Coffee still in hand, I stood, announcing to the room, “I gotta shower,” while I grabbed some clothes from my dresser.
She stood behind me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Why didn’t you answer your phone this morning?”
I glared at her hand on my shoulder, then down at her. She wore a look of concern, as well she should have been. “I broke it.” I shrugged her hand off, heading for the door, but she grabbed my arm right when I reached it. The glower I turned on her had her taking a step back.
“How did you break it?” she demanded with an exasperated expression.
“I threw it at the wall,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m going to get a new one when I’m done showering.”
Arms crossed over her chest, she put on her “mom” look. “I don’t understand why you’re so reckless, and I don’t know how to handle it anymore.”
Her eyes flared with anger when I snorted. The accusation had my blood boiling. “I’m the reckless one? Who’s been secretly smoking? Who’s the one mooning over their ex, who has already destroyed their life a few times over? It certainly isn’t me.” My hands shook so bad the coffee sloshed in the cup.
“You need to watch your mouth, kid,” a gruff voice filled my room.
My jaw tightened, and my mom’s eyes bugged out. She glanced frantically between the person standing in the doorway behind me and me. It took all my concentration to not crush the paper cup in my hand. My carpet smelling like rotten coffee for the next month would be the icing on top of this disaster of a cake. I turned slowly to face him.
Betrayal was a bitter taste in my mouth. She let him in the house. He had never been there before, even when he came in town to demand I go to dinner with him or spend time with him—he was never welcome. The place seemed tainted by his presence.
There he stood in a black T-shirt and faded jeans, an arm resting on the doorframe. I was surprised he wasn’t in his usual fitted suit. Him being in normal clothes made him less intimidating, yet more dangerous at the same time. It was confusing. Maybe I needed to finish my coffee. He was a few inches taller than me, with light sandy blond hair, his golden brown eyes trained on me. Basically, the only indicator I was his was the distinct resemblance in our bone structure.
“Don’t call me kid,” I snarled, my jaw still tight.
“I will when you’re acting like one.” He didn’t even seem agitated by the burning fury rolling off me in thick clouds.
I wasn’t sure where I had gotten my temper from because it had never been his problem. It wasn’t as if he knocked us around or even yelled.
My snide remark got stuck in my throat when my mom cut in. “Don’t.” She gave me a hard look, but her gaze pleaded with mine. “Your dad came by to take us to breakfast.”
I snorted again, causing her lips to become a thin line. I was being awful to her, extremely disrespectful, but it couldn’t be helped. There was no way I could be comfortable in this situation. “No, thanks. I have things to do.”
She turned her gaze to Darrel, who shrugged as if he couldn’t care less whether I went or not. “Could you give us a minute?” she asked him.
After nodding, he gave me a hard look, as if I was the one who would hurt her, before leaving us. When she turned to face me, I set my coffee down in order to avoid a mess. My heart pounded in my ears, my hands still shaking, but I grasped for control. Arms crossed over my chest, jaw twitching, I waited for her to say something.
Hands wringing together, she said, “Look, I know how hard this is for you, but it’s mostly because of me. You’re worried, but there’s no need to be. It may seem like something I’m just jumping into, but it’s not. We’ve been talking for a while now, trying to work things out. We want to be a family again. We want to be together.” The sincerity and distinct hope in her gaze made my chest hurt.
I didn’t have any right to say a damn thing about her love life, just as she didn’t have any say in mine. Being my mom, an adult, she could make her own decisions. The potential of seeing her hurt again was nearly inevitable. “If you're trying to make good decisions, why did you start smoking again?”
Guilt flashed through her gaze. “I was nervous and worried, and it’s what I’ve always done when I’m those things. But I’m done. I don’t need it anymore.”
I considered her for a minute, knowing what the right thing to do was. Being around him wouldn’t be fun, but if it would make her happy, I would brave a couple hours. I owed her.
“Fine. I’ll come,” I conceded. “I’ll shower real quick, then we can go.” She beamed, her smile stretching from ear to ear. I tried to hide my cringe by giving her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. “Be out in a minute,” I told her, hurrying from my room.
Chapter Nine
Breakfast wasn’t half as bad as I thought it would be. At least, not at first it wasn’t. It was bound to be awkward watching my parents make gooey eyes at each other, but they kept it at a minimal degree. Darrel wasn’t being a huge pain in the ass, which made things marginally better than I expected.
The twitch going on with one of my eyes couldn’t be helped, since I wasn’t quite ready to deal with him being chivalrous toward my mom. He helped her out of her coat when we got to the diner and pulled her chair out for her. This was the amount of effort he should have been putting in all along, never wavering.
Once we were settled in, the waitress came by asking for drink orders. She was petite but curvy, with short, blonde hair and a cute dimple adorning her cheek when she smiled. I guessed she was in her early twenties or so, and I kept my eyes on Darrel to see if he would betray this good-guy façade.
When he ordered, he kept his eyes on my mom, not even glancing at the waitress, but I still wasn’t convinced. It would probably take years and years of unwavering faithfulness to my mom for me to believe this “change of heart.” I gave her my order, and she left us after giving me a wink. Too bad I wasn’t interested. There was a damn sexy brunette I was all wrapped up with.
