Chapter 2
With that, I sat back down in my own seat and shoved my earbuds in.]
Carter froze for a second when he heard me, but he didn’t have time to process it.]
The middle–aged woman had already taken advantage of Nina getting up and placed her bag on the seat.
at.[]
Carter’s face darkened instantly. He grabbed the woman’s bag and hurled it to the floor.[]
“What the hell is wrong with you? Did you not hear a word I just said? My friend’s PREGNANT–can’t you show some basic decency? God, how rude can you be!“[]
The woman looked at her bag sprawled on the ground and started panicking, her voice cracking with tears.[]
That bag has homemade limoncello I brought for my husband… you threw it so hard, the bottles must be broken…“[]
She awkwardly bent down and opened the bag. A sharp, bitter smell hit everyone immediately. []
Sure enough, the limoncello had spilled everywhere, creating a sticky, amber mess that started spreading across the floor.[]
Reople around us covered their noses and backed away. Nina took one look and started dry heaving. Carter saw this and kicked the bag even further down the aisle.
“So what if it broke? It’s not like it was expensive. Here, I’ll pay you for it, and we’re buying this seat too.”
He pulled five hundred bucks out of his wallet and tossed the bills right into the sticky mess.[]
The woman carefully picked up each bill from the spilled liqueur and placed them on Nina’s tray table.[]
“Young man, I don’t want your money. I just want my seat.‘
t.“]
“I just had leg surgery and can’t stand for long periods. My husband spent three days trying to get this reservation online. I wouldn’t trade it for any amount of money.”
Nina stared at the money covered in limoncello and dry heaved again. She gingerly pushed the bills onto the floor and grabbed Carter’s hand.[]
“Forget it, Carter. I’m not sitting there anymore. It’s disgusting and way too much drama…“[
Nina stood up again, but Carter gently coaxed her back down.[]
“Nina, listen to me. Just sit down and stay put.“[]
After tenderly getting Nina settled again, Carter whirled around and completely lost it on the woman.
He grabbed her by the collar, eyes blazing with pure venom.[]
“Surgery my ass! Where’s your medical records, huh? Your discharge papers? You’re just another selfish bitch who can’t stand seeing a young, beautiful woman get what she deserves! What’s the matter, couldn’t find a man to knock you up so now you’re bitter and pathetic?“]
Other passengers started chiming in, taking Carter’s side.]]
“Ma’am, you’ve done manual labor your whole life. Standing for a bit won’t kill you. This young lady’s delicate and pregnant–just let her have it!“[]
“Yeah, we’re all just trying to get home. Don’t be so selfish!“]
Watching this unfold, my heart ached with a mixture of disgust and pity.[]
Suddenly I remembered from my past life–when we got off the train, I’d noticed this woman walking with a slight limp. []
Maybe she really was telling the truth about her surgery
I thought about last year when I took my mom to the doctor, and some young girl had given up her seat for her. []
My heart softened.[]
This time around, I wasn’t even asking Carter to give up anyone’s seat. I just gave up MY own.
I pulled out my earbuds and waved at the woman.
Ma’am, you can have my seat “}
