Coraline's POV
Elijah dropped his cup on the counter and recoiled, " What?"
I quickly packed my things, " Look, I don't have time to talk. I have to get home, tell Mei what happened, and that I'm sorry I left abruptly."
" Do you need a ride?" He brought out his car keys and I shook my head.
"No, I'm fine. I can drive myself home." I rushed out of the cafe, got into the car, and drove home like my life depended on it.
I arrived home and there was a truck parked in front of it. Some men were taking things into the truck and others were throwing things on the lawn. Oh my God, was that my toaster in the yard? I parked my car and stormed out.
"Excuse me?" I called out to the men in the truck, " What the hell is going on? What are you doing in my house? Who gave you this order?"
One of the men, bald and stocky with a half-grown mustache sneered, " Quit your yapping lady, the boss is inside. We're just doing what we were told to do."
I gasped, unable to believe his tone. I clicked my tongue and headed into the house. Could it be a mortgage but the house didn't have any mortgage, I checked.
I entered my living room which was now stripped bare of his soul. Two men carried out my bed and I stepped out of their way before they slammed into me.
"Oh my God, what's going on here?" I cried.
" Be careful with that vase, Dale, I quite like it, I think it will be a good addition to my other vases." Blossom glided down the stairs like she owned the place. Oh my fucking God, this bitch really went ahead with her words. I honestly thought she was all talk.
"Blossom, what the fuck is going on here? Why are you tearing apart my house? What are you doing to my things?" I placed my hands on my hips.
She grinned and came over then crossed her arms over her chest, " I think you mean my house, this house belongs to me. I have every right to do what I want to do with it. If I say to throw away the trash," She flicked her hand at me, " the trash goes."
"What the hell are you talking about? This house doesn't belong to you, it belongs to Vince and as his wife, I inherited his things."
Blossom cackled, " Bitch please, do you really think Vince could afford to buy a house like this? My dad gave it to him as a wedding gift. My father's name is on the deed of the house. Since I'm father's daughter, I have every right to it."
My chest constricted and I suddenly felt short of air, surely Blossom was lying. Surely, this house belonged to Vince. Surely, my daughter and I weren't getting kicked out of our home.
"Blossom, what the hell are you saying? How do you expect me to believe your baseless words?"
"You really think I'll come here without any evidence. I'm not stupid." She picked up a large brown envelope from the table and headed it over to me. I brought out the paper, it was the deed to the house and it clearly stated my father-in-law was the owner of the house.
It felt like the rug had been pulled under my feet, the envelope fell from my hand and I was almost falling as well but I quickly supported myself with the wall. What the fuck, what the fuck, WHAT THE FUCK? What was I going to do? How were Becca and I going to survive?
"Okay, Blossom, the house might be yours but you don't need it, you have enough money and property that letting this one go with hurt you."
Blossom lifted a perfectly trimmed eyebrow, " And why should I do that? What do you think you're going to tell me that will convince me to do otherwise?"
" Blossom, you and I might not be on good terms and you blame me for Vince's death but remember Becca, she's your niece, she doesn't deserve to suffer like this. She's half of Vince, you might not have Vince but you'll always have her."
Blossom cackled and clapped her hands gleefully, " Sorry but I don't give two fucks about that pest. So you weren't able to change my mind. Get the fuck out of my house."
Fuck, this was actually happening, where was I going to go? I did a quick calculation of the money I had and it wouldn't be enough to rent an apartment.
" Blossom, please don't do this. We don't have anywhere else to go? I can't afford a new apartment right now. Give us some time to get ready."
" I don't give a fuck about your financial woes. I'll be generous and give you an hour to get whatever trash you need and get out of here. One hour, not a second more."
There was no need to beg her, she was the devil's incarnate. The clock was ticking, I raced up the stairs and packed as many things as I could in the little time I had. I took some clothes, mostly for Becca, her favorite toys, some food, and toiletries. I did the best I could with the time I had.
"Time's up. Get out!" Blossom screamed, I put the last bag in my trunk and locked it.
"Blossom, you're a real bitch. You'll get yours one day." I said as I wiped away sweat from my face.
She gave me a cheshire grin and waved," Buh-bye!"
I shook my head, got into the car, and drove away. I finally let the tears out and sobbed loudly as I drove around aimlessly until my car brought me to a hotel, I parked and got out of the car. The hotel was glamorous and flashy, from the moment I stepped in and got the fresh smell of money, I knew I was out of my league. The reception floor was tiled with luxury ceramic tiles, and the floor was so clean that I could eat off it, with Persian rugs on the floor, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I took my eyes off the hotel's aesthetics and approached the concierge to ask for the price of a room for the night. She gave me the price and it was three times my salary. I gulped and quickly excised myself to make a call. I hightailed out of there and into my car.
