Page 50 of Scars Like Wings
“A bit of both, honestly. Both my mom’s and dad’s family have been in the ‘business’ for generations, but my mom’s business was bigger when they met and got married. So, my dad just brought his skills along, my mom’s business merged with his, and he ended up taking over the company.”
“So, why didn’t one of your moms take it over instead?” I asked.
“Oh, because as much as we loved Grandma Jane, she was a misogynist at heart who thought the business should be run by a ‘big strong man.’” Nat rolled her eyes before drinking from her Bloody Mary.
“Natassa,” Cooper said with a look before turning his uncomfortable stare on me, making me feel like bacteria in a microscope. “Our Grandmother had three daughters: our Aunt Tess, who is the oldest, Aunt Adrienne, who is Quinn’s mom,and our mom, Carol-Kay, the youngest. They all grew up in the business, worked in it, and continue working in it. Aunt Adrienne and our mother even married folks in the business, who were so good at it, our grandmother decided to pass the family business down to one of them, our Uncle Diego.”
“Wow, this is a lot for a real estate business,” Maisie noticed.
“It’s a multi-billiondollar family business that our ancestors brought over from their home countries that dates backgenerations. It’s notjusta real estate business. Never has been. It’s ourfamily,” Cooper said, leveling Maisie with a gravity I wasn’t prepared for. I could see she was even taken aback. Who knew this was so serious?
I swallowed, trying to diffuse some of the tension. “So, uh, why your Uncle Diego? That’s Quinn’s dad, right? Why not yours or something?”
Cooper gave a sneer that made my stomach turn. “Grandma January died when all of us were young. Quinn remembers her the most, and she was six when she died. But when she died, my father had proven himself too ‘incompetent’ to run the business. So, Uncle Diego became the patriarch of the family, per her will. Now, Quinn is next in line to take over the business.”
Quinn loudly set her mug down a little too hard, causing me to look at her. Her golden hazel eyes were molten as she glared at Cooper. Her jaw was set with a sternness to it that gave her features a harder edge. Her body was coiled taut, like a predator ready to pounce and rip its prey’s throat out.
Quinn matched Cooper’s unnerving stare tit for tat, some kind of wordless dispute happening between them like a protagonist and antagonist in a Shonen anime. The table fell into a painful silence as these two held their unspoken battle. Maisie and Simone looked between the pair, just as shocked and confused as me. Cole’s lips were pursed and set into a line. Natand Cody sipped their drinks, very much trying to disassociate from what was happening in front of them.
I reached my hand up to lace my fingers with Quinn’s hand resting on my shoulder. There was another jolt of electricity, albeit softer like a light caress. But it was enough to make Quinn blink and relax a little. I squeezed my fingers around hers. Finally, Quinn turned her eyes to me. Immediately, the fire there cooled as she looked at me.
Oh. I liked this power.
I cleared my throat. “I’m so sorry to hear about your dad dying and about y’all’s grandmother. Even if one was long before you. How old were you when you lost your dad?”
Cooper’s eyes were calculating again as he glanced between me, Quinn, and our interlaced fingers. Eventually, his eyes locked with mine, and he strained to answer my question. “I was eleven when my father wasmurderedby amonster.”
“Oh.” Gods, this man was fuckingwild. Who justsaysshit like that? And inpublic? Like not even a supernatural safe haven, but ahumanrestaurant. Thankfully, he was vague enough with the “monster” comment that I only knew what he meant by his sneer and glance at Simone and Maisie. It was clearly targeted, though. I suddenly felt very,veryawkward and uncomfortable, which meant it was naturally time for me to have a case of word vomit.
“I’m really, really sorry to hear that happened to you. I empathize with you completely. I lost my mom and dad both when I was a teenager. They were both murdered, too. And they never found who did it. So, I know it’s not the same—trauma can never be fully compared or anything like that—but I know what it’s like to lose a parent violently. It’s… hard, ridiculously hard. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, even if I thought they absolutely deserved it.”
Quinn readjusted our hands to better grip them tighter and harder. She started, “B-Byrd, I’m so sorry. I could not imagine…”
The hard edge to Cooper’s ocean eyes softened at my words, too. “I’m sorry that you experienced that. No one should have to?—”
“Ugh! Okay, enough!” Cody shouted, slamming his cup down and pulling everyone’s attention onto him except for Nat, who just rolled her eyes and mumbled something about theatrics. Notably, he didn’t spill any coffee in his mug since it was empty. “Can we stop all this pity bullshit? This isn’t fun! It’s fucking lame.”
“Oh, my fucking god, Cody. You aresoembarrassing,” Nat said.
“What? Cooper is the one who made this all sad and shit. I just want to havefun! I don’t want to talk about sob stories andfuckingwork, of all things.”
“Gods, does everyone here hate working in real estate?” Maisie raised an eyebrow.
“Hate is astrongword,” Cole shrugged, sipping his coffee. “Itdoespay the bills and give us nice things.”
“Well, then, Cody, you want to have fun or whatever?” Maisie turned to him. “What did you have in mind?”
Iceberg
“Youhadto ask him. Youneverask Cody what he wants to do. It’salwayssomething corny.”
“Come on, Nat! This is going to be fun! What do you mean?”
“Oh, Simone, you sweet summer child, hang around us a little longer and you’ll see.”
We were all lacing up our rented skates at Chill’s Rink and Adventureland, the place Cody had chosen to go to after we finished our brunch. Chill’s, so far, seemed like a Dave and Buster’s, but make it winter wonderland-themed year around.
As soon as we entered, there was a stark drop in the temperature. The entire space was colored in icy blues, whites, and some pinks and purples as accents. A long counter stood when we entered with many workers in sweatshirts and hoodies manning it. Televisions were mounted above their heads with the prices listed as well as videos advertising the various activities you can do. On the wall behind the employees were ice skates, hockey sticks, merchandise, and various other equipment on display.