Page 101 of Corrupting Ivy

“Wear them with pride, Ivy. It serves as proof to the fact that you overcame what no one else could.” I wiped her stray tear away with my thumb. “Do you understand how rare that makes you?”

She squeezed her eyes tighter and leaned into my touch. Her staccato breaths warned of the impending flood of tears ready to break through. “I still see them in my head, Jenna and Veronica. Whenever I go to sleep, they’re there, haunting me.”

I pulled her against my chest and ran my hands down her hair. She wrapped her arms around my waist, fisting my shirt.

“They’ll fade into the blackness, like all the other nightmares created by this world.”

Her shoulder shook as the tears broke through, wracking her body with gut-wrenching sobs. When she’d quieted, she cleared her throat and wiped her wet cheeks. “I don’t deserve you, Randall.”

I scoffed and shook my head. “No. You deserve better, but I’m too selfish to let you go.” I walked back into the house and grabbed a box of tissues, then handed them to her as I approached her. “We can go another time.”

“No, we can go. I’ll be okay.” A faint smile tugged on her lips, then disappeared as she wiped her eyes and then grabbed a new one and wiped her nose.

“Good, then get out of my seat. You’re driving.”

Fear wiped away the sadness that swelled her reddened eyes. “I can’t drive this.” She shook her head. “Not yet.”

I leaned in and took the box from her, dropping it onto the floor. “No better way for you to learn than right now.” Tugging her out, I plopped in the seat she’d just occupied and shut the door while she stood in the driveway, staring at me through the window.

She placed her hands on her hips, then picked at the fibers on her shorts until she gave in. Rounding the vehicle, she climbed into the driver’s side and fumbled with the buttons on the side, adjusting her seat position, then the mirrors.

Ivy pressed her foot on the brake, then touched the start button.

“I feel like I’m going to break something.”

I chuckled. “Just relax. You break it, I’ll have it fixed.”

“Look at the steering wheel, it shines… I’m going to put smudge marks on it.”

“Then I’ll have it cleaned. Now, put it in reverse, and let’s go.” I plugged in the coordinates for The Drowning Anchor so she’d know where to go. A woman’s voice spoke over the speakers, giving the first set of instructions.

“Wow.”

I cracked a smile. It was like watching the amazement on a child’s face when they entered a toy store or an amusement park for the first time. Complete and utter innocence.

“How do I put it in reverse? There’s no shifter.”

I pointed to a lever that looked similar to a windshield wiper handle on the dash next to the steering wheel. “Move this up for reverse, then down one for drive.”

Ivy sat transfixed by the screen as the backup camera displayed the driveway behind us. When she finally made it onto the road, we passed Michael, who stood by the side of the road arguing with a taxi driver.

“Now, just go slow. We aren’t in a rush.”

“Okay.” She gripped the steering wheel with tight fists. “What type of food does this place have?”

“Seafood. Do you like seafood?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never had it before.”

“You’ve not even had shrimp?” She shook her head. “Oysters? Even from a can?”

She shook her head again and laughed. “Nope. I couldn’t afford that stuff.”

“We’re fixing that.”

Ivy took a left, then a right, then merged onto the freeway until the last direction given was to turn left into the parking lot. She parked in a space next to Alek’s Audi.

I should have known we’d run into him here. Alek ate at the Drowning Anchor at least twice a week. Something we used to do before I left to help Charity.

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