Page 20 of Grumpy Sunshine

I looked back expecting to see another club member come into the room, but found the cleaning lady with her headphones in, pulling her cart of cleaning supplies behind her.

All of us were looking at the cleaning lady, so we didn’t see Aella launch herself off her stool and toward the lady before she did so.

One second the cleaning lady was on her feet, and the next she was on the ground with Aella’s hands around her throat.

“You took my rent money!”she screeched at the cleaning lady.

The cleaning lady’s face was terrified.

“It’s not enough that you stole our credit, and our ability to have a simple bank account, but now you’re sweet talking yourself into our apartments and stealing our money?You’re such a fucking bitch!”Aella reared back and let a punch loose on the cleaning lady.“Give it back!”

Five

I want to take a man that’s been through a lot and show him it can get worse.

—Aella’s secret thoughts

AELLA

I could say that I handled everything with a great attitude, but that would be a lie.

I’d tracked my money to this middle of nowhere place—how there could be a middle of nowhere but still be in Dallas proper, I didn’t know—and had come to a decision.

I would not let my mom steal this money from me.

She’d already taken too much from me, and I wouldn’t allow her to take one more thing.

I looked up at the razor wire and smiled.

I’d snuck in and out of so many places that razor wire was a breeze.

Doing it in Crocs was new, and I’d only torn a small tear into my scrubs pocket.

I’d started walking, keeping to the shadows, my target my money.

I’d just spied my mom’s car parked off to the side in the shadows as well when two strong arms wrapped around my body.

They were unrelenting and unbreakable, which had me fighting for my life.

I’d just twisted enough to get an arm loose when the man holding me spoke.“Chill.”

That voice.

The instantaneous reaction out of my body upon hearing a familiar voice had me stilling.

“Chevy?”

“What are you doing here?”He sounded really angry.

Which, I guess he had a right to be, seeing as I’d likely just broken onto his property and he’d caught me.

There was a hitch in my breath before I said, “Um…”

At my hesitation, he tossed me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing but air.

There was a long moment there where I tried to tell myself that this wasn’t the best thing ever, and I had to force myself to sound indignant when I said, “Chevy!Let me down!”

He didn’t let me down.

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