by Leah Holt
Hegan chuckled, scooping his arm around my waist, and pulling me in tighter. It felt good being in his arms, everything around me melted away. All my fears, all my doubts, they all disappeared when we were together.
Opening the door, I was hit with the sound of music, glazed in laughter and loud voices. It streamed through the wave of warm air and scent of cinnamon. Now this is a party. I thought as my coat was stripped off my back by another servant of the Alexander family.
Walking through the great room, there were people everywhere. Hoards of unfamiliar faces filled the space. Looking around, the place was brightly lit in white lights, holly berry bushels, and decorations out the ass.
To top it all off, there was the biggest Christmas tree I had ever seen set in the middle of the room. It had to be fifteen feet high, blaring in all its glory.
“Wow.” The only sound I could make, barely audible out of my lips.
“You can say that again,” Hegan said, eyes eating me up as I stood beside him. “That dress is amazing.” He studied the rich purple teacup dress I was wearing.
I could feel my cheeks flush red, bowing my head into my chest, I pushed back a curl of hair behind my ear. “Not me, this place. It's incredible.”
“Yeah, I guess. They do this every year, throw a huge party for all their socialites.” Hegan buried a hand in his pocket, the other falling to his hip. “To be honest, this is the first one I looked forward to.”
“How come?” Tilting my head, I fingered the cuff of his sleeve.
“Because I don't feel completely alone.” His fingers glided between mine, squeezing firmly. “You're here with me.”
From the far side of the room, a loud burst crushed through the air. Snapping my head to look, I saw his dad holding a bottle of champagne, tipping it into glasses for a small group surrounding him. His head turned towards us, mouth opened in a wide smile.
Waving his arm over his head, he flagged us over. “Welcome, Noella!” His half drunken speech bellowed through his lips.
“Merry Christmas, Sir.” Folding my hands in front of my waist, I twisted my toe against the tile nervously.
“Please, call me Brandon. Champagne?” Holding the bottle, he rocked it side to side.
“Sure, thank you.”
“Let me introduce you to the group,” he said.
Before he could say another word, Hegan cut in. “Dad, let me.”
“No, no, no. Hegan, you can do what you do best. Nothing.” Wagging the bottle by the neck, he dipped his head. “Everyone, this is Noella, my son's girlfriend.”
Lightly, I lifted my hand barely higher than the buckle on my dress and waved. “Hello.”
There were about ten people who all said hello at the same time. Their varying tones all blended together in one massive heap. Waiting for Hegan's dad to tell me who each person was, a smug grin sat across my face.
I'd thought the world of the strip club was a weird place. But here in this mansion, even in all its beauty; I could see the fake emotions resting on all their faces.
Don't get me wrong, everyone looked like they were having a good time, but in the recesses of every expression was a false and feeble attempt to pretend. Pretending to like each other, pretending to be a big happy slue of friends.
“Dad, can you please try and be nice tonight. It's a party, you don't need to put me down in front of everyone.” Hegan sent the fiery whisper at his father, trying to not bring any attention to what he was saying.
Brandon's face went taut. His lips pulled back, teeth slowly emerging. “Sure, sure, Son. Anything for you.” Resting his hand over Hegan's shoulder, his nails dug into the muscle. “So would you like to go ahead and tell everyone how you guys met?”
Hegan's neck muscles began bulge, the veins enlarging to their limit. I watched him swallow hard, his mind racing to think of something to say.
Lifting my hand, I said, “We met at coffee shop.” Shooting a glance at Hegan, I gave the unofficial story of how we got together. “It was funny, I was going to leave, he was coming in, and we collided at the door. I lost a whole cup of coffee and...” Rolling my wrist, I joggled my head. “He ended up needing a new shirt.”
The small crowd began to giggle, tossing short eyes at each other. Brandon let out a gut wrenching chuckle. His chest heaved up and down, the laugh turning into a cynical rumble.
Resting his hand on the back of his neck, he said, “Really? Is that so?”
Hegan nodded his head. “Yup, it was a hot mess. Literally.”
“So, Noella, if that's how you two met, then tell me something.” I watched his face turn to stone, the same look he had at the table during lunch. “Who's Gloria then? Because from what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong.” He turned his attention to the people around us. “You're a stripper. Is that right?”
All the air from my lungs seeped out. My entire body numbing as the room began to grow silent. I stood in disbelief, complete shock turned in my gut.
How? How did he know?
