Page 98 of Penalty to the Heart

I just nod because what else can I do—admit to myself that my mother might not look at me the same way ever again?

Not happening.

I’m not that much of a masochist, thank you very much.

If what my mom needs is time, then that’s what she’ll get.

I just have to hold out hope that she’ll come around eventually.

And if she doesn’t?

Then I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

After last night’s fiasco at trying to make amends with my mother, the last thing I want to do is talk about it.

Roxie must have been prepared for the possibility of things not working out for me because the moment I walk into her office and she catches sight of my forlorn expression, she quickly gets up from her desk, grabbing her purse and coat on the way.

“Tonight, we’re going on an outing,” she announces cheerfully.

“Oh?” I ask, confused. “I don’t think I’m in the right frame of mind to be around anyone right now.”

“And that’s exactly why we’re going out.”

“Roxie,” I start to protest, but she’s not having it.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” I say, insulted that she would even ask me such a thing.

“Good.” She throws that radiant, warm smile of hers that always does my heart in. “I promise you’ll feel a whole lot better about yourself before the night is done.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

“Just come with me and find out.”

Half an hour later, Roxie parks her car in the parking lot of a worn-down building on the poorer side of town.

“What is this place?”

“What does it look like?”

“Oh, I don’t know. A place where horror movies are filmed?” I give my best guess since the building looks like it’s about to cave in on itself any minute now.

“Close.” She giggles. “Actually, it’s a rehabilitation center of sorts. People who can’t afford to go to licensed physical therapists or mental health professionals like me come here to get the care they need. I volunteer twice a week on my time off.”

“You have time off? How come this is the first I’m hearing of it?” I laugh to lighten the mood since I’m pretty sure if we go into this building, we’ll end up getting murdered. “I can think of a million ways to best use your free time that don’t include spending it in a deathtrap.”

“I’m sure you can. But this isn’t about me or you. This is about putting someone else’s needs above our own. It’s about us not dwelling on things we cannot change and instead putting all that negative energy into something productive, such as trying to make someone else feel better about themselves.”

My heart swells two sizes at how passionate she is about the things that matter to her.

I swear, this woman is a goddamn angel. All that’s missing is the halo above her head.

“Are you ready to go in?” she says, her amber eyes twinkling brightly as she holds her hand for me to take.

Little does she know that I’d willingly go to hell and back if it meant I got to hold her hand.

With Roxie’s fingers laced with mine, she pushes open the squeaky door of the center, the chipped paint barely clinging onto the wooden frame. Roxie keeps smiling encouragingly at me as she leads me down a long corridor to a room where, according to her, she spends most of her time when she’s volunteering here.

---