Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Within thirty minutes she had quit her dream job and was dressed and fitted for a brand new one. They were so desperate for staff that he gave her the afternoon as a test run. It stopped her from thinking about Hawk, as she started to learn the cash register and filling orders.
The work was not hard, but it was busy. There didn’t seem to be much of a lull. The drive-thru was stationed at the right spot for people from all four surrounding towns to stop for food. There was also a gas station in the next lane, so they could eat and fill their tanks with gas. She saw so many faces, it was a blur.
The hours ticked by, and David at the end of the night told her she was hired, and she should be there at seven the next morning. As partial payment for her day of helping, she was given a large helping of burgers and fries, which she took out to her car. She had nowhere to go.
There was her trailer, which she was not going back to for fear of Hawk coming to it. She didn’t want to see him. She had already turned her cell phone off. The last time she looked at it, she had multiple missed calls and texts. There was no way she was going to Diana’s. She and her friend were not on course to resolving their differences. The only other place was her mother’s.
Nikki gripped hold of her steering wheel and took off, going in the direction of her mother’s house. She hadn’t been back there in four years.
She had seen her mother from time to time when she wanted money. The last time she wanted money, Nikki had already been robbed and didn’t have anything to give to her mother.
Pulling up outside of her mother’s house, she looked at the place and felt like she had hit rock bottom. From the moment she left this place at eighteen years old, she had vowed to never return. This was not her home. Her mother was not a good woman.
Nikki climbed out of the car, locked the door, and then walked up the main steps, then lifted her hand to open the door. It was locked. This made her frown. Her mother never locked her door. She always told her that sending men away was not a good idea.
She had no choice but to knock. Wrapping her arms around herself, with how cold and miserable it was, Nikki had a feeling that the snow everyone kept talking about was going to come. She glanced around the yard, and that was when she noticed a difference.
In the past, her mother hated work, and the yard was always a big heap of mess, but it was different now. The grass was mowed, and there was a neat border around the property. There were no weeds or filth. No used condoms or empty beer bottles.
For a second, Nikki had to wonder if she had the wrong house. Maybe her mother had moved. She was never paying the rent on time, and perhaps the landlord got tired of taking it the old-fashioned way, or he was expecting the daughter to pick up the slack. That was the main reason she had left. Her mother had told her it was time she started to pay her way, although she’d been paying rent by this point. She had her own job at the supermarket and was giving her mother most of her income.
She was about to turn away from the door, when it suddenly opened, and Nikki wasn’t expecting what she saw. Her mother. In a very … modest dress. Nothing was on display, she was also wearing tights. The dress covered her chest, and had a small V-neck. Her arms were covered, and she wore absolutely no makeup. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Gone were the signs of drinking, drugs, and her lifestyle.
“Mom?” she asked. It was hard to believe this was her mother, her flesh and blood.
“Nikki,” her mother said. “Oh, my, I’m so glad to see you.”
And then, her mom did something she never had before—she hugged her, tightly. In all the years she knew her mother, not once did she ever recall her hugging her. This felt so surreal, so strange, and in that moment it was exactly what she needed. She wrapped her arms around her mother and sobbed.
Chapter Thirteen
Hawk had gotten the call from Darlene not long after Nikki had left for the day. It was a cryptic text.
Darlene: Nikki knows about you and Trixie. She took off. Quit. Don’t know where she is.
He didn’t need to lose time filling in the blanks. Fuck. He should have known that bullshit move was going to be the end of him. He’d told Trixie to keep her mouth shut, but of course, everyone from the club had seen him carrying her to his bedroom.