Bad Seed

“Thanks. I’ll take care of it.”

“There’s also something in there from a college? It looked official, so I stuck it at the back of the pile,” she said.

I started flipping through the mail until I came to what she was talking about. It was a letter from Vanderbilt University and I pulled it from the stack. I dropped everything else into the chair as I ripped it open, my eyes scanning the letter as her name popped out at the top.

This was information on Delia’s graduation ceremony.

“What is it?” Hank asked. “What’s it for?”

“It’s an invitation to Delia’s graduation ceremony,” I said.

“When it is?” Tammy asked.

“Two weeks,” I said.

“You should be out of here by then,” Hank said. “Are you wanting t

o go?”

I scanned the letter again, noting the formality of it all. Why would Delia send me an invitation to her graduation? This wasn’t a personal letter from her. This was something sent from the University. I guessed it was because I had been listed as her boss in the past month.

I wasn’t sure what to make of it all, but I knew what I wanted.

“Tammy, could you RSVP back for me on this? Let them know I’ll be coming,” I said.

“Sure,” Tammy said, with a grin. “I’ll let them know.”

“Could I go?” Elsie asked.

My eyes drifted over to my sister as my heart sank. I knew this would happen. She had gotten attached to Delia somehow. I could see the curiosity and hope running through my sister’s eyes as she fiddled with her fingers. Tammy was eyeing me carefully, trying to figure out how best to approach the question she had thrown my way.

“It was sent by the University. Not by Delia. For all I know, they sent it without her permission. To try and rope me into somehow making a donation or something because she was working for me,” I said. “But if I do go, I’ll take you with me. How does that sound?”

“Will there be a lot of people there?” she asked.

“Probably. Vanderbilt graduates several thousand students every semester.”

She looked a little uncertain now, as if she was having second thoughts.

“You know they'll probably have a live feed you can watch,” I said.

“That might be better,” Elsie said.

We all talked for a few more minutes before it was time to lock the place back down. I hugged everyone and chanced a kiss on my sister’s cheek. She recoiled a bit, but I could see a light sparkling in her eyes. I couldn’t wait to get out of this place and spend more time with her. I missed her more than I could stand some days.

I watched everyone leave before I ventured back to my room. Now, it was time to go back to staring at the walls and processing my thoughts. I had no idea if I was going to be able to live a life without the haze of alcohol. I’d gotten so used to it that it was my go-to mechanism for coping. Like with the nightmares of the accident and the stress from the farm, dealing with my sister’s meltdowns when they occurred and the hectic schedule of the road. The alcohol-induced haze was how I relaxed. I wasn’t sure if I could go back to living the schedule I kept without it.

Except for that one time with Delia. That one morning when all I wanted was a cup of coffee.

I couldn’t use her as a replacement for my addiction. If there was one thing I’d learned in this place, it was that. Most people found themselves back in places like this because they replaced one issue with another, and it would be easy to do that with Delia. I couldn’t resist her, though I’d tried so many times. I knew I was bad for her and needed to leave her be, but I just couldn’t.

Before I could be good for anyone, I needed to get my life under control.

CHAPTER 22

Delia

Two Weeks Later