Unraveling Molly Read online

  Unraveling Molly

  Tuesday Embers

  Contents

  Part One

  1. Helpful Johnny

  2. Helpful Kyle

  3. Actually Helpful Liam

  4. Nate

  5. Couch Flirting

  6. Local Celebrity

  7. First Kiss

  8. Gina’s Retaliation

  9. Permanent Marks

  10. The Plan

  11. Master Plan over Breakfast

  12. Body Language

  13. Working Molly

  14. Kyle’s Chauffeur

  15. Audience

  Part Two

  1. Awake

  2. Uncle Liam

  3. Taking Responsibility

  4. Birthing Room

  5. Comfort

  6. Control

  7. Meeting the Family

  8. Chinese Food and Flowers

  9. Closet

  10. DiNatali Justice

  11. The Truth Comes Out

  Part three

  1. Funeral

  2. The Things We Don’t Say

  3. Dream Building

  4. The Last Kiss

  5. Johnny’s Couch

  6. Long Distance

  7. Lost and Found

  8. Molly’s Orange Grove

  9. Living the Dream

  Exploding

  1. Ladles and Labels

  Books by Tuesday Embers

  Books by Mary E. Twomey

  Copyright © 2015 Mary E. Twomey

  Cover Art by Cormar Covers

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  All rights reserved.

  First Edition: February 2015

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  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

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  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  ISBN-13: 978-1533171306

  ISBN-10: 1533171300

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  For information:

  http://www.TuesdayEmbers.com

  For Stanley.

  Isn’t it always?

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Helpful Johnny

  Molly Luco turned right on a red, ignoring the “No Turn On Red” sign. The cops never paid attention to the details; they kept their focus on actual crime for the most part. Molly was grateful for the understaffed law enforcement department that night.

  Stupid rain, she thought as she squinted at her windshield. The wiper blade on her side needed to be replaced. Yet another thing to tend to on her never-ending list. It hardly seemed fair. The list only grew because there were two people adding to it, and only she ever crossed things off.

  She wished she did not have to hurry, but whenever she got the call from Johnny, he allotted her twenty minutes before putting her brother in a cab. If cab fare showed up on Kyle’s credit card, their parents would know she was dropping the ball on looking after Kyle. That was the agreement she made when she moved back home. Living rent-free was nice, but the few years of Kyle-free existence before she moved back in were unparalleled.

  Molly parked in the fourth row of cars; the first three were only filled up when the universe knew she would have to brave inclement weather. Grinding her teeth, she pulled her thin coat up over her head and ran to the bar, squealing as the icy rain pelted her thinned frame like mini bullets.

  “I’m here, Johnny!” she announced, shoulder-length black hair dripping onto the bar. Molly looked around as she shivered, but did not see her brother lounging in his usual booth. She ignored the barflies and loud music. She ignored the patrons trying to let loose and relax on their thank-God-it’s-Friday. She ignored the looks at her disheveled state and the two appreciative glances from the non-gentlemen challenging each other at the dart board to see who had the biggest penis. “Johnny!” she called again, interrupting him mid-flirt. “Where’s Kyle? I made it in,” she double-checked the clock on the wall, “sixteen minutes this time.”

  Johnny excused himself begrudgingly from the tight low-cut shirt who had the same shade of sandy blonde hair as he did. “I left you a message, Moll.”

  Molly pulled out her phone and checked it. Sure enough, one missed call blinked at her, mocking with its “I told you so”. She looked up at him, scrunching her nose. “What did it say?” A cloud of panic fluttered in her chest. “You didn’t let him drive, did you?”

  Johnny cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow as he doled out three domestic beers. “I’d like to know who you think you’re talking to. Of course I didn’t let him drive. Someone offered to take him home.”

  “Who? Kyle doesn’t have sober friends.” When Johnny gave a short snort to her comment, she realized most people would have been exaggerating if they said that. She was not. “Was she at least sober?”

  “Not a she.” He poured six shots and slid them over to a gaggle of girls, who giggled at their daring as they downed the fiery liquid. “It was some guy.” Johnny sighed, and then spoke to stave off Molly’s ensuing questions. “Look around, Moll. It’s Friday night, so I’m pretty slammed. I gave you my courtesy call. This is the part where you say ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re so amazing, Johnny’. I also accept non-verbal gratitude.” He gave her a purposefully smarmy wink that, sure enough, got the predicted rise out of her.

  “Thanks for the bare minimum, Johnny.” Molly pretended to throw up on the bar. “Yep. Gag reflex still works. Tried to picture that was you flirting for a second with that wink.” She walked down to the blonde in the tight shirt, slapped her hand on the woman’s shoulder and spoke so loud, the gaggle could hear her clearly over the music and commotion. “Tip your bartender good tonight, girls. He’s battling VD, and his insurance doesn’t cover much.”

