too? Because there’s one in particular that I think you’ll like.” I didn’t pause when his eyes narrowed on me, flashing with anger and confusion. “I want to get the fuck out of here,” I hissed, losing my smirk and what was left of my patience at the same time. “I’m really hoping you’ll support me with this one,” I said, my voice low and rough to my own ears, making me wince as I heard the vulnerability there.
Donald must have seen something in my eyes because his flickered with a hint of worry that made my traitorous heart clench in longing, wishing that I’d seen that look more often in his eyes in the past rather than the defeat and hopelessness that I had grown used to.
“Corinna,” he said, his voice filled with uncertainty and for a second, I just wanted to lean forward, to wrap my arms around him and figure out if his hugs really were as great as I remembered but I couldn’t do it. Even though we were barely a foot from each other, it felt like there was an ocean between us.
“Don’t worry,” I said, taking a step back before whirling on my heel, facing the stairs so I didn’t have to look at my father anymore. “As soon as I graduate, I’m out of here.”
“I told you that you can stay longer if you want to,” Sandra said quietly, sending a fresh wave of pain through my chest at the thought that she was reaching out to me. But it was too late now. I needed them to reach out to me four years ago when my world had begun to crumble around me.
“I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome,” I said breezily, taking a couple more steps towards the stairs and waving a dismissive hand over my shoulder.
“You’re always welcome here, Corinna,” Sandra said softly, her sincere voice making it feel like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room and making me wish that she was my biological mother. Maybe then things would be different. Maybe then she would’ve tried harder to truly help me years ago and maybe then my father wouldn’t have been so eager to give up on me in favour of having a more functional family.
I sucked in a silent but shaky breath and planted my foot on the first step, reaching out to grip the smooth railing as I turned my head slightly, seeing a family portrait obviously taken not too long ago and each of them were smiling broadly, genuine happiness in their eyes. I wracked my brain, trying to think of one single moment in the past four years that I felt as happy as they looked and I came up with nothing as I brought my other foot onto the same step as the first. “I don’t belong here,” I whispered, turning my head slightly so that I could see Donald and Sandra out of the corner of my eye. “Thanks for the offer, Sandra but I hate it here just as much as you hate having me here. Kudos on doing the right thing and pretending like you care but you can’t deny that the picture looks better without me in it,” I said, hearing an undercurrent of pain in my voice, making me wince.
“That’s not─”
“My eyes,” I said firmly, cutting Donald off before he could say anything else because I didn’t think I would survive one more word from him. “My eyes are red because I was crying. I met an old friend of mine who I thought may have changed but as it turns out, she’s exactly the same as she’s always been and it was hard to see.” I let out a sigh and faced forward again, moving up the stairs without waiting for a response from them, not wanting to see the disbelief in their eyes at my flimsy excuse. I really couldn’t blame them for not believing me. In their eyes, I didn’t deserve their trust.
And in my eyes, they didn’t deserve mine.
Flynn’s POV
I kept my eyes glued to her back as she moved up the stairs, her walk perfectly normal and her head held high, her long blonde hair cascading down her back in waves and I felt like I was the only one who could see past her act. Her shoulders were just a bit stiff and her steps just a bit too precise to be natural. She was trying to hold herself together long enough to make it to her room and I couldn’t blame her one bit.
When she was out of sight, I turned to face her parents, wanting to scream at them to get a clue, wondering how the caring people that I’d come to love could be so cold to their own daughter.
“You have to stop treating her like the fourteen year old girl that the cops brought home drunk four years ago. She’s not the same person anymore,” I said, keeping my voice pitched low because if I spoke any louder, I’d end up yelling at them. “I don’t think she ever was that girl.”
Donald shook his head and shifted so that his arms were wrapped around Sandra, giving her a tight hug as she leaned into him, obviously shaken up by the confrontation. “Tyler, you need to see past your feelings for her. She’s a troubled young girl and I can respect that she’s trying to graduate and to straighten up but we’ve given her all the chances we can. How many times has she begged for my forgiveness only to turn around and throw it in my face?” He let out a sigh and tightened his hold on Sandra. “I just can’t go through that again.”
I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands into fists at my sides, feeling an incredible surge of anger burn through my veins as I looked at Sandra and Donald, wrapped in each other’s arms, giving one another the comfort that they needed and I couldn’t help but wonder who’d been there to give Cory comfort when she’d needed it. Her mother? The woman who could barely stand when we’d seen her earlier?
I shook my head, unable to speak without losing it so I just walked out of the living room and collected Cory’s books from the dining room table, taking a steadying breath before moving towards the stairs, not bothering to look at Donald or Sandra as I moved past them.
