Page 21 of Drifting

That’s not the only place to relax, either. To the right is a sitting area with a cream-colored couch and chair. To the side of the couch, a white writing desk rests against the pale blue walls.

My favorite color.

Besides the main door, there are two more doors in the room.

Peering around the room, I find little touches of things I told Patty I wanted at some point or another. She spent a lot of time working on this.

I can’t keep the smile from spreading across my face.

Patty stands nervously beside me. “What do you think, Shelby? Do you like it? I tried to remember everything you used to tell me about your dream room. You were around five at the time, so I hope your aesthetic didn’t change too much over the years. If there’s something you don’t like, we can change it.”

“It’s perfect. I don’t want to change anything.” I give her an awkward hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I was a little worried.” She returns the hug before she steps back and wrings her hands. “If you don’t want to go all the way around the way we went, then you can turn left from the foyer. There’s a hallway that connects to this one. Or, you can come through the garage. The room beside your’s is a spare room, then Hannah’s room, and Nick has the loft above the garage.”

Peter puts a hand on her shoulder and looks down at me. “I want you to feel comfortable here and start thinking of this as your home. I don’t know if Patty explained, but when we got the call from Mrs. Abney that you were at the hospital, we were on vacation. We thought it would be better for everyone if my kids stayed behind while we came back. They won’t return until right before school starts, so we have the place to ourselves for a month. We’ve thrown a lot at you today, so why don’t you relax for a bit. The cable gets every channel you can think of plus all the movie channels.”

Whoa, nice to know Patty was living it up while I was living hand-to-mouth.

“I didn’t mean to ruin your summer vacation,” I say in a monotone voice, my earlier happiness vanishing. “I can stay with friends until I get better.”

“You did no such thing.” Peter smiles. “To tell you the truth, I’d rather be here. I like to keep busy. Plus, we were talking about taking another vacation later this year with you.”

“Must be nice,” I mumble under my breath.

Patty glares at me. “We thought it would be easier for you if you got settled before the kids came home.”

“I’ll go get your clothes out of the SUV, then make some calls and let you two talk.” Peter kisses Patty before he heads out the door.

Patty sits beside me and scrutinizes my casts. “I ordered a wheelchair for you, but it hasn’t arrived yet.”

“I can hop around. I’m not going to depend on Peter and you to push me everywhere,” I say, peering at the room with a feeling of apprehension.

What dream did I just walk into? Stuff like this doesn’t happen to people like me. Something is going to destroy it.

“You might have to rely on us.. Until you get approved to use a walking boot..” Nervously she moistens her dry lips. “I don’t want you to hurt your leg any more.”

I hate that she’s right. It would be better for them to push me around than not be able to walk around later. But I don’t want to think about that right now. We’ll deal with the problems as they come.

I stare at my hands, then lift my eyes to her. “When was the last time you talked to Uncle Brett?”

“Hmm?” Her brows pinch in confusion. “I don’t know. Why?”

“You know Cin ran away, too.” When Patty nods, I tell her everything about Brenda and how she treats Cin.

Patty pales. “That’s awful. I didn’t keep in contact with Brett since things didn’t go too well the last time we met. What’s my brother doing about it?”

“Not a damn thing.” Anger shoots through me for how much my uncle changed over the years. “When Aunt Maria passed away, he became detached from everything. He drinks more and lives in his own world. When Cin tried to tell him, he said she was just jealous that she had to share his time. I’m worried about her now that she’s back there. Her stepmother’s not a nice person.”

Patty shakes her head in disappointment. “Brett knows better than to overindulge.”

I snort. Not like she’s one to talk.

She ignores me and says, “I’ll try to call him sometime this week. Why don’t you rest before dinner? Do you want to change into something more comfortable?”

I shake my head. “I’m going to cut some of my jeans off to fit over my cast later.”

“Don’t do that. I’ll talk to Peter about getting you some clothes that work,” she promises. “For now, I’ll grab you a couple of pairs of Nick’s older shorts. They should work if they have a tie.”

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