The Wrong Bond

7

I never wanted to feel like Leah’s charity case, but she’d been with me through thick and thin. Our friendship was so unlikely, given that she came from one of the wealthiest families in the downtown district, while I didn’t even know my parents.

As soon as I’d turned eighteen, I’d taken Coral, my sister, out of foster care, and I’d been supporting both of us with the little I earned since then. Leah had always been a constant presence in my life, even if most of the time, I felt like I added nothing to hers.

Still, she never failed to remind me how important I was to her and how our friendship healed her, even if I couldn’t always see it.

“Okay, okay,” I conceded, placing a hand over hers to stop her scribbling. “Since you’re paying for this expensive little coffee, the least I could do is enjoy the moment. So, let’s take a real break. No more tax talk. Just you and me.”

Leah’s face lit up with a smile. “Finally!”

“So, what’s the latest tea?” We pushed the papers aside and I leaned in, knowing that Leah’s life was a movie.

She rolled her eyes and groaned, and I knew whatever she was about to say next would be spicy. “So the guy I matched up with online turned out to be a catfish and a creep who lives in his parents’ basement and plays video games all day long.”

I gasped. “The one who lives uptown and promised you a vacation?”

Leah clicked her tongue. “That’s the one!”

“How did you find out?”

“We were meant to speak on the phone, and I think he mistakenly tapped on the video call icon. I saw his face, but he didn’t notice until a minute into the call.”

“Ew.” I cringed.

“I know. So exhausting.”

“And funny,” I added, throwing my head back and laughing.

“I can’t even deny that.” Leah giggled too. “So, tell me, how’s everything at the bar? Any interesting stories?”

I instantly thought of Shawn. “Well, there’s always something happening at the bar. Last week, we had new customers come in—real rough around the edges. One of them, though, caught my eye. He seemed different, even out of place.”

Leah raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Different, how?”

I hesitated, thinking back to his intense blue eyes, and I leaned closer to her and whispered, “He’s an Elton.”

Leah gasped loudly, drawing the attention of some of the other people at the café. “No way!”

“Yes, way!”

“Um, what’s an Elton doing in dingy little Mark’s Bar? No offense.”

I waved her comment away. “None taken, but I have no idea. He was asking questions, though, and he’s been visiting ever since then.”

Leah was bouncing out of her seat. “Which one is it?”

“Shawn.”

“Oh, he’s dreamy!”

“Yeah, he is,” I had to agree.

Leah’s eyes were still wide as she asked, “So what kind of questions was he asking?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But he seemed genuinely interested in what’s going on downtown. Almost like he cared.”

Leah nodded thoughtfully. “Well, just be careful. You never know what people’s intentions are, especially around here.”

“Definitely,” I agreed.

Leah leaned closer to me and smirked, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Do you want to take this to the next level?”

“Uh, sure, but I have to see Coral after this.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

Leah quickly brought out the flask, and in a couple of seconds, she’d poured most of its contents into my coffee and hers.

“So, Shawn?” she asked after a while, the alcohol already getting to both of us.

“What about him?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Give me all the tea, Ally. What’s he like? Did he come on to you? I want to know!”

I smiled as I thought about him. “He’s pretty sweet, which is surprising, and very chatty and funny. It always feels like I’m talking to an old friend when we speak, but I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what?” Leah asked, completely invested.

“He’s been coming to the bar every night since we met last week.”

“Really?” Her brow arched higher.

“Yeah. And he sits by the bar and gives me money to chat with him, and then he flirts with me all evening. It’s weird because I feel like I can read him, but I know I’m missing something,” I muttered.

“What if he likes you?” Leah asked.

I took a sip of my coffee, which now tasted more like alcohol than caffeine. “Please.”

“No, I’m serious. What if he does?”

“He just came to the bar looking for some information on the downtown district, and then he got distracted by the waitress with the really short skirt, and he thinks I’ll be an easy target.” I took another sip. “He’s the Shawn Elton, and I’m just Ally. I’d be dumb to think it’s anything more than that.”

“You’re pretty convinced that he doesn’t like you.”

I knew he didn’t, mostly because I’d spent the past few nights doing a deep dive on the internet, and I wasn’t even anywhere close to his league. Sometimes, I berated myself for even breathing the same air as him.

Shawn was eons above where I was or would ever be, and me thinking this could be anything more than flirty banter and a one-night stand would be peak delusion.

I had also seen photos of his supermodel ex-girlfriends. I told myself it didn’t bother me, but then I found myself zooming into every picture of the women, taking in their perfectly done makeup and surgically enhanced bodies. I looked nothing like them.

My eyes landed on the clock on the café wall. “Shoot! I have to go now. My appointment with Coral is in fifteen minutes.”

“Definitely,” Leah said, packing up the papers. “I’ll take a more in-depth look at this when I get home.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks, Leah. You’re the best!”

“But I won’t be doing it for free. You owe me a drink at the bar. I’ll drop by tomorrow.”

“Sure thing.”

I got to the hospital just in time for my appointment, greeted the nurses in the lobby, and made a beeline for Coral’s room. The hospital had its signature smell of antiseptic, but the aroma of the peonies I’d picked for Coral—which were her favorite flowers—mingled with the hospital smell.