“Tyler,” Donald said, reaching out to grip my arm, stopping my motion towards the stairs but I still didn’t look at him. “I just want you to be careful around her. She’s not─”
“Stop,” I said through gritted teeth, keeping my eyes focused on the stairs in front of me, needing to get to her, getting the feeling that she was crying again and I wanted her to know that someone was there for her even if her parents weren’t. “You may have found it easy to give her up but I don’t.”
“Flynn,” Sandra said, her voice ringing with hurt but I didn’t feel guilty. They hadn’t seen the pain in Cory’s eyes when she’d watched her mother stumble around the table earlier and they hadn’t seen her flinch when I’d moved my hand to adjust the heat in my car.
I shook my head, tightening my grip on the books in my hands, shaking with anger at the thought of someone hitting her. “I can’t listen to you talk about her like that anymore. There are things about her that you don’t understand and I’m not saying that I do either but at least I’m willing to try to figure it out.”
Donald’s grip on my arm loosened and I took advantage of it, moving forward and letting his hand fall away from me as I moved up the stairs, not looking back as I climbed the steps towards Corinna’s room.
“Cory?” I called out softly when I knocked, not really expecting her to answer but prepared to stay there all night if I had to.
I blinked in surprise when the door was flung open and Corinna’s eyes met mine steadily, no sign of tears, only her usual blank gaze. “Oh good, you brought the books,” she said, her voice flat and emotionless as she stepped back and gestured for me to enter.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I placed her books on the bed and turned to face her, stepping closer and reaching out my hands to rest on her arms but she slipped past me before I could connect and settled onto her bed.
“I’m fine,” she said with a shrug, not meeting my eyes as she focused on the books in front of her, flipping the physics textbook to the right page. “Take a seat, Flynn. We’ve got work to do.”
“Cory, about what they said─”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she snapped, raising her head to meet my eyes and for a second, they weren’t blank but filled with so much pain and sadness that I felt like someone punched me in the gut. She bit her lip and gave a tiny shake of her head, the pain staying in her gaze until she looked down again and when she looked back up, her sarcastic smile was back and her eyes were emotionless again. “It won’t matter once I’m gone so if you want to comfort me, teach me how to calculate the force of gravity.”
“Gravity is a constant,” I replied, my voice slightly hoarse as I sat down on her bed across from her. “We calculate acceleration due to gravity but gravity always stays the same.”
“See,” she said, her lips turning up further in the corners, “this is why I need you.”
My heart clenched hard in my chest, stealing my breath as she told me that she needed me and I wanted to tell her that I needed her too, that I hated the thought of her leaving and that any pain I felt when I was fourteen and she left would be so much worse this time around because I loved her so much more now. Every single day I loved her a little more and every day she reminded me that she was leaving as soon as school was out.
“Thank you,” she said softly after a few minutes, bringing me back to reality.
“It’s no big deal,” I said, leaning forward to look at the question she was working on. “I actually really like physics.”
“I always knew you were a strange one, Tyler Flynn,” she said, a hint of laughter in her voice as she looked up at me, our faces closer than I thought because we were both leaning over the same notebook and as I watched her eyes changed, the laughter fading replaced by something softer tinged with a bit of sadness. “But I wasn’t thanking you for tutoring me,” she said softly, her golden brown eyes locked on mine and I forgot to breathe entirely. “You stood up for me downstairs and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it.” She swallowed hard and dropped her pencil before reaching across the notebook towards where my hand rested and lifted it gently in her own making my heart rate accelerate rapidly and my mind fog over. “Also, earlier with my mom and afterward too, you did more than I would’ve ever expected and even though I wish you hadn’t seen any of it, I can’t regret having you there. Even though I know you only hang out with me because Jesse asked you to keep an eye on me, I appreciate it. Today would’ve been much harder without you.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration at the mention of Jesse and when she tried to pull her hand back, I tightening my fingers around it, stopping her motion. Her eyes turned questioning as I kept my gaze steadily locked on hers, needing her to completely understand what I was about to say. “Jesse has nothing to do with why I spend time with you, Cory,” I said clearly, my voice just slightly hoarse but she definitely heard me.
Her forehead wrinkled in a slight frown and she tilted her head to the side slightly in question, the tips of her hair brushing across my exposed wrist, making my skin tingle and electricity shoot up my arm and all the way down my spine. I cleared my throat, telling myself to focus, that this was more important than my attraction to her at the moment.