I finally found a motel that was more within my budget and paid for a room for a week. I took our things out of the trunk and set them up in the room. The room had a musky damp smell, and paint was peeling off the walls, I checked the bathroom, and there wasn't any hot water, and the tap didn't run well. I returned to the room and sat on the bed, it made a squeaky sound and I almost screamed. I had hit rock bottom.
I grabbed my bag and hurried out of the room, I knew if I waited a second more, I would keep finding faults with the room. I drove back to work and it was almost closing time.
"Hey, Cora, what happened? Elijah said something about your things being thrown out. I called you repeatedly but you didn't pick up." Mei took off her apron and hung it up.
I placed my bag on the counter and sighed, " Girl, it's a long story and I can't tell if without some food. I'm starving."
Mei snapped her fingers, " I've got you." She headed into the kitchen and returned with a plate filled with pastries. I swiped the plate from her hand and began to chomp down on the snacks.
"Coffee?" she asked, I shook my head, I was already too tensed and stressed for caffeine.
"Water." She brought out a bottle of water from the fridge and we sat at a table.
As I ate I retold the events of the day, starting from the cemetery.
"I can't believe it, that, that shantbag?" My eyes widened, Mei wasn't one to curse, using the word, shantbag, she was pissed, "How dare she do that to you?"
"I know right? I just wanted to reach over and squeeze the life out of the cunt's neck."
" So what are you going to do now? You can come stay with Tyler and I? We love you and Becca."
I stopped eating and bopped my head from side to side, " No fucking way, don't worry yourself. I already booked a hotel for a few nights. I'll start apartment hunting this evening, before the end of the week, I should have a new apartment."
Mei twisted her lips, " Are you sure? You know you can stay with us. We don't mind. It will be much cheaper."
I clasped Mei's hand, " Baby, don't worry yourself, I've got everything under control."
I lied through my teeth, I had nothing under control, in fact, I was spiraling out of control. I should be put on a billboard stating, out of control. I might be out of my head but the last thing I wanted to be was a burden to anyone.
Elijah's POVMy grandfather had to be kidding me, this man was nowhere near death but he wanted to have his will read. He was the healthiest seventynineyearold I knew but I would just humor him.I parked my Audi Q8 in the garage and then headed up to his office. "Hey Mrs. Smith, how are you today?" I bumped into his housekeeper, the stout grey-haired lady with more wrinkles than I could count, and smiled as she saw me. She was retired now but she never got married or had kids so she practically lived with my grandfather, I suspected something was going on between them but I wasn't going to say a damn thing."Elijah, my boy, it's been a while, you never come to visit anymore." I hugged her and bent so she could pinch my cheek. It was our normal tradition."I'm sorry, Mrs Smith, work has been hectic. I'll just talk to Grandfather quickly and I'll stay for lunch. I miss eating your famous spaghetti Alfredo." " I'll make that for you then. Make sure you stay for dinner, my boy." She pin
Coraline's POV"I should go speak with Mei, is she in the kitchen? I have a premonition that she will be interested in hearing this tale."Elijah adjusted his coat and began to depart, but I reached across the counter and grasped his hand."Don't you fucking dare?"I snarled. Mei would be devastated if she found out that I had lied. Elijah observed my grip on his hand, smirked, then flicked it away."Louise," I beckoned to my junior barista, "can you cover for me for just five minutes? There's some trash that needs taking care of.""Of course, only five minutes though," She replied. It pained me to leave her as we were currently experiencing our busiest period. With my cup of coffee in hand, I escorted Elijah over to a table facing the entrance of the kitchen; in case Mei emerged unexpectedly, I wanted to be able to spot her before she saw us. We seated ourselves and leaned forward on the table.I took a swig of my drink before talking, "So what do you want from me now Eli? Do you want
Coraline's POVShit! Elijah sat opposite me, drenched in a mixture of my saliva and lukewarm coffee. He gritted his teeth, brought out his handkerchief, and wiped his face."That was not how I saw this going. Why the hell did you do that?!" He asked, scrubbing the coffee stain out of his white shirt."What the hell did you expect from me? You just dropped a huge bomb on me. What the fuck is ' I want to make a baby with you '? Who the hell talks like that?" " Look, I'll set you up nicely with a lot of cushion money if you agree to do this with me. I need a baby and you're the only woman who I know wouldn't try to use a baby to lock me down." I couldn't believe the words this Asshole was spewing out."Why the fuck will I want to have a child with you? Why would I hurt an innocent child by doing that?" " Because I'm richer than you can possibly imagine and you need my money. I know you're fertile since you already have a child, I need a baby and you need money." He knows I'm fertile,
