Meant For Me by Erin McCarthy Read Free Book Online

come out? Was she smart, funny, sly? It was hard to tell.
    I wanted to hear her.
    Walking away rapidly, realizing if I got caught now it would really be fucking weird since it had been ten minutes, I started a search on my phone on selective mutism. Aubrey had given me the overview, but I wanted more information. Scanning and reading quickly, I discovered that a lot of children with the disorder were artistically gifted. Chloe certainly had that trait. The article emphasized that these children wanted to speak, but couldn’t because of crippling anxiety. Chloe didn’t look anxious to me, and she wasn’t technically a child anymore. There didn’t seem to be a lot of information on what happened when these kids grew up. Did it just mysteriously fix itself? I wondered if it was all at once or if it happened gradually.
    That would be pretty damn amazing.
    Current studies seemed to show that it wasn’t the result of trauma in most cases. That was good to know. I’d had it in my head that mutism came from witnessing a murder or from being raped as a kid. Like serious hard-core, mess you the fuck up trauma. I didn’t want to know that Chloe had been through something like that. There were articles on treatments but I was already back at Aubrey’s. Her front door was unlocked and I went right in.
    “You should lock your door,” I told her as a greeting. “Especially with Riker gone.”
    “I didn’t realize you were going to be gone so long,” she said mildly, lying on the couch and watching TV. “That’s a five minute walk. You’ve been gone for almost half an hour.”
    “Is Emma asleep?” I asked, looking around and seeing no drooling and cute baby. I wasn’t going to react to her comment.
    “Yes.” Aubrey yawned. “I’m not sure how much longer I’ll last myself. Once she’s out, I’m usually out right after her.”
    I flopped down into a chair opposite her. “You don’t care if I stay up, do you? I haven’t gone to bed this early since fifth grade.”
    She made a face. “No. I don’t care. But before I go to bed I need to ask you to stay away from my babysitter.”
    My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me? I’m not the big bad wolf, for fuck’s sake. I walked her home, that’s it.”
    Aubrey gave me a skeptical look. “Four years ago I would have believed you. Now, I’m not so sure.”
    Nothing she was saying was surprising. Or untrue. But it still pissed me off. “Chill out. I just find her interesting because of the whole lack of speech thing.”
    “She’s not a circus side show.”
    “I never said she was!” I kicked my shoes off, annoyed. “For the record, Chloe is the one who asked me for my number, not the other way around.”
    Her nose wrinkled. “That’s because she never gets off this island. You look good to someone who lives in isolation.”
    That was so rude I couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow, hold back on the flattery there. I might get a big head.”
    “You know what I mean.”
    “What, that I’m ugly? I’m no pretty boy model, but my face probably won’t shatter mirrors.” I had no problem getting women. None. I didn’t think that I looked good to Chloe because she was chilling in Plato’s cave her whole life. She had said she online dated.
    Aubrey rolled her eyes. “I never said you were ugly. But she isn’t experienced enough to know that you’re unavailable. Emotionally unavailable, I mean.”
    “Okay, Mom,” I said, irritated. “Thanks for working your psych degree on me. It’s the only use you’ve got for it I guess.”
    “Don’t get bitchy with me,” she said mildly. “Or you’ll just confirm that you know I’m right.”
    I threw a couch pillow at her. “Whatever. So what are we doing tomorrow? If I’m left sitting around all day I might be tempted to sweep your babysitter off her feet.”
    “Haha, you’re hilarious. Want me to have Caitlyn over?”
    My chest tightened. “Sure,” I said mildly. No point in dragging it out. Twenty months was