He Stole My Bandana (So I Stole His Heart)

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

Cindy pulled into the parking lot of the town's small coffee shop named The Coffee House. Original, right?

Once she stepped out of the car, I did too and followed her inside. The Coffee House was decorated with a retro theme with black and white tiles on the walls, a juke box sitting in the front, and several records lining the walls. It was quite original compared to their name.

Cindy picked a small round table by one of the large windows in the front of the shop. I sat down across from her and we waited to order from one of the waitresses on roller skates.

We both ordered cappuchino and sat back as we waited for them to bring them to us.

The question I so patiently waited to ask was itching to come out. I finally spoke up after we received our hot cups of cappuchino.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked slightly rudely. I honestly didn't care because I knew what this woman had done once upon a time. Why should she have my sympathy?

"I wanted to tell you the story of my life." She told my calmly. I sat back in my seat and narrowed my eyes at the older-looking woman. She looked older than she was one could assume because of the drugs.

"I know that you don't exactly trust me. I'm sure Hunter has told you what I've done in the past and that it wasn't right by no means. I just wanted to prove myself to you. I'm not all that horrible. I just want my family back." She stated in almost monotone. I wanted to believe her, I really did. But when you grew up with a lying, cheating mother like I did, you start to lose your trust for some people.

Cindy was one of them.

"Go on," I said quietly as I leaned forward on the table.

Cindy took a deep breath and then sipped her cappuchino.

"I grew up in a home with both my parents and my younger sister. My sister's name was Julie. She was the sweetest little girl ever. We were both young when our parents left us. I was sixteen and she was around six or seven. My mother told me they were going on a trip and they'd be back soon." She told me quietly.

"We've - well, I've never seen them since. Julie and I moved in with our grandparents. They had no clue either; all of us were left in the dark. But besides my parents leaving Julie and me behind with no family, I also lost myself in that." I couldn't help but notice how calm and casual Cindy was while she talked about her past. It was interesting seeing that I am always emotional when it comes to my mother. The emotion I usually show when I talk about her is anger, but at least it's something.

"When I met Hunter's father I thought the universe was finally on my side. Hunter's father, Keith, was a good man. He, to put it romantically, swept me off my feet. I was so happy when I was with him and yet still, I found that nothing stays how you like it for long.

"Soon enough, I turned eighteen and Keith asked me to marry him. I got pregnant when I was nineteen, with Hunter. We made ourselves a home in Virginia, where I was born and raised. We were all very happy. And then came along my sweet little Jamie." The first sign of emotion was when Cindy choked on Jamie's name. She'd lost a child and I could see it was painful for her to talk about. You have a widower when a person loses their spouse, but what do you call a person that loses a child? I'd always asked myself that question.

"Has Hunter told you much about Jamie?" Cindy asked me. I blinked a few times before answering, not expecting to talk so soon.

"Um, no. He told me what happened to her, but that's about it." I tried to think back and remember if he told me little things about his sister, but I couldn't think of anything.