Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
I was suddenly furious.
She disliked her mother so much that she’d be willing to stay in a shitty situation because she didn’t want to hear her mother say ‘I told you so?’
I straightened to my full height.
“You need to go see her.” I paused. “I’ll go see her.”
His mouth twitched at one corner. “I’d already decided to do that tomorrow. It’s about a four-hour drive there and then back. If I take off at lunchtime, I can go eat an early dinner with her, get the lay of the land, and then head back…but I’m not sure if that’s going to be enough. She doesn’t want to leave, wants to make it work, and I know that. But I hate the idea of her being there when she’s being treated so poorly.”
I pursed my lips and brought one finger up to tap against my upper lip.
“Is she in a dorm?”
He nodded.
“Is it her roommate?” I pushed.
He shrugged. “She didn’t complain about a roommate, but that could be why. I don’t know. I’ll find out what I can tomorrow.”
I smiled at him. “Also ask if she’s having trouble with the classes. That was a shocker for me, going from high school where I could skate by, to a college curriculum where I could not. It was a tough realization for me that it was actually going to take effort on my part to make it through. But once I accepted that I actually had to put some effort into it, I enjoyed it a lot more.”
He flashed me a grin. “Maybe I will take you with me…”
***
I was meeting Coke’s daughter.
How had I gotten myself into this?
I’d been silent for most of the two-hour drive, and that was because I wasn’t sure why I’d invited myself to go with him. I was second-guessing myself, and I wasn’t sure why.
I knew, better than most, what it felt like when people didn’t get me.
I’d said that to him last night, spur of the moment, because I’d hated the idea that someone that was special to Coke was going through something like I’d gone through.
I didn’t want anyone to have to experience that, so I was intent on making sure that she knew it was okay to be different.
Which was how I’d talked myself into going to this place with him, so his daughter didn’t ever feel like I’d felt. Nobody should be made to feel unwelcome.
“Cora?”
I looked over at him.
“Yeah?”
“That drawing you made me.”
I waited, knowing he wasn’t finished.
“I liked it.”
I grinned. “Normally I only hand out drawings to people that piss me off,” I admitted. “But, in your case, I felt like you needed a pick me up. Having to deal with that vile woman…I feel awful for you.”
He grunted. “I dug my own grave, darlin’,” he teased. “Tell me more about these drawings. Do you sell them?”
I smiled. “Somewhat. Not those particular drawings—the comics. I’ve never been able to get into that market. However, I do draw a lot—and have been selling some of my other drawings since I was a young girl. I’ve done a few book covers, and now I’m actually working for a production company that does animation for children’s animated movies.”
He looked over at me, eyebrows raised. “You draw characters like Nemo and that Moana dude?”
“Moana was the girl,” I teased. “But yes, that’s what I do. We’re working on an animated movie now about bugs. I’m currently in charge of a side character that doesn’t see much screen time, but even still, I have to draw out a whole lot more than you think I do. A lot of this is digitalized, but the initial concepts aren’t. So, I get to do a little bit of what I love to do.”
He hummed. “Sounds like you have your dream job.”
I shrugged. “My dream job is to draw what I want, not what I’m told. However, beggars can’t be choosers.”
“Janie mentioned something about only getting comics when you’re pissed at her…”
I felt my belly shiver as a flutter of nerves started to float around in my peripheral being.
“I…it’s how I express myself.” I paused. “I’m not really a people person. I don’t like confrontation. It’s easier for me to draw something, a comic or a picture, and have the characters say what I mean.”
He made an agreeing sound. “Not everyone enjoys confrontation.”
That was true.
But, there was more to my problem than that.
I hesitated, on the verge of sharing, and then he patted my hand that was resting on my knee.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” he promised.
I licked my lips and watched as he took his hand away and rested it on the center console between us.
Holy shit, I wanted nothing more than to have his hand back on my hand, curling those long fingers around mine tightly.
But…I needed to explain about me.