Darrel turned his gaze on me, making me grimace. Being the center of whatever this weird outing was about was not on the agenda. His golden eyes pierced me, holding me to that spot, considering me, tearing me apart and studying the pieces as they always did. Being under his gaze usually made me squirm, but this time I held it and did the same to him. My mom sat, watching us with her forehead wrinkled, but she didn’t interrupt our stare-down. It lasted for an uncomfortable couple of minutes.
“So.” He cleared his throat but continued to stare. My eyebrows hitched up. “Rick tells me you got promoted.”
An easy topic. I could handle it, so long as he didn’t use it to yet again rub it in my face that he was the reason I got the job. I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “Yup,” was all I said.
“I’ve heard some of the sets you’ve done. Have to say, I’m impressed.” He toyed with the rolled-up napkin in front of him but continued holding my gaze.
Mom started chewing on her nails.
“How’s that?” I tilted my head.
Before he could go on, the waitress came with our drinks and took our orders. She stood to my right, ogling me. Even with the awkward, somewhat frustrating situation, I was famished. Since he was paying, I ordered a big plate of biscuits and gravy and a side of eggs and hash browns. My mom smirked at me with a knowing look but remained quiet.
“What? I’m a growing boy.” Smiling at her couldn't be helped after such a strenuous morning, but the waitress giggled as if I told the funniest joke ever, effectively ruining the moment.
I cringed, and my mom gave her an “are you kidding?” look, but the waitress wasn’t fazed. She finished taking our order and left us again, this time after brushing a hand over my shoulder. I couldn’t be too mad. It wasn’t as if she knew I wanted someone else, and I wasn’t about to bring that up in front of Darrel.
His gaze was back on me, ready to dive back into our conversation. “I was saying I’m impressed because it seems you have a good ear,�
� he went on. “You have a knack for seeking out what sounds good and what flows well. Your lineups don’t have any kinks in them. I even heard some of the new bands you’ve been scouting out.”
The detailed answer caught me off guard. He usually only wanted to know if I was able to keep the job, then gave me a good dose of “don’t make me look bad.” His interest had my senses sharpening, as if preparing for a trap. “Um, yeah. There’s pretty great talent down here,” was all I could think to say.
“Can’t disagree with you there.” He shifted in his seat and brushed invisible lint off his shirt. “You think you might study music in college?”
Finally getting to the point. “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Wasn’t really planning on college. I like the station all right. It’s a good job, and if I keep at it, I’ll continue getting promoted until I’m the DJ.”
My mom’s mouth thinned, her forehead crinkling again. College was a taboo topic in our house. We didn’t have the money for me to go, and I wasn’t okay racking up a bunch of debt before I hit twenty. But I was content with what I was doing. I didn’t need to further my education.
“Well—” Darrel cleared his throat again while I scrutinized him. “—if you started toward your degree, I could get you an internship at the agency. That way, when you finish school, you’ll already have a job.”
My mouth fell open without permission. I hadn’t known where he was going, but this wasn’t anything I expected. I didn’t want it. I didn’t want to live in his shadow for the rest of my life. No way in Hell did I want to follow in his footsteps.
That wasn’t what I was doing to begin with. So I could find talented bands, that didn’t mean shit. I wasn’t one of them. I liked to find the small bands, the gems hidden under rocks, and help them realize how great they really were. That was my mission, nothing else.
I clamped my mouth shut, glaring at him. “No.” Just the one word, but it was meant to speak volumes.
His face hardened, and my mom kept squirming, her gaze shifting between the two of us. So I made things awkward. The whole ridiculous façade was painful to begin with. My glare remained, and he watched me with his eyebrows drawn together, the muscle in his jaw twitching—a tick I got from him.
The waitress came with the food, but she must have sensed the tension, since she didn’t say a word and didn’t waste another smile on me. My insides had to be sitting on the table with the way my stomach cramped, but I still scarfed down every bite of my food.
The second I finished, I got up to leave. My mom looked like she wanted to protest, but I silenced her with a pleading look. Another second in his presence, and I might have exploded. Luckily, I had the good sense to drive myself, using the excuse of needing to get a new phone, so I was free to leave whenever I chose. After a quick kiss on my mom’s forehead, I left without a second glance at Darrel.
Chapter Ten
Ava
When I pulled up to Rabia’s at seven in the morning on Monday, my head was already pounding. “You okay?” she asked the moment she got in the car.
“Yeah, great,” I snapped, then released a groan with my head resting against the steering wheel. “I’m really sorry we have to go this early.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She shrugged with a kind smile. “Where’s Mia?”
“Do not get me started,” I growled while getting us down the road toward school. “She threw a huge fit this morning, dragged Mom and Dad into it, who were both trying to leave for work, then said Kenny would take her. My parents couldn’t argue any longer, so they said it was okay. I couldn’t believe she was being such a bitch to me, after I stuck my neck out for her on Saturday.”
“I’m sorry, Ava.” She gave me a sympathetic look. “I can’t believe how you found her.”
“Yeah, me either.” I shook my head, pulling into the parking lot. “She really put a damper on my awesome day.”
