Page 14 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
So she left it on the bed and brought her backpack with her as she left the hostel. Without even considering her destination, she found herself boarding the subway, headed for Prospect Park. How many afternoons had she and Craig spent sitting by the lake, hoping their mom would have passed out by the time they got home?
After their mom died and they were placed in foster care, she and Craig had carved their initials into a big oak tree that stood just off the main path. They would sneak out of their respective foster homes once a week to meet at that tree, determined not to lose each other, no matter what happened.
The backpack was heavy on her shoulders as Lauren entered Prospect Park, the weight of her failures pressing against the damp T-shirt that clung to her back. As she walked, it began to rain, a light sprinkle that had people around her reaching for jackets and umbrellas. Lauren had neither. Her only jacket was in the duffel bag at the hostel, so she just ducked her head and kept walking.
She turned onto the path that skirted the lake, moving against the flow as people headed for the exit to get out of the rain. Lauren’s breath caught as she spotted their tree. She walked to it and traced her finger over its knobby bark until she found their initials, gnarled and sunken into the surface of the tree.
Tears burned her eyes as her finger traced CAB. Craig Andrew Booker. She’d teased him about his initials, but he’d loved them. For his ninth birthday, he’d asked to ride in a yellow cab to FAO Schwartz to pick out a new toy, and when their mom was too high to leave the apartment, Lauren had raided her mother’s emergency cash and taken Craig herself. They’d had a magical afternoon together, one of her favorite childhood memories.
In hindsight, maybe Lauren had been a thief, even then. Always a well-intentioned one, though. Always for Craig. She sat on one of the tree’s protruding roots as her tears broke free. This was where she would spread his ashes. She’d done some research on the train yesterday to make sure it was allowed before she inadvertently committed another crime, and it was perfectly legal to scatter his ashes in the park.
Since there was a chance she’d spend tomorrow night in jail and therefore wouldn’t have a safe place to keep Craig’s remains, logic said she should do it now. She should spread his ashes while she had this quiet moment to herself, just Lauren and Craig beneath their favorite tree.
But as she sat there in the drizzling rain, hair sticking to her cheeks where rain mixed with tears, she couldn’t do it. Her arms tightened reflexively around the backpack. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
5
Lauren lay on her bunk in the hostel later that night, blinking into the darkness. Today had been unexpected and overwhelming in so many ways. She wasn’t sure what to think about Mia’s offer to help get the charges against her dropped. Was she taking pity on Lauren? Did she judge her for what she’d done? Lauren judged herself plenty, but she also knew she’d mostly just been trying to help her brother, and now she was trying to make it right.
Luckily, the college students who were sharing her room had finally settled down and turned off the light, although it had taken them until almost two a.m. to stop giggling. Lauren had put in her earplugs and rolled to face the wall, and it wasn’t her roommates’ fault she was still awake. After spending years in various group homes, she’d learned to sleep in a room full of people, no matter how noisy they were.
No, tonight’s insomnia was caused by the day ahead, an uncomfortable tightening in her stomach that wouldn’t loosen no matter how hard she tried to clear her mind and meditate her way to sleep. She finally dozed off sometime in the wee hours of the morning, waking to muted sunlight filtering through the thin blinds over the window.
Her backpack was in front of her face, propped against her pillow where she could be sure no one touched it while she slept. The college students were quiet now, probably planning to sleep in after their late night, and while Lauren wished she could join them, she was too anxious to go back to sleep.
Instead, she slipped out of bed, took a few things out of her bag, and went down the hall to the bathroom. She showered and dressed, then tried to hide the shadows under her eyes with concealer, frowning at herself in the mirror. Sometimes she felt like she’d aged a decade in the last year. But hopefully, after today things would start to get better.
Lauren crept back into her room, careful not to wake the other women. She made her bed and left her duffel bag on it, then put on her backpack and headed to Mia’s café. First, she stopped in the lobby for some instant coffee. Obviously, the coffee at the café was a million times better, but Lauren was on a budget.
She sipped her coffee as she walked, enjoying the brisk morning air. By the time she reached the café, she’d ditched her now-empty cup and was feeling halfway hopeful about the day ahead. It would be a huge help if Mia set up the meeting with Josie, but Lauren should probably do the rest on her own for the sake of their friendship.
The bell jingled over the door as she entered. Mia was behind the counter serving a customer, but she glanced at Lauren with a smile. She wore a sleeveless black top, her blonde hair dusting her shoulders in tousled waves, and even without seeing the rest of the outfit, Lauren was struck again by how stylish Mia looked.
It wasn’t hard to imagine her in her former life as a lawyer. In fact, she didn’t seem entirely at home here in her own café. Surely those chic clothes weren’t practical for interacting with cats, but it seemed like Mia had staff for that. Mia’s top dipped in the front, allowing Lauren a glimpse at her collarbones, andoof, she’d always been a sucker for collarbones. Mia’s were as elegant as the rest of her.
Lauren sat at an empty table and set her backpack on the floor between her feet. While she waited for Mia, she looked at her phone, and her heart sped when she saw the new selfie Piper Sheridan had posted on Twitter.
Her auburn hair hung over her shoulders in her signature style, and she wore a colorful, floral-patterned dress. Lauren peered closer, trying to see what was in the background of the photo. Piper appeared to be standing on a patio lined with greenery, and a woman’s hand was visible on her shoulder.
Lauren had heard rumors of a new girlfriend in Piper’s life, and despite her celebrity crush, Lauren was thrilled that Piper had found someone who made her happy. At least, she sure looked happy in this selfie, and Lauren hoped her new girlfriend was at least partially responsible for that. The caption read “Back in Hollywood, but what am I filming? Any guesses?”
Lauren tapped her lips. She didn’t thinkIn Her Defensewas filming its next season yet, but she remembered that Piper had a new movie role in the works. A quick Google search told her the film was calledBeing Schooled, and Piper would play a teacher.
Ever the nerdy fangirl, Lauren replied to the tweet with “Being Schooled? You look amazing, can’t wait to see the new movie!” followed by several heart emojis. Yes, she knew she was a dork, but once, Piper had liked one of her tweets, and Lauren had almost died on the spot.
When she looked up, Mia was standing by the table with an amused smirk. “Declaring your undying devotion to Piper yet again?”
“Well, not exactly.” Lauren’s cheeks heated. “I mean, you can see she’s with her girlfriend, but look! She’s filming something new.”
At that, Mia grinned, leaning in to see the photo on Lauren’s phone. “That’s exciting. Jordy came in early today to cover the counter for me. Want to come upstairs so we can chat?”
Lauren put away her phone with a quick nod. “Yeah, sure. Thank you.”
“No problem.” Mia beckoned for her to follow. She led the way down the back hallway and unlocked a door that let them into a narrow, white-walled stairwell.
Lauren followed her up the stairs, where Mia unlocked another door, leading the way into her apartment. It was surprisingly spacious, with a large, bright living room and a galley kitchen to the left. A pale blue couch faced a wall-mounted TV, and several windows on the far wall let in plenty of natural light. A white cat lounged on the windowsill, eyeing them lazily.
“You must be Lola,” Lauren said to the cat. Mia had shared plenty of pictures of her in their group chat.
