Free Rug Burns (Reviving Haven Book 2) by Cory Cyr

about you. I want to help. Let me be there for you.”
    I struggled to put breath and words together. “I’m just glad you’re with me. Can you take off classes for a week? I want you to come home with me. I need you to help me through the funeral.”
    “Of course. I’ll contact my professors now. I’ll let the office know what our plans are so they’ll be aware we’ll both be gone. They have bereavement leave,” she said as her eyes filled with tears again. “Weezie, it’s normal to cry. You don’t always have to be so damn tough. You’ll feel better.”
    I stood and swallowed, pushing down the anguish and loss I felt. Losing it would accomplish nothing. There were things to take care of, decisions that had to be made. Businesses and property that needed to be dispersed and handled. I was the only family member left to do it. I straightened the hem of my blouse and patted the wrinkles out of my skirt. “I’ll book us a flight on the redeye for tonight. Pack for a week,” I said as I headed toward my room.
    The week surrounding the funeral and the reading of the will was frantic. Haven made many calls to my parents’ close friends, and the housekeeper Ena made all the others. I found out I really didn’t have to do anything but oversee. My parents had arranged everything years ago. As in the way they had lived their lives, everything had to be orderly and precise. They had covered the funeral, the will, my trust, and put all other holdings in charity foundations. I was to inherit a shitload of money ten months early.
    I played the stoic daughter well. I had no other choice. Grief immersed itself inside me, seeping into every pore. I had to be strong for me. If I allowed myself to feel any weakness, I would crumble, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever recover. It was in everyone’s best interests to push these emotions deep and bury them along with my parents.
    After the funeral, we had a houseful of arrogant-ass people. I’m surprised they didn’t start carting off the antiques. I didn’t care. They could take it all.
    I would no longer be getting a stipend. Within four to six weeks, my inheritance would kick in. My mind reeled with the amount. I could leave school and buy a real estate company. Hell, I could buy a state probably. But that wasn’t me. I wanted to work. If for no one else, I wanted to prove I was savvy enough to learn everything I needed in order to maintain my own company. People needed to know I had a head for business. Not just for giving head.
    Once we got back to school, things mellowed out. Haven and I really didn’t talk about my parents. She never asked about my inheritance either. The only thing I purchased was a car; neither of us had wheels before. It wasn’t a necessity since we rarely left campus. But with barely a year left in college, we would eventually require one. Haven hadn’t decided if she planned to stay in California or go elsewhere. I already had my sights set on upper-scale neighborhoods in Los Angeles. In order to know my real estate clients, I needed to know their prerequisites. Basically I had to become them. I hoped my bestie would be part of my journey.
    Life got back to somewhat normal. Except for the part where I was an orphan now. They didn’t have a specific name for an adult child losing her parents, so I considered myself parentless or an orphan. I spent weeks listening to condolences from many people I didn’t even know. No one knew what to say except they were sorry . Yeah, well, weren’t we all? I found some solace in the company of men I hardly knew, performing deeds I enjoyed but shouldn’t be doing. Not at a time like this. But truly, sex was the only way I could escape the deep emptiness inside. I’m sure many thought I was heartless, and I had to agree. The place in my chest that used to house that organ was gone. I’m sure it died with my mom and dad.
    Once we graduated, I purchased the single least expensive condo in the Hollywood