With a giggle, she said, “I can’t believe that either. He really kissed you?”
“Twice.” The grin and blush couldn’t be helped.
“So, what does it mean? Are you guys dating officially?”
“I have no idea what it means, but I liked it!”
She laughed, shaking her head. “And he wants you to take another day off this week?”
“Yeah, he was super vague again, though,” I told her when we got out of the car. “I really have to go. I’ll catch you at lunch if we don’t have practice, okay?”
“Okay.” Her smile wavering hurt my heart. I missed my best friend too. She turned to walk away.
“Hey, Rabia,” I called out, and she spun around. “I love you, bestie.”
“Love you too, Av. Don’t let Trent run the show this morning, ’kay?”
“Okay,” I agreed, before we went our separate ways.
When I got to the journalism room, Trent was already there, but none of the others had shown up yet. He sat at one of the tables, doing something on the computer, but he spun his chair around when he heard me come in. His short, black hair was spiked up as usual, and he wore his predictable designer jeans and polo. The scent of too much Old Spice got stronger as he came closer, making me want to gag, but that would have ruined the “sweet girl” front I was putting up. When he glowered, I gave him a smile in return.
“Ava.” He nodded all formal like.
“Hey, Trent,” I said with much enthusiasm. “Isn’t it a beautiful day?”
“Hardly.” He made a disgusted sound. “It’s gloomy, as usual.” What a prick. His hands fisted at his sides when he was only a foot from me. Something in his eyes had me taking a step backward. “That stunt you pulled with the email was low, Ava. Everyone agrees this is a simple matter of booking a different hotel, so I’m certain no one is going to show.”
“You don’t know that,” I retorted in a light tone, though his demeanor made me feel anything but.
“Well, either way, why don’t we settle this right now, before you embarrass yourself?”
“The only one who is going to be embarrassed is you for being an ass.” A bat of my eyelashes was the icing on the cake. “So, why don’t you put on your big boy panties and be mature for once? You know, put the drama on the back burner for a little bit?” His nostrils flared, eyes flashing with anger. “I’ll say my peace, and if I’m outvoted, then that’s that.”
When he got all up in my space, turning the foot that separated us into only a couple inches, I realized something changed, something that had chilly bumps rising on my arms. Being alone with him didn’t sit well with me. I had no idea what his problem was, but I had this image of him going on to be one of those frat presidents who got waaaay to into it.
My saving grace came bursting through the door before he could go on. Shayna, a friend of mine, came right over to say “hi,” ignoring the bubble of tension surrounding us. Thank you, Shayna. I could have kissed her feet for saving me from his craziness. Only minutes later, the room was filled with the rest of the committee, but I didn’t have time to tell Trent, “Told you so.”
After explaining the issue with the hotel, I went over a few different options before getting to my idea. I brought up the museum, ignoring Trent’s sneer, and put on my little presentation, showing a short video of me walking through it. When I was done, it was silent for a minute before the questions started, making my stomach knot up.
“I’m a little confused.” Brandon, a cute, blond raised a hand, and I nodded. “I mean, it sucks the hotel fell through, but isn’t the easiest option to book a different hotel?”
A few students nodded their assent, including Trent, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat. After a deep breath, I answered, determined not to let the asswipe ruin this for me. “I know it sounds crazy,” I admitted with a shrug. “But after the hotel fell through, I did more research. I found that every single high school in this region is doing their prom at a hotel, and most of them have a flashy theme exactly like Mardi Gras.”
Most of the faces focused on me changed into o
nes of annoyance as I plowed on. “I know it’s last minute, and we’ll have to work double time to make this happen, but how great would it be to be the school that did something different, did something exciting? We can pull this off and end up throwing one of the greatest proms this high school has ever seen.”
Almost everyone nodded their approval, causing a little happy dance to go on in my head. A few more questions were answered about decor options and the budget, which were both no-brainers, since the change in the budget broadened the decor options.
When I finished my spiel, Trent finally stood up, as I had predicted he would. He came to the front of the room to stand next to me. “While all of that sounds really great.” He gave me a faux, sympathetic smile I wanted to smack off his face. “There just isn’t enough time to pull this kind of change off. Most of the decorations have been purchased—”
“We have all the receipts,” I interjected, earning another glare.
“Even so, it’s impractical to change everything at the last minute.”
“Then let’s put it to a vote,” I suggested, and he threw me a hateful look, but everyone else agreed.
I won! It wasn’t even close, since everyone was excited to do something unique. When I told them we could go look at the museum during lunch, they agreed it was unnecessary, proving how much they loved my idea. We went over quick plans to implement this new theme and scheduled more meetings for the week, so we could get everything ironed out. Trent sneered at me the entire time, of course. After closing the meeting, I didn’t have any time to share or celebrate my success with my friends, since the bell rang and I couldn’t be late for dance.
My dance class went great, especially since my piece looked great. Though we didn’t really need the extra practice, I scheduled a couple lunch practices for the week, including that day. It was, one-hundred percent, an excuse to avoid Cade. He hadn’t called or texted since Saturday night, and I didn’t know how to act around him since he kissed me.
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