A sly smile spread across her lips as she continued to watch me. “I can see why he likes you so much. You’re just as warm as he is,” she sarcastically answered.
“Well, it was nice meeting you.” This girl reeked of trouble, and I had enough of it to last me ten lifetimes. Why was she so interested in who I was anyway? I’ve never even seen her before.
“Wait,” she called out.
Despite my better judgment, I did just as she asked. Her heels clicked against the tile floor as she closed the distance between us. Who wore heels to a grocery store anyway? I almost laughed when I remembered thinking a similar thought about Anya and her habit of wearing stilettos for any occasion.
“Could you at least tell me your name?”
“I’d rather not so—”
“I’m Diana,” she offered. “I’m a friend of Keiran.”
A friend of Keiran? How could this girl, whom I’ve never met or seen before, be a friend of Keiran? She smiled slyly at what I was sure to be an astonished look.
“So at least we’ve established that you do know Keiran.”
“How do you know Keiran?”
“He’s a friend of my father. Apparently, they have history. Anyway, I’m here visiting. Maybe we should get together and hang out sometime.”
I would rather chew my own arm off.
“Who is your father?” I found myself asking.
“Mario Fulton.”
“Mario is your father?”
Her eyes narrowed at my question as if she had the right to be suspicious of me. “Do you know my father?”
“Not quite. His name came up few times.”
“Interesting.” She twirled her finger in her hair, feigning indifference. “About what?”
“This and that.”
“So are you going to tell me your name?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I hear you are a very special girl.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Don’t you want to know why?”
“Sure,” I answered impatiently. I had little interest in what she had to say. “Why?”
“Because it takes someone special to actually throw away cock as good as his.” She grabbed her receipt from the self-checkout machine at the same time I did and flounced from the store. I followed behind her at a slow pace hoping she would be gone by the time I exited the store.
When I finally did, it was in time to see her hop in the familiar black muscle car. The engine roared to life before speeding away, taking my stomach and heart with it.
*
“That bitch!” I watched Sheldon pace back and forth across the floor of her bedroom. Willow was curled around a pillow with me, rubbing my back. “Ugh. What a smarmy bitch,” she continued. I’d just finished telling them about my encounter with Diana at the store. “I knew she was no good.”
“Wait… You knew about her?”
A guilty flush spread over her skin as she sunk down on the bed. “Yes. I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It’s just that I’ve been so wrapped up in everything that happened with Keenan, I—”
I touched her hand to stop her. “It’s okay. I understand.”
Sheldon had just begun to come out of her shell, and I think it had everything to do with Keenan being released from the hospital a month ago. He hadn’t been back at school because of his lung. The patch on his lung was fragile at best, and the condition of his release required he stay in bed. I talked to him at least once a week, and according to him, anything was better than the hospital.
I wondered if Keiran still planned to go along with his idea to get Keenan a lung. It had been three months and nothing had happened. Finding out today that Keiran was still dealing with Mario, and even worse, babysitting his daughter, had me reeling.
“No, it’s not okay,” Sheldon’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “That wouldn’t be the way I would want to find out.”
“How long has she been staying with him?”
“Three months?”
I felt my heart drop to my stomach, which twisted in pain. She was there when he was with me. Granted, we were only together for a week, but he laid claim to me long before.
“Yes, but I really don’t think he has touched her.”