Page 57 of My Ex-Best Friends

I numbly left the house and walked down the street. I wasn’t sure where I was going until I ended up under the mural. Staring up at it, I saw everything I loved about Beaumont. I saw the handprints I left with Sinclair and Noah. I saw the flowers, theboat in the ocean, the truck driving through town, and I saw the blank space that I’d been panicking over.

If I ran away, no one would ever fill in the space. Or if they did, it wouldn’t be what was supposed to go there.

They thought I’d run away but they were wrong. I wasn’t flaking. I’d be standing exactly where I was supposed to be if Sinclair looked for me. I’d be right there for my family if they needed me. I wasn’t going to run away from my home. Not because they couldn’t get their heads out of their asses. I was home and I wasn’t going anywhere.

No matter how much it hurt.

45

***Brooke***

Aunt Karlene found me outside of the hardware store, painting my heart out, later that day. She stopped her car in the middle of the road and rolled down her window to shout at me. “I thought you’d be having makeup sex by now!”

Someone honked behind her and she flipped them off. They honked again and then sped around her.

“Can’t have makeup sex if you didn’t make up.” I turned back to my painting and smiled up at it. “What do you think?”

“What do you mean, you didn’t make up? And the painting looks wonderful, honey.” She flipped off two more honkers. “God. People today!”

“I mean they told me to leave Beaumont! They think I’ve been cheating on them with Finn Love. They want me gone.” It didn’t occur to me that I was screaming across the street until someone who wasn’t Aunt Karlene joined the conversation.

Boomer Perry walked into the street to stop next to Aunt Karlene. “Those boys surely have more sense than that.”

“They don’t!” I crossed my arms and huffed. “They think I’m just going to crawl my way out of town, but they’re wrong. I’m not going anywhere. This is my town, too!”

Aunt Karlene honked back at someone honking at her. “Go around me, asshole! I’m talking to my niece! She got her heart broken!”

A woman in the car behind her leaned out of her window. “You have to get under someone new to get over someone, baby. That’s what I did to get over my late husband, Charlie.”

“Didn’t you murder Charlie?” Boomer turned to me. “Don’t listen to this lady. She’s batshit.”

“I didn’t murder my husband!”

“I told them I loved them and they told me to leave!” I stomped my foot. “If I had any tears left, I’d use them to drown those assholes. Good on you for taking care of Charlie, lady! He probably broke your heart, too. Men! They suck!”

“Hey, now.” Boomer grinned so big his teeth slipped out. “Dammit.”

“You were wrong, Aunt Karlene. I’m not marrying them.” I sniffed. “They hate me. And you know what? I hate them, too!”

“I didn’t kill Charlie! Don’t spread that rumor again!”

“I’m never wrong, Brooklyn.” Aunt Karlene saw Boomer was bent forward, picking up his teeth, and she slapped his ass before cackling and speeding off.

“What the hell was that?” Boomer stood up, put his teeth back in, and wagged his cane at poor, dead Charlie’s widow. “You keep your killer hands away from my goods, lady!”

I turned back to my mural after everyone carried on with their day. I just had a little more to add and it’d be perfect. Just a little more and I could say I finished something. I wasn’t a quitter or a runner. I was staying. I was finishing. No matter how miserable I felt.

Mr. Bob came out and set up a light for me when he saw that I wasn’t going anywhere, despite the sun setting. He stepped back and smiled after staring at the mural for a few minutes. “You had me worried for a while there, girlie. Thought I was going to have to burn the store down and leave town just to not have to stare at that thing every day. You saved it in the end, though.”

I ducked my head and smiled. “Thank you.”

“You know… My grandson is having a baby. His girlfriend thinks all the baby stuff should be beige. What the hell’s that about? Are you willing to work for a place to stay?” He saw my confused look and pressed on. “I heard you’re on hard times with your fellas. You were living with them, weren’t ya?”

I sighed and nodded. “I hadn’t even thought about where I’m staying.”

“Well, it’s me, your momma, or the motel. The motel’s got roaches the size of your hand. Your momma is your momma so you know how she is. Me? I’ve got a room at the back of the store. You paint the nursery for me and you can stay in the room for free.”

Given the three choices, I was taking the room. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

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