  Johnny threw up his hands to Molly’s look of vindictive pleasure. He tossed the dirty bar rag at her upturned nose, and then caught it when she whipped it back at him. “I don’t have VD,” he assured the blonde, who was already fishing around in her purse for cash to pay down her tab. “I don’t.” He turned and glared at the girl he had known since junior high. “Thanks a lot, Moll.”

  “Anytime, sweetheart.” She returned his middle finger with an innocent smirk, tipping her imaginary hat to him before going back out into the worst storm of the year.

  Chapter Two

  Helpful Kyle

  The never-ending checklist scrolled through her brain as she mentally ticked off each item. Eleven-hour day to make up for the eight-hour day I worked last week. Check. Post office on lunch break to mail out mom’s china gravy boat. Check. Paid water bill, phone bill, gas and electric. Check. Filled up the tank with the five cents cheaper gas on the way to work. Check. Dinner in the slow cooker. Check. Called Kyle to remind him to turn on the slow cooker. Check.

  Molly smacked her hand to her forehead, and then jerked back to the ten-and-two position Kyle always made fun of her for. She forgot to remind Kyle to let out and feed the neighbor’s dog. Twenty-seven, she reminded herself. Kyle is twenty-seven. He should be able to remember to take care of the dog he accepted the money to watch out for. It’s only two days. Kyle can stay on top of this for two days. Though, even as she reassured herself, she had her doubts. Kyle still didn’t know how to do his own laundry. Feeding a dog was on the cusp of too much responsibility for him to handle between drinking and trying to get laid.

  Pulling her beat-up green Taurus into the driveway, Molly took a deep breath before opening the door. She told her
self she was bracing for the weather, but dealing with Kyle in the full swing of drunkenness was a thing to consider when one was already wiped from the day.

  Two deep breaths later, Molly opened the car door and took a determined step straight into a three-inch puddle of water, soaking her foot through her black tennis shoes all the way to the sock. Molly held her chin up, daring the storm to think it bested her so easily. Maybe she enjoyed walking around with wet feet. Mother Nature didn’t know.

  Just to show defiance to her exhausting day, Molly stomped to the colonial and let herself in, pretending she was unperturbed, when what felt like a purposeful cup of water was poured down her back just before she crossed over the threshold. “Kyle?” she called. The television was turned on. His video game was paused, but Kyle was nowhere in sight.

  “Hey, Moll. In the kitchen.”

  “You okay? Johnny called me.”

  “I’m fine. This food smells kinda funny.”

  Molly did not smell anything, which was an indicator Kyle had not turned on the slow cooker. Normally she would be greeted with a delicious-smelling pot roast, a roasted chicken with vegetables, a soup, or some other warm welcome home. No, this was the smell of Kyle doing absolutely nothing all day, except apparently going to the bar. Again. Molly ironed out the irritation in her voice. “Did you let out Rex for the Petersons tonight yet?”

  Kyle came around the corner, scratching his blond hair. “Oh, no. Forgot. Got caught up. Could you let him out? I’m not dressed for outside.”

  Molly nodded. She had not removed her shoes in anticipation of this very answer. She took a deep breath to muscle through the wave of frustration she knew she shouldn’t feel. This was business as usual. If she grew upset with the predictable, she knew it would make for more misery on her part, and nothing would actually change, only her increasing unhappiness. “Did you even feed Rex this morning?”

  Kyle gave a sheepish grin like he had been caught coming in ten minutes late to class. He would crack a joke, the teachers would smile and roll their eyes, letting him pass without a markup. Such was Kyle’s charm. He was a naturally good-looking kid with a promise for athletics and an average aptitude he did not have to work for. Molly knew there wouldn’t be a prayer for his social functionality if those freebies weren’t thrown his way. Or perhaps he might have to try at life, and thus have a more meaningful one. Molly wasn’t sure, and knew she would never find out what life would be like if Kyle actually tried. He shrugged and smiled his way through most things, sliding the responsibility off onto others. It passed for cute when he was a child, but the impish grin and drunkenly lidded eyes did not warm Molly the way it did his past authority figures. “I got company. Would you mind?” He tossed Molly the key to the neighbor’s house.

  She saw no sign of Kyle’s guest, so she wagered with gratitude she would not have to endure yet another raucous party. “Yeah, yeah. I got it. But you’re the one who ruined dinner, so please figure that out for us. And us means me, too. Seriously, Kyle. I’ve had a long day.” Molly turned around on her sopping heel and stomped back out into the rainstorm that only seemed to grow more furious as the evening progressed.

  Molly tried her best not to be upset, not to let Kyle make her day worse by letting her down. She knew she should have no expectation – that sometimes even turning the dial on the slow cooker was too much responsibility for him. As soon as she started flirting with the edge of angry, she switched her mind to naming three good things about her day.

  The overtime was a bump in her much needed paycheck.

