Read Online Linger by Lauren Jameson - Free Book Online Page B

it had ever been, and leaving that calm to head back into the unknown was terrifying.
    She said none of that, though, instead stuffing her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “I’ll be back in a year. You won’t even notice I’ve been gone.”
    A childish shriek sounded from the back room, and Roxy rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “
Someone
will notice that you’re gone, that’s for sure. You ready?”
    â€œAs I’ll ever be.” Scarlett felt like an invisible fist had palmed her heart and was squeezing tightly as a skinny, carrot-topped nine-year-old girl barreled into the exam room where she and Roxy were sitting, a squirming tricolored Chihuahua clutched tightly in her arms.
    â€œRox, can I dress Chewy in—” The girl stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Scarlett, then squealed, shoving the dog at Roxy and making a beeline for Scarlett. “Dr. Malone! You’re here! I knew you wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye!”
    â€œOf course not, Layla.” The fist squeezed tighter as the young girl wrapped her arms around Scarlett with glee—glee that Scarlett knew would turn ugly as soon as she actually had to leave.
    Putting it off another moment, Scarlett simply leaned in to the hug, absorbing the scents of baby shampoo, sweat, and wax crayons that emanated from the girl’s skin. She met Roxy’s eyes over Layla’s bright head and grimaced along with her friend.
    Roxy was technically Layla’s aunt, though she’d been her guardian for so many years now that she’d assumed the role of mom. Layla had spent her early years bouncing between her alcoholic mother and various temporary foster homes, and when she’d discovered that Scarlett had been a foster kid, too, she’d become as attached as Roxy would let her.
    Scarlett knew that she had to choose her next words very carefully, to keep the little girl from feeling like she was being abandoned yet again.
    â€œI’ll just take Chewy out to do his business.” Roxy smiled encouragingly as she turned to the door of the small exam room. She fixed Layla with what Scarlett had termed
the mom eye
. “No giving Dr. Malone a hard time, okay?”
    â€œRight, Rox.” Layla rolled her eyes, Roxy rolled hers back, and all three of them broke into laughter.
    Then Roxy was gone, and Scarlett was left with a little girl who had already been abandoned far too often in her life.
    Before she could even open her mouth, Layla slid from her arms and flopped into the spindle-legged chair across fromher, her arms folded over her chest, a sign that she was feeling defensive. “I don’t understand why you have to leave me.”
    Scarlett paused, considering her words. Layla was old enough to understand intellectually that Scarlett wasn’t leaving
her
specifically at all—and to use it to dredge up guilt to get her own way.
    But Layla’s past also had to be taken into account, and the knowledge that behind the bravado there was likely a very real sense of hurt and fear panged her.
    Leaning forward, placing her elbows on her knees, Scarlett decided not to use any cutesy voices or to circumvent the question. So she looked Layla right in the eye, her expression serious.
    â€œYou want to go to college someday, right?” She already knew the answer, but she waited as Layla squirmed in her seat.
    â€œYes. I want to be a vet, like you and like Rox.” Layla eyed Scarlett suspiciously. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
    â€œWell, think about this. Suppose that there’s a school right next door to Roxy that you could go to. It’s a really nice school, and you could be happy there and stay with everyone you know.
But
there’s another school that’s not next door to Roxy at all. And you know that the school that’s close to home could make you a good vet. But that other school? It could teach you how to read