Page 81 of Fairground

Not that it’ll stay that way for long. I’ll have her again.

Tonight.

Chapter 34: Rae

I’m only halfway across the parking lot when I hear a voice that sends an automatic shiver down my spine.

On the very short list of people that I wouldnotwant to run into after being bent over and fucked in the back of a gigantic pumpkin float—hair a wreck, my dress just barely smoothed down to hide the evidence of what just happened—my parents would take the top spot.

And the bottom. And every spot in between because I've been happily avoiding them for the last seven years of my life and my life’s been better because of that.

“Mom… Dad…” I greet, stepping toward them hesitantly. Their faces light up with those bright, utterly fake smiles they wear when they’re pretending to be polite but are absolutely judging someone. And that person is me right now.

“Rae! Dear!” my mom chirps, moving to pull me into a hug that’s as warm as a damp washcloth.

It’s not even a hug, really—just a few stiff pats on the back while her body remains board-straight. I wonder for a fleeting second if this is how other people felt when they hugged mebefore I moved to this small town and learned to hug like I mean it. The thought stings, an uncomfortable mix of sadness and embarrassment for every person I knew before I moved here who never got to see this softer, happier side of me.

“Hi, honey,” my dad says from behind her, hands tucked casually into his khakis. He makes no effort to hug me or greet me. Never been a big hugger, that one.

“W-what are you guys doing here?” I ask, my tone edging toward panic as I cast a quickwhat the actual fuck?look toward Laken who's lingering behind them. Felix and Daniel are inconspicuously nowhere in sight.Lucky kids.Somehow, they got out of this awkward encounter.

My sister mirrors the expression right back at me, her wide eyes the only reassurance in this ambush that clearly, we’ve both been blindsided by them showing up in town.

“We were on our way down to Miami for a cruise,” my mom announces, her tone as light and breezy as if this were perfectly normal.

Because of course they were on their way to another cruise. That’s what they do now that they’re retired instead of spending time with their grandkids or daughters.

“And we figured we’d stop in to see Daniel and Felix first,” she adds, referencing their grandsons as if they have any sort of solid relationship with them.

No, this has nothing to do with Daniel and Felix and everything to do with checking in on me to see if I'm embarrassing them or doing something that they can use as fodder for their pride and the next time they meet with their friends in high society.

Laken, ever the composed older sibling, keeps her smile in place as she tilts her head slightly. “A call might have been nice first,Mom.” Her voice is calm, diplomatic. The kind of tone that keeps boats from rocking.

Me? I’m not nearly as composed. If I’d known they were coming, I would’ve gone into full-on hiding mode—locked myself in my bedroom with the blinds drawn and my phone on airplane mode or maybe gone to the Marshall's farm and hidden amongst the chicks with Cash. Covered my body in their soft, yellow little fur as a disguise and reemerged asBig Bird.

My mom’s eyes narrow as they flick toward the float that’s parked behind me. “What were you doing riding in the mayor’s float, Rae?”

Ah,thereit is—the burning question that I’m sure they’ve been whispering to themselves since they saw me during the parade, quietly judging the quaint small-town ridiculousness of it all. You know, now that I think about it, maybe they didn't see me in the parade since I was hiding in the belly of the pumpkin, getting fucked raw byMr. Whitewood Creek'sbig dick.

“I’m running for mayor of Whitewood Creek,” I say, bracing myself for their response.

That gets a reaction. My dad’s brows shoot up in pure shock while my mom tries to mask a surprised laugh as a cough, failing spectacularly. Despite all attempts not to be impacted by them, my cheeks flood with heat.

“Oh, honey,” she says, her tone dripping with concern that’s more condescension than care. “What happened to your job with the mayor in Charlotte? Did you…” she lowers her voice into a whisper, “get fired from it?”

I grit my teeth, biting back a retort.No, I didn’t get fired.I was let go because the mayor decided to move onto other things. Not that my mom really cares about those details. In her eyes, losing a job for any reason is a failure.

“She decided to withdraw from the campaign,” I explain, keeping my voice even. “So, all her staff was cut from payroll. I got laid off.” I emphasize the end for their sake though I know I don't care what they think. Not really.

“Oh, honey…” My mom tilts her head, her eyes softening in that way that makes my stomach churn. I know that look. It’s thethat’s basically the same as getting firedlook, and it’s taking every ounce of my willpower not to snap. I was good at that job—hell, great at it—and I refuse to let her or anyone else rewrite that narrative.

“You do realize,” she continues, her tone now taking on an almost pitying quality, “that being mayor in a town like this is more of a figurehead position? It won’t look good on your resume when you decide to reintegrate with life back in Charlotte.”

No shit, Mom.Thanks for pointing that out. And reintegrate? She’s acting like I moved to a commune outside of society.

But I flash her a tight, forced smile anyway, refusing to give her the satisfaction of rattling me with her passive aggressive words. “You’d be surprised, actually. Small-town mayors have a lot of responsibility and influence.”

Like cleaning up cum stains from the pavement and building gigantic pumpkins in the shape of my ass.

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