Chapter 77: Summer 1st
Mollie
“SURPRISE!” exploded through the club as I walked through the entrance. It was followed by humans scrambling from beneath tables and popping up from behind the bar. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHERRY!”
I smirked, shaking my head at all my coworkers, aka sluts in whore outfits. Oh, and Danny.
“Thanks, everybody,” I said politely, making sure no one could see the piece of paper hidden behind my back. My golden ticket to a new beginning. “But I’m the one with the REALLY big surprise!”
The letter behind my back is the only gateway left that can lead me down the right path in my life. I looked around at everyone’s confused faces. Of course, only a select few knew I was applying for school. Only about five or six of these people actually speak to me.
“Look!” I hauled the letter from behind my back, holding it high in the air like some sort of trophy. To me, it is. “I WAS SELECTED AS THE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT!”
Danny ran up to me, wrapping me tightly in his arms. “I knew you would, Mollie. That’s awesome.”
I tapped his shoulder, hinting for him to let go so he could read the letter. “I know! And I stopped by the school to tell them I’m registering. They accepted me right on the spot. I start the first day of fall!”
The pixie cut girl came up behind me. “That’s great! You have one full month to prepare.”
I smiled at her, one of my first genuine smiles since coming back to the city. “Thanks. If it weren’t for you, I never would have had the guts to look into all of this.”
She grinned, then turned away with everyone else. The excitement died down even quicker than it began.
“Who was the girl?” Danny asked, still watching her.
“Beats me,” I mumbled. “I see her around.”
“Anyway, school huh?” He smirked. “Good for you, Mollie.”
“I know,” I said, staring at construction workers finishing my new stage. “It feels like life is finally taking off. I can’t imagine what could bring me down from this high.”
Ronnie snuck up behind me. “Well, Cherry, tonight is the official grand reopening.”
I looked around in awe. Royal purple walls, gold furniture, a massive chandelier, a sleek black bar glowing with LEDs. And my glass stage, almost finished, lights shining through it.
“This place looks like Westminster Abbey meets Moulin Rouge,” I said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she replied, wrapping her arms around my waist. “This place is going to be insane tonight. Every rich man in New York will be here. Your reputation is climbing fast.”
I shrugged. More money meant school, rent, and food.
“I’ll have it at its peak tonight,” I promised.
She squealed and turned to Danny. “How do you feel about singing solo?”
Vaughn
Summer 8th
Wears Valley, Tennessee
I focused on the giant cake in my arms. Gray and Claire were already at the lake with the girls. I still find it stupid they’re throwing a party for one year olds. They can’t even build sandcastles.
“But there will be other kids,” Claire’s voice mocked in my head.
I scanned for the food table near the retaining wall.
“Vaughn!” Claire waved me over. “Set it here. Doug worked on it all day.”
Pink frosting, purple ribbons. Nothing special to me.
“It’s too bad Julia couldn’t come,” she said. “Someone has to run the farm.”
I stared at the water. “Yeah. She and Elliot are doing what they can.”
“You really turned things around here,” Claire added. “People are coming back.”
“Gannon’s girl is back,” I muttered.
One of the twins crawled over my leg, grabbing a shell. Savannah. They were good looking kids. Pale skin, freckles, red hair, Claire’s eyes.
“She’s burning,” I said. “You got sunscreen?”
Claire panicked. “I forgot!”
“Relax. Borrow some.”
She ran off, leaving me with the monkeys.
Savannah shoved the shell in her mouth.
“Gross,” I muttered, taking it away. “Choking on your birthday wouldn’t be ideal.”
They cried. I handed over my hat. More drool.
“This is why I like dogs,” I said. “Never having kids.”
That’s when I saw him.
The tattoo.
My blood ran cold.
It was the same one Mollie had.
Vaughn
I watched the man with the purple bandana laugh with his wife.
“Who’s that?” I asked Claire.
“That’s Paisley. Wanderer type. Married Popuri. Kid together.”
My heart slammed.
Without thinking, I stood.
He shifted, annoyed. “You’re blocking the sun.”
“Sorry,” I muttered.
He looked up. “You need something?”
“Do you know Mollie Davis?”
His posture changed instantly. “Why?”
“I know her.”
His jaw tightened. “We went separate ways two years ago. If you’re looking for her, I don’t know where she is.”
“Is someone hunting her?”
He blinked. “You don’t know.”
“Who would be?”
“The music people,” he said. “They wanted to sign her.”
Everything stopped.
“She turned it down,” he added. “She hated the spotlight. So she ran.”
Why didn’t she tell me?
Vaughn
“I almost asked her to marry me,” I said.
Paisley laughed. “Typical Mollie.”
“She was going to propose too.”
That wiped the grin off his face.
I told him everything.
The storm. The accident. Wears Valley. The farm. The fire. The ring. Losing her in one day.
“She could be anywhere,” I finished. “Or dead.”
Paisley leaned back, stunned. “If she ran, she went somewhere no one would think to look.”
“New York,” I said instantly.
He grabbed my arm. “Finish your drink. Let’s go.”
I swallowed it down, realizing I was standing with the male version of Mollie Davis.
And that could be very good.
Or very bad.