“Cory, I─”
“Reena!” Jake shouted as he flung open the door and rushed into the room, pausing only to climb onto the bed before flinging himself into Cory’s arms.
“Jake!” Reena said, using the same tone of voice that Jake had to say her name, a broad smile stretching across her lips as she pulled her hand from mine without a second thought and wrapped her arms around her little brother, settling him comfortably into her lap. “What’s going on, little man?”
“Can I play in here with you and Flynn?” Jake asked, grinning up at her and as I watched, her eyes melted with love for her brother, losing all sadness and pain as the brown became more golden and her entire face lit, her beauty stealing my breath.
“Well, that depends, Flynn and I need to do some homework, do you think you can play by yourself?”
He nodded eagerly, ready to agree to anything as long as he could spend time with his sister and for a moment, I felt a kinship with the little guy as I looked down at the piles of textbooks and papers that littered the bed, realizing that I’d signed up as her tutor for every subject simply because I liked being around her.
“All right then,” she said, giving him a tight squeeze before pushing him gently off the bed. “Go get something to play with.”
He darted to the door and bent down to pick up a toy truck that had a familiar shoebox with air holes balanced in its cab before coming back into the room and shutting the door behind him, plopping down on the floor and immediately starting up a steady stream of conversation with his pet toad.
I shook my head, feeling my lips stretch into a smile as I looked at Jake, realizing that whatever I was going to say to Cory would have to wait. I turned towards her to see her still smiling at her brother and I felt a stab of jealousy in my chest, wanting her to smile at me like that even just once, not caring that it was ridiculous to be jealous of a six year old.
“Okay,” she said firmly, rubbing her hands together and giving me a grim look as she adjusted the notebook in front of her. “Let’s do this.”
“I can’t do it anymore,” she said after four hours of solid studying and not for the first time, I was impressed by how fast she caught on. “I never want to see another equation,” she mumbled, her eyes half closed as she shoved the books away from her and tossed her pencil on top of them.
“You have physics class tomorrow, Cor,” I pointed out unnecessarily.
She let out a groan and flopped back onto her pillows and stretched out her legs next to me.”I’ll deal with tomorrow when it happens,” she said softly, her eyes fluttering completely closed as she curled up next to her brother who’d fallen asleep over an hour ago.
“All right,” I said softly, shifting so that my legs dangled off the edge of the bed, reaching over to move the text books that were scattered across the duvet.
“Did you give up on your dad, Flynn?” she asked softly, making my head whip towards her and my hands freeze over the book I was about to move.
Her eyes were still barely open and her head was propped up on pillows but there was a slight frown on her forehead that told me she was waiting for my answer. I shrugged, understanding what she meant immediately. “I can’t,” I said simply, giving a wry twist of my lips. “He’s made mistakes in the past, bad ones, but I still love him and so no, I can’t give up on him. He’s a good man when he’s sober, he just needs to realize that.”
She gave a tiny nod, her eyes opening a bit more and locking on mine, her frown deepening on her forehead as she thought over my answer. “I still love her too,” she said so softly that I had to lean forward to hear her. “I can’t give up on her either,” she mumbled, her eyes drifting closed once more as her body began to relax with sleep. “They gave up on me, though,” she slurred, exhausted from meeting her mother and the confrontation with Donald and Sandra. “Must not have loved me enough,” she whispered, her voice cracking slightly on the word ‘loved’. I gritted my teeth and balled my hands into fists until my knuckles were white as I watched the frown fade from her forehead, her skin smoothing out and relaxing as a small smile tilted her lips upward and her eyes opened a tiny slit. “You should be careful,” she said, sounding drunk with exhaustion.
“Why?” I asked, my voice coming out as a growl because I was so angry at Donald and Sandra for making her feel like she wasn’t good enough.
Her eyes opened more fully and she looked me directly in the eye when she said, “You held my hand, Flynn and you didn’t run away screaming when you met my mother.” I watched her struggle to keep her eyes open just a bit longer but she lost the battle with a sigh and she let her eyes close fully. “It’s been a while since someone stood by me and I might get addicted to it. Better run before I fuck up your life too,” she said, her voice barely audible and a second later, her breathing became deeper and her muscles relaxed fully, asleep.
For a moment, I just stared at her, all the tension fading from her face and shoulders and for the first time since she’d come back, she looked peaceful with her little brother curled up next to her and her textbooks strewn across the sheets. “I’m not running away, Cor,” I said quietly, shifting forward to gently brush a strand of hair off her forehead, a slight smile stretching across my lips when she moved her head a bit to follow my touch, unconsciously seeking the warmth from my fingers. “My life is only fucked up when you’re not in it.”