Page 21 of The Sweetest Obsession

I drink her in for the longest ten seconds of my life before I force myself to look away, back my car out of the drive, and head home with my vision red and blurred.

* * *

Present

That night wasthe last time I saw her.

Until today.

The worst part is, Angela was wrong. Ophelia avoided Redhaven like a root canal ever since the day she left.

Instead, she’d flown her mother and Ros down to Florida for vacations and holidays together. Ophelia’s always been contrary like that, but I never thought she’d take my words so damn literally.

Then again, maybe I’m just overthinking it too hard today.

She’s got a hundred heart-wrenching reasons to stay the fuck away from this town without the way I ran my mouth doing more damage.

Too many bad memories.

Too much spiritual rot in this town, really.

Some folks can taste it in the air. They wisen up and realize they don’t want to stay and wait around for Redhaven to swallow them whole.

“Hey, Cap?”

Henri’s voice yanks me from my thoughts. I blink, focusing on the letters that went fuzzy in front of me as I lift my head up from the report. “What?”

“No need to bite my head off,mon capitan,” he snaps off mockingly in his French Creole drawl, grinning, completely unbothered by my snarling. He sweeps his mess of shaggy brown hair away from his eyes. “Just wondering why you’re still here, that’s all. Ain’t you supposed to be picking Nell up from school?”

“Fuck. I completely spaced.” I bolt to my feet, grab my jacket off the back of the chair, and realize I don’t have it—I gave it to Ophelia. “Yeah. Gotta run. Thanks, Frenchie.”

I angle past him, heading for the door. His voice drifts after me. “Y’all take care too, Captain Grump.”

I don’t bother answering that.

Don’t know why the whole crew likes rubbing it in.

Hell, I’m not thatgrumpy.

I just don’t waste time mincing words when point-blank says it a whole lot better.

I drop into my patrol car and roll through the winding cobblestoned streets of Redhaven at a grueling school’s-out-twenty-miles-per-hour pace.

On the way, I pass Lucas Graves on crossing guard duty. I probably earned the dirty look he gives me as I pass. Everyone hates being the one to pull that shift, but somebody’s gotta do it.

Considering he’s got a pregnant wife whose classes are currently letting out right now, though, he’d probably rather be anywhere else. Not stuck directing traffic so hordes of munchkins can walk home.

By the time I pull up to the red-roofed, C-shaped building that houses all of Redhaven’s small K-12 classes, most of the evening traffic rush has trickled out.

I’m expecting to see Nell standing on the front walk waiting for me. Probably hankering to talk my ear off about which teacher got stuck watching her with me being late—but instead I barely catch a glimpse of her disappearing into the back of a maroon Subaru SUV.

Oh, goddammit.

Am I really so fucking out of it I just forgot?

My parents are picking her up today.

That’swhy my internal Nell alarm didn’t go off.

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