Coraline's POV The stench of antiseptics and blood was the first thing that hit me when I regained consciousness. I could hear the beeping of different machines and there was a slight sting on my arm, I opened my eyes and I could see was white, I tried to twist my body so I could look around but my stiff body retaliated."Fuck!" A sharp pain went through my right arm to my brain, I shut my eyes as the pain registered in my brain."Cora! Oh my God, Cora, you're awake?" Mei's face flooded my field of vision. "Mei, what the hell happened? Why are you here?" Mei's forehead creased with worry, " I got a call that you had fainted, I'm your emergency contact, you know. I got here as soon as I got the call. The doctor had already checked you, and he said you fainted because of stress and hypoglycemia, your sugar was fricking below 54mg/dl. Have you even eaten anything in the last 24 hours?"So not only was Becca in the hospital racking up the bill, I had joined her. God, I'll be glad if I
Elijah's POVWhen I saw the unknown number on the caller ID, I had not expected Coraline to be the person on the line and I had most definitely not expected her to say she wanted to be the mother of my child. I mean, I expected her to call me sometime in the future to ask for my help, but I hadn't known it would be so soon."Eli, are you there, or did a flesh-eating monster come out through a vortex and eat your raggedy behind." A smile crept on my face, " I'm here, I was trying to figure out if an alien had taken over your body but it seems like you're still your old deluded self." I could see Coraline rolling her cinnamon-colored eyes while her lips were twisted at the same time, it always amazes me to see her do it."Whatever, did you even hear what I said? I said I'll be your baby machine."" I heard you clearly, you don't have to repeat it, aren't you a little bit excited? And also stop using crass words, I already apologized for how I came off. Now tell me the reason you hurrie
Coraline's POVBecca's surgery had been successful and she was recuperating nicely, She was the easiest convalescent ever according to the nurses. Mei and Tyler had come to visit us for the first time after her surgery. Tyler sat on the chair next to the bed and played a game with Becca on his iPad while Mei sat next to me pulling out the different things she had brought for us.She was quiet and for Mei, that was never good. A quiet Mei was a dangerous Mei. I had a feeling she had a lot she wanted to say but she was still piecing them together."Hey, babe, can you watch Becca for a while, Cora and I are going to get some snacks from the vending machine down in the cafeteria." Mei flipped her hair to look at Tyler as she spoke.He gave her a thumbs up, " Sure, take your time. Becs and I need to beat this high score." " Thanks, let's go, Cora." Mei stood and stuck her fingers in the pockets of her jeans.I stared at the bag of snacks that was on the ground. We had enough snacks to las
Coraline's POVThe duffel bag dropped from my hold and hit the floor with a full thud. It felt like time had slowed and I couldn't understand what the hell was going on."Eli, what crack are you on? What are you talking about?" " Coraline, you told me this place was shabby but that's an underhype, this is a dump. You can't stay here with Becca, I can already count fifteen health hazards in this room."Rolling my eyes, " Eli, I understand your concerns and they are very valid but I didn't plan on staying here more than a week and Becca and I have been in the hospital for over three days. We haven't been here. I was going to use the money from our agreement to rent a nice apartment." He shook his head, " I can't allow that, you're going to be carrying my baby soon, and I don't want you to go through the stress of living in a small space. You'll need all the help you can get when you're pregnant and I can't be halfway across town if you have a weird craving or just want to rant."I rub
Coraline's POVI patted my chest and coughed loudly, my throat burned causing my eyes to well up with tears. "Shit, Coraline, are you okay?" He stood and touched my arm. I shook my head and shot him a glare, did I look like I was okay?"Fuck, you're choking. Water, water, you need water." He hurriedly picked up a cup of water and handed it to me. I enclosed my lips around the cool glass and gulped down the liquid. My airways cleared up and my throat freed up as the water pushed down the bolus.I slammed the glass on the table, anger running through my veins, and twisted my neck to glower at him."Are you insane? How could you tell me that while I was eating? Were you planning to kill me?!" I forgot that Becca was at the table with us until we squealed."Sorry baby, don't mind Mommy, I'm just a little bit tired." I reached over and squeezed her hand then twisted my neck in a creepy manner and glared at Elijah again.He took a sip of his wine before talking, " That wasn't my intention.