  She loved her job. Interpreting for the deaf put her in front of all sorts of people. Though she was an introvert, the constant surprise of what each new work day held for her kept things from getting monotonous.

  …

  It was always the third thing she drew a blank on.

  Molly saw a puddle too large to jump across, so she stepped onto the lawn, which was so saturated, she sank several inches into the mud before she was able to pull herself free with several unladylike grunts. Three houses down waited Rex, who was possibly having an even worse day than she was.

  3. She had been able to use the bathroom, which was more than she could say for Rex.

  She nodded to herself in satisfaction, triumphing over the gloom Kyle always threatened to bring into her life. She had three good things that he hadn’t managed to take away from her. Somehow, an okay end to the day could still be salvaged.

  Molly unlocked the door and was nearly mauled by the silver Great Dane. “Hey, Rexy. You poor buddy.” She kicked off her shoes and squished to the back door, sliding it open. She quickly stepped aside so Rex could tear past her and relieve himself.

  There were four yellow puddles to clean up throughout the house, and one brown pile that made Molly feel exactly like the thing she was scooping into a plastic grocery bag. She fed Rex and rewatered his bowl, ready with the towel to wipe his paws when he came back inside. He kissed and nuzzled her face with enthusiastic gratitude as she tended to him.

  “Kyle didn’t forget about you. Kyle loves you,” she said in a soothing coo. She did not know why she was sticking up for her brother to a dog, but she felt the need to cover over Kyle’s sins all the same. It was a lie, and she and Rex both knew it, but she said it all the same, hoping it would soothe at least one of them. “Kyle just doesn’t know any better.”

  Rex permitted Molly to hug him, resting his head on her shoulder to let her know he felt her pain. Her lower lip quivered at the tenderness she tried not to need, so she bit her lip to keep it from giving her away. Rex was fairly chatty with the other dogs in the neighborhood; who knows what canine friends he would tell if she cried.

  “Thanks, Rex.”

  She spent ten minutes loving on the large dog before pulling herself to her wet feet. “How do I look?” She motioned to her sopping hair, heavy clothes and useless jacket. She was glad she never put much stock in makeup, or that would have added to the disaster.

  Right on cue, Rex barked his affirmation of her. He wagged his long tail, grateful he had a friend – if only for a few moments. He licked Molly several more times as she slid her feet back into the wetness that made her cringe. Just a few minutes, and she would be home. Maybe ten more minutes, and she would be in a hot shower, where the wet surrounding her would be nurturing and purposeful, and not a freezing assault. Perhaps twenty, and Kyle would have ordered takeout that would be delivered at the perfect time. In an hour, she would be in bed, the feather comforter tucked under her chin and clean, dry pajamas wrapped around her finally warmed body. Her bed was her haven, the one thing Kyle couldn’t steal or break.

  Molly gave Rex a hopeful smile as she bid him goodnight, letting him know that perhaps all would be well the next time he saw her.

  Chapter Three

  Actually Helpful Liam

  The freezing rain pelted her, but she hunched her shoulders against it. She’d had worse. One time after her science club meeting, her parents and Kyle had forgotten about her. She’d had to walk home in the snow with snow boots that had a hole in the toe. The family swore she didn’t need a new pair of boots, and that hers worked just fine. Kyle had been given a new car that year for his birthday. When she made it home from school without frostbite or complaining, the family decided she didn’t need a ride home from science club anymore, so they left her to walk after that. The hole in her toe grew bigger and bigger until she had to drop out of science club to keep from frostbite.

  That had been worse, for certain.

  She jumped over four puddles without a problem. It was the fifth that was determined to take her down. The mud on her shoes hit the slick cement at just the right angle, and before she could stifle her scream as she overcorrected her compromised balance, she pitched forward and hit the ground hard.

  It was the last straw. Her lower lip trembled again, but this time, two tears escaped through her eyelashes. Her hands were shaking as she pulled them out of the muddy puddle on the asphalt. She had long
gouges across her palms, but it was not until she tried to stand that she let out a short howl as she fell again on her scrapes. Unexpected pain shot up from her ankle like lightning, informing her of further damage.

  Molly looked down at her knees, holding back a pathetic sob as she saw her blood and skin poking through fresh holes in her jeans.

  Her good jeans. The ones that made her butt look like she was sixteen, and not twenty-five.

  Feeling like a five-year-old, Molly cried a few more tears as she touched the wounds that were deeper than she would have liked.

  So caught up in the blood was she that she did not hear the boots pounding toward her on the pavement. “Hey! Are you okay?” the unfamiliar male voice called.

  Molly looked up, wishing she was anywhere else in that moment. Looking like a fool was one thing. Looking like a feeble idiot was quite another when it happened in front of a good-looking man.

  Of course. Of course the most attractive guy I’ve seen in forever would find me like this. Of course it would happen tonight.