Hegan's mouth hit the floor, his fists balling up by his sides. “Dad! What the hell are you doing?!” He yelled as his body went stiff.
“Well, Hegan, you should know this stuff. I'm sure she's just using you, like most girls would with the money our family has.” He spoke as if I wasn't standing directly next to his son. As if because I didn't have the wealth like they did, I couldn't understand him.
“You're a real asshole, you know that?” Hegan spit out through gritted teeth.
“Hegan, it's fine.” I muttered, lips angled down.
“No, no it's not.” He stepped in closer to his father, standing face to face.
“You should probably get her to her car, Son. She might have clientele she needs to serve.” Brandon lifted a finger, pointing towards the door.
Shifting my eyes around the crowd, they all held smug grins on their faces. One man had a shit eating smile painted on his face, another tried to hide his with a hand over his mouth, resting on his forearm.
And all I wanted to do was crawl into a hole, and bury my head so their eyes would stop burning me at the stake. I was never ashamed of being a stripper, I did what I needed to do. And none of these people had a fucking clue about what was going on in my life.
But in that moment, with every eye just gazing at me; the judgments of their thoughts coated their expressions and made me feel smaller than life itself.
Inhaling a deep breath of air, I started to turn and walk away. I was going to leave, there was no need for me to stay and listen to a barrage of ridicule from those fucking people. But something inside me ignited, the small voice turning into a loud scream.
Whipping around, I held my hand up. “You know what? Fuck this.” Pointing my finger directly at the mass of eyes, I said, “You people live like the real world around you doesn't exist. You don't know me, and for you to stand here on your mighty pedestal and think you can cast one ounce of judgment on me, you can take your money and shove it up your ass.”
“Excuse—”
Slashing Brandon's words, my back firmed, spine standing up as tall as I could lift it. “I'm not done. You think your son is a failure, that he won't live up to your standards, but you know what, Brandon?” Glaring at him, I took a long stride, bringing me right in front him. “You don't get to decide his life. Take a look at yourself for once, you want to talk about pathetic? This...” My hands guided them around the room. “This is pathetic. And so are you.”
In one swift motion I spun on my heels and stormed towards the door. I heard Hegan's feet closely behind mine. But I didn't turn around to look, I had the exit in my sight.
And for the first time a familiar face appeared. Stefan was standing at the door, arms folded behind his back. As I approached, he held his hand out to stop me. “Noella, you have a phone call.”
Twisting my head, I tried to pass by. All I wanted was to be as far from that place as possible. Not one second longer did I want to be there, with the rich assholes looking down on me
like I'm some piece of trash off the street.
“Noella,” he said, fingers tugging on my shoulder. “They said it's important, please come with me.”
Hegan stepped besides Stefan, his frame made Stefan look so small. “Stefan, we're leaving. Move out of the way.”
“Sir, I'm sorry. But Noella has an urgent call.”
“Urgent? Who is it?” I asked. I couldn't think of any reason someone would be calling me here. The only people who knew where I was going was my parents.
“It's the hospital, they need to speak with you immediately.”
My heart dropped from my chest into my stomach. The tingles of anger turned to electric fear. “What? Why?”
“I'm not sure, I didn't ask. But, you can follow me.” Turning to another doorway, he looked over his shoulder. “This way.”
Looking up at Hegan, wide-eyed, my arms began to shake. He ran his hand over my shoulder and down my back. “Alright, I”ll come with you.”
“Sir, maybe you should wait here.” Stefan looked blankly at him. “You might have to do some damage control with your father.” Nodding his head towards where we just were, Brandon had begun to flail his arms in anger. His hands were wildly flying around, gesturing towards me.
“I'll be back. I'm sure it's nothing, go,” I said as he twisted his head between his father and me. “Go.”
Hegan leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I'll catch up with you in a minute, and you Stefan...” Holding up his finger, he stuffed it in Stefan's face, almost touching his nose. “I have a few things to say to you too after.”
With long strides, Hegan started back to where his dad was. The noises of the room were stirring with happy and angry voices. Some people stood oblivious to what had happened between us, others were gawking between Brandon and myself. Their mouths hung open, pointing in my direction and whispering with cupped hands into ears.
Huffing loudly, I turned to Stefan. “Let's go, where's the phone?”
Holding his arm out, I followed him down the hall. My entire frame was shaking, I could feel it all the way to my toes.
Why was the hospital calling me here? Is it my mom?
God, let everything be alright.
This was a fear I had tried to imagine myself dealing with, tried to prepare for.
That call. That voice on the end of the line telling me the news I never wanted to hear, but knew it was always a looming possibility.
As my lungs struggled to keep my breathing at a steady pace, I consciously tried to sooth my heart.
The beating drummed through my head, the pounding hitting my ribs so hard I thought it might break through.
It's fine Noella. I'm sure everything is fine.
Please let it be fine.
Chapter Eighteen
Hegan
The weight of all the years I had dealt with my father's demeaning and abusive remarks had finally come to an abrupt halt. Once he started on Noella, that was it, I was done. It was one thing for him to berate me in front of these people, it wasn't new to me.
But for him to go as low as he did, airing out her dirty laundry in front of people who had no business knowing... That was something I wasn't going to stand for.
The room around me had grown quiet, tunneling my sight onto just my dad. He was breathing fire through his eyes, his face looming in my direction like a charred piece of old oak.
Deep trenches had overtaken the weathered skin of this working man. His face had lengthened, mouth furrowed down. Watching his nostrils flare, the lids around his eyes had thinned, the pupils looking as though they were floating on a sea of white.
Everything was moving in slow motion, my body was stepping forward but the distance between us appeared to grow. The room was extending out, running away in front of me. My dad still had some people around him, the fuzzy forms were trying to calm him down.
Their arms were rested on his shoulders, opaque faces leaned in to whisper in his ear. But he didn't react, didn't shake his head or acknowledge the words pushed into his head.
He watched me coming, fingers curling up into tight balls by his waist.
Fuck this shit! It ends now! I was already sick of everything he had put on me since fucking birth. There was nothing I ever did right, until now.
I was going to make him wish he hadn't screwed with Noella. Every piece of him was going to know how I really felt, what I was thinking, and if I had to...
Fuck, it didn't matter anymore. That woman had finally breathed life into me. And she deserved to be treated with respect, nothing about her past, her present, or even her fucking future, was any concern of his.
Quickening my pace, my feet hit the marble tiles. I didn't move around the others in the room, I walked through them. Clearing a path with my shoulders, my hands, and my fucking glare.
No one was standing in my way, not this time.
Stopping at the toes of his fancy black shoes, my lip snarled up. “You're a real fucking asshole.” The words road off my tongue effortlessly. “Noella didn't deserve that, you don't know shit about her.”
My father was exactly my height, his nose a fucking hair from touching mine. “Back up, Son,” he said under his breath. “You will not disrespect me in front of these people, do you understand?”
“I'm not a child anymore, and you can't talk to people the way you do. She isn't below us, she isn't below you. Noella, she's going to be around for a while. So you better get used to it.” I could feel my arms starting to shake, explosions firing off in the sinew. The burning was seeping into my bones, filling my body with rage.
An evil smile peeled up one corner of his lip. “Your girlfriend is a whore, Hegan. And she will never be good enough for this family.” The air he exhaled, filled my nostrils. A mix of champagne and caviar.
My stomach had turned, boiling in the acid. I couldn't stop myself at that point. He had just said the worst thing to me he ever could.
Calling her a whore? He didn't fucking know her, who was he to judge? The man who had called himself the savior of the smallest state, with a billboard that read— 'I'm a man who takes pride in what all men do.'
My dad was a fucking fake.
Before I could stop myself, or even process what I was about to do; my arm pulled back, the muscles retracting on pure instinct, and raw emotion. In one heavy swoop, my fist crashed into his jaw.
My father's body fell back, straight as a board. I heard the entire room inhale a loud gasp. Short screams pulsed at me from different directions, hands fell over mouths and grabbed forearms in disbelief.
Hovering over him, his lids flashed to life. Blinking wildly, he rubbed his chin. Leaning down over his face, my shadow crawled over his pale skin. “You deserved that, and you know it.” My chest was rising and falling rapidly, I had regained some control. “And just so you know, I don't care about your fucking offer. You can take your money and shove it up your ass. I don't want it anymore.”
I wasn't sure what had just come over me. Before, all I cared about was keeping my share of the business, having my hand dipped in the pot. But after what he said and how he treated Noella, that all washed away.
The money, the baby, him threatening to yank it out from beneath me; none of that bothered me anymore.
I knew what I wanted, what I needed. It was her, Noella.
She needs to be in my life, I can feel that. I don't want to be without her, ever. All of my life had been dictated by my father and his thoughts. But not this, this