Page 8 of The Afterthought

"I don't have any intention of making her leave town," I respond, my tone shorter than usual.

Before any further words can be exchanged between us, there is a soft knock on the door. Both of our heads turn towards the doorway when two people enter the room. Immediately, I stand to take a step towards them and reach my hand out to introduce myself.

"Hi, I'm Avalynn. It's nice to meet you," I say while shaking the hand of the first woman. She appears to be older, likely Mrs. Wolfe. Her long brown hair has a few grays sprinkled in here and there, and the bags under her brown eyes suggest she's had quite a few sleepless nights.

"It's nice to meet you, Avalynn. I'm Susan Wolfe," she says briefly before stepping aside to reveal the girl behind her.

The girl steps forward, and I reach my hand out to her, just as I did to Susan. "Hi, I'm Avalynn, but you can call me Ava. I'm so happy to meet you."

She smiles and shakes my hand, although I can tell she is a bit apprehensive. "I'm Chloe. So, you're the secret sister, then?"

I wasn't expecting her to be so blunt, but I suppose the two of us have that in common. Hopefully, that won't be an issue going forward. Her blue eyes meet mine, and a slight furrow creases her brow. She doesn't trust me. I don't blame her.

"Yeah, I suppose I am. Your mom never mentioned anything about me or my dad at all?"

She scoffs at that statement. "Nope. It was always just the two of us. She said he left her high and dry when she found out she was pregnant. We only ever needed each other anyway."

"I'm sorry you never got to meet him."

"Yeah, so kind of him to leave my mother to raise me on her own."

I can't tell her she's wrong for feeling like this. If I were in her shoes, I would likely feel the same. We are both angry at the same man but for different reasons. I had him up on a pedestal, but he proved with his secret that he never deserved to be there. I wish he were still alive so I could introduce her to him, and we could sit down to ask him why he did what he did. Did he even know about her? I guess it doesn’t matter much now.

I turn to Sheriff Wolfe. "Is there anything else you need from us, or can we go ahead and get going? I'd really like to have some time to get to know Chloe. I'm sure she has a ton of questions for me, too."

"Not particularly," she mumbles under her breath. Luckily, it's not loud enough for Sheriff Wolfe to hear.

"Chloe, are you good to head out with Avalynn?" he asks her. "You know if you ever have any problems, Susan and I are only a phone call away. You're more than welcome to come over to see Andrea any time."

"Thanks. I think I'll be fine, though," she says with a smile.

"Don't sweat it, kiddo." He steps in to give her a quick hug before pulling back and turning to face me again. "You two are free to go on your way. Do not hesitate to call me if you have any issues."

"Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day. It was nice to meet you, Susan," I say before stepping out of the room and making my way back down the hallway. I glance over my shoulder to see Chloe following silently behind.

When we get to the car, I pull out my phone to shoot a quick text to Wrenly, letting her know that the entire day has been like ripping off a giant band-aid. I ask if she is able to stop over at the house soon. It would be nice to see her. The last time I saw her was nearly two years ago when she flew out to meet me for a weekend at one of the jobs I was doing in Miami.

"You're not supposed to text and drive," the teenage voice next to me says.

I ignore the hostility in her tone. I'm sure she must be going through some rough emotions with her mom just passing away. I finish up my text and set my phone in the cup holder.

"Do you need to grab anything from your house before I take you to mine to settle in?"

I see the way her jaw clenches when I mention stopping at her house. I recognize the pain in her face. I guarantee she hasn't been inside the house since her mom passed away.

"I don't want to go there. Can't you just take me to buy a few things?" she asks.

I really wish I could, but all the money I have is needed to keep us afloat until I can find a way to bring in a steady income. The savings I have need to be used for household things and food.

"I'm really sorry, but I don't have that kind of extra cash right now. For now, I can let you borrow some of my clothes if you want."

Her brows furrow and she raises one of them. "If what you're wearing is any indication of what the rest of your closet looks like, I think I'll just suck it up and go get some of mine." She pauses for a second. I can see why she doesn't want to wear my clothes. My style is mostly black, and hers seems a lot lighter. "I'll give you the directions. Just drive."

I nod my head and start the car, heading back toward my mother's house. The Sheriff told me that she only lived a few streets over from me, so I’ll wait for her to point me down the right street. We make a few turns, and I pull to a stop outside of a small brick house. It's not much, but it's in way better shape than my house. The front of the house has all kinds of pretty flowers and bushes landscaped around it.

I turn off the car and glance at Chloe to find her staring blankly up at the house. It's so similar to the look I had earlier today when I drove up to my house.

"I get it," I say softly. "I don't know the specifics of how your mother passed, but I know that look. It's going to be weird going in there for the first time, knowing that everything is different now, but I'll be there with you for support if you need it."

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