Page 18 of Drifting

When she steps out of the Benz’s driver's side, my mouth falls open. Where the hell did she get the money for a new SUV? Come to think about it, the outfit she’s wearing is way too nice to be second-hand. I take a second sweep of her clothes. Her red, button-down top looks like silk, and the V-neck frames a pearl choker. Her black, high-rise pants, look tailored to stop perfectly over her cute, open-toed, heeled sandals.

How did I miss that? Those clothes aren’t from any thrift store I’ve been to. Did she steal them?

She hurries to open the front, passenger door and helps me into the front seat.

We get about a mile away from the hospital before I start asking questions. “Where are you dragging me off to, now?”

She glances at me before focusing on the road. “I know I wasn’t the best mother to you, and there’s no way I can make up for all the time we lost. But I hope, in time, you can forgive me, and we can start over.”

I huff. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

Not in the mood to hear her sob story about why she was a bad mother, I move around to find a comfortable spot, close my eyes, and soon fall asleep.

I’m not sure how long I napped before Patty shakes me. “Shelby, I need you to wake up. We’re almost there, and I need to tell you something important before we arrive.”

Rubbing my eyes and letting out a yawn, I glance around.

Patty pulled into a rest stop and parked away from the main building.

When I glance at her in question, she nervously runs her hands down her legs. “I thought you might want to get out and stretch your legs out for a bit.”

Feeling stiff from sleeping upright, I nod in agreement.

She looks relieved as she climbs and hurries around to my side. It takes some coordination to help me out. I can’t wait to get the use of my leg back. Tired from the process, I lean against the SUV and glance around.

All I see are trees, with no buildings besides the bathrooms. “What state are we in? What the hell is going on?”

“We’re outside of Greyhedge, Maryland.”

“Maryland?” Okay, not too far away, but I’ve never heard of Greyhedge.

She twists her hands. “I wanted to tell you I met someone special. His name is Doctor Peter Tate.”

“Shocking! Not! A doctor, huh? Well, that explains the SUV and the clothes.” I eye her suspiciously. “You’re not dating your therapist from rehab, are you?”

She would do something like that.

“Shelby, please.” She tsks. “Peter’s a neurologist. A close friend of Peter’s asked if Peter could cover for him at the rehab center while he took a small vacation. He told Peter that his wife was close to leaving him because he spends too much time at the rehab center.” Patty shifts to stand in front of me, her eyes drop to the ground, and she keeps picking at her nails. “I know you’ve heard this a million times before, but it will be different this time.”

I roll my eyes. I wish I had a dollar for every time she said that. I’d be a millionaire by now.

“A year ago, I married him in front of a justice of the peace,” she announces as fast as she can get the words out.

My eyes bug out. "What?” I run my hands through my hair. “Man, what kind of mess are you dragging me into this time?”

I was happy where I was, had a roof over my head, had food and good friends. Now, she’s dragging me out into the country to who knows what. Knowing her, she married some geezer on the verge of dying just to get his money.

She sighs, her love-struck blue eyes focused on me. “I love him, Shelby. From the start, there was a connection. I just finished with a hard therapy session when he got off on the wrong floor, and I ran right into him.”

Damn, she’s in love, real love.

“He’s forty-four and has two great kids, Hannah, who’s a year younger than you, and Nick, who’s your age. Please, for once, be happy for me,” she pleads.

“Be happy for you?” I want to pace so bad. Damn my broken leg. “I just woke up in the hospital with a broken arm and leg to find out my whole world would be turned upside down. I had a life! Stability! And people I could count on! All that ripped away so I could go back to my drug-addict mother who has bailed on me more times than I can count. Now, you want me to be happy I have a stepsister and stepbrother I didn’t ask for? I already had a family! And now Cin got sent back home, and I can’t get ahold of her because someone shut off her phone. I don’t even know if she’ll ever talk to me ever again. I can’t process it all!” Angry, I smack the side of the SUV, and pain shoots up my arm. "Goddammit!”

Pale, Patty cautiously steps forward. “Here, let me help you back into the car.”

By the time we get me back in the car, my arm throbs, and I clutch it to my chest. Moving around wasn’t great for my leg, either, and pain wracks my entire body.

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