Page 75 of Beyond the Hate

My brow wrinkles. “Aren’t you divorced?”

“Not the point.”

“What is the point?”

“You shouldn’t make fun of Mom for not wanting to be alone,” Darcy answers.

I grit my teeth. I hate when Darcy or Regan refer to my mom as their mom. They only call her mom to anger me. Usually, they call her by her name, Eleanor.

“Exactly.” Regan nods. “Not all of us want to smash the patriarchy and die all alone with five cats who eat our face off.”

“Cats don’t actually eat humans.”

Darcy rolls her eyes. “Of course, you would focus on the stupid cats.”

“I don’t have a cat.”

Regan pounds a fist on the sofa. “It’s not about the cats.”

I massage my temple where I feel a headache coming on. “Can you get to the point of this conversation? I have somewhere I need to be.”

Darcy snorts. “You have somewhere you need to be? You finished work. Where could you possibly be going?”

“Yeah,” Regan continues. “It’s not as if you have friends.”

I don’t bother to explain I have friends. For some reason, they’re convinced I lead a sad, pathetic life.

“And you do? Didn’t your husband run off with your best friend?”

Regan flicks her hair over her shoulder. “Remi wasn’t my best friend.”

Darcy pats her hand. “You’re better off without him.”

Regan sniffs and lifts her nose in the air. “He didn’t deserve me.”

“You’ll find someone new.”

“I will.”

The answer sounds calculating. What is she up to? Why are my stepsisters here?

“Aunt Paisley! Aunt Paisley!” Luna and Emma shout in unison as they barge into the house. They rush to me and I hug them.

“We saw…”

“Sammy. He was…”

“…next door!”

I smile. It’s intriguing how the twins finish each other’s sentences.

“What was he doing?”

Luna’s nose wrinkles and Emma frowns. “Nothing.” They answer in unison.

“We added his location …”

“…to the Sammy spotting app.”

---