Page 32 of Grumpy Sunshine

When I rounded the corner of the bathroom I heard a tinny sounding voice say, “What do you mean?”

I listened as Aella explained to whomever was on the phone what had happened over the last two days.

“I’m gonna have to get me some of those AirTags,” the woman on the phone mused when Aella was done.“You said that they stepped on her hair and pinned her to the ground?”

“Yes!”Aella started to laugh.“It was the best thing I’ve ever witnessed.If I hadn’t been so focused on tearing that car to pieces, I might’ve stopped long enough to take a photo.”

I made a mental note to see if the camera footage at the clubhouse captured it.

It would be a nice gift, I guessed.

“That’s just amazing,” the woman replied.

“Silver,” Aella crowed.“I think this might be it.I think this time, she fucked up enough that she’ll never be a problem again.”

Silver.

Aella’s sister.

I’d seen the two of them before.

I hadn’t realized they were sisters, though, because they looked nothing alike.

Did Cakes have two children?

The more I listened to Aella talk, the more I realized what a piece of shit Trini was.If the cops didn’t take care of Trini, I would.

I didn’t like the idea of Aella suffering at all.

If her mother being out of the picture was better for them, I’d make it happen.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Apollo to pull everything he had on Trini, Silver, and Aella.

Likely, he was already in the process, but just in case he wasn’t, I wanted him to know.

“I’m sorry she did that again, though,” Silver admitted, sounding forlorn.“She never tries with me anymore because my dad would shoot her if she tried to get in.”

Good.

I hated that Aella did have to worry about it, though.

Obviously, I’d known that Aella and Silver had different fathers based solely on their appearances, but it was good to have that suspicion confirmed.

“In other news,” Aella chirped, sounding much more upbeat now.“I start my last semester of my program next week.And I think I might have gotten that scholarship that I’ve been aiming for.”

“Oh, Aella,” Silver said softly.“That’s amazing.I’m so happy for you.”

I’d known that she was in school, but I hadn’t known what she’d been in school for.

I tried really, really hard not to overwhelm her with questions since she always got a weird look in her eyes when I talked to her.

I was happy to hear that she would be staying where I wanted her.

Surgery tech meant I’d be seeing a lot of her.

Maybe I’d get her onto my rotation so that she wouldn’t be able to avoid me.

Which she would be doing after I got my hands on her.

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