Laid Bear by Eve Vaughn (e books for reading .TXT) 📕

“I’ll be sure to look into that when we get into town.”

She slumped down into the leather seat, for the first time realizing how alone in the world she was since her Nana’s passing. Her Nana was the first person who had loved her unconditionally and taught her how to be comfortable in her own skin. Zora had blossomed under her grandmother’s warmth. She’d feel that loss for a long time. “Forget I mentioned it. I highly doubt anyone would notice I’m missing.” She stared out the window, gazing at the landscape but not really seeing anything of interest.

“You don’t think your cousin would be concerned?”

“Probably not. I mean, we haven’t seen each other in years so it’s not like we’re particularly close.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you going up there to stay with her?”

“I was at a loose end and thought I’d reach out to her. We haven’t spoken in years, not by choice or because we had an argument. We just drifted apart. I lost touch with my extended family when me and my parents stopped communicating.”

Gavin didn’t reply at first, but Zora sensed he wanted to know details. She appreciated that he didn’t push, which made it easier to share with him. “I don’t mind if you ask questions about it. It was a painful thing growing up, but now it’s like it happened to another person. I rarely think about them anymore. Isn’t that strange?”

“I don’t know. I guess it would all depend on the dynamic.

What happened?”

“I always got the sense that my parents didn’t like me very much, even as a child. They weren’t affectionate. And they never talked to me, just at me. The thing is, there were times when I can clearly remember my mother being nice to me, but she shut down when my father was around. Those nice moments were really rare, though. I guess it wouldn’t have been so bad if I weren’t an only child. I’d always hoped they’d give me a sibling so I could have someone to play with or at least someone who’d like me. I didn’t realize how cold they actually were until I observed some of my schoolmates with their parents. It’s like my parents tried to keep me isolated from the rest of the world at times.”

“How do you mean?”

“They were really strict. We belonged to a division of the church that had an extremely rigid set of guidelines about raising a family and worshipping. I was always either at school, church or home. I wasn’t allowed to go to sleepovers or have friends over or talk on the phone. Even when my class would have field trips, my parents would refuse to sign the permission slips.”

“Sounds like you had a lonely childhood.”

“It was, but I didn’t really know any better since I wasn’t allowed

to

watch

television

outside

of

religious

programming. So in a way, besides school, I was on my own little island.”

“Hmm, if they wanted to keep you away from other people, why didn’t one of them just homeschool you?”

Zora let out a humorless laugh. She’d always wondered the exact same thing or at least she used to. “I figured if I was homeschooled, it would mean they’d actually have to pay more attention than they were willing to provide. Like I said, they didn’t care much for me, nor did they deny it when I brought it up.”

Gavin took one hand off the wheel, placed it on her thigh and gave her a sympathetic squeeze. “I’m sorry to hear that, babe.”

It should have bothered her how easily he could use such an intimate endearment when they barely knew it other, but it didn’t. It was almost comforting. “It’s okay, I’m pretty much over it.”

“So what happened to cause the final rift?”

“They’d pretty much washed their hands of me once I left for college anyway so there’s not really much to tell there.

Since I didn’t get out much, I threw myself into my schoolwork and because of that, I was a straight A student. I received a few offers for academic scholarships. I’d never been out of the city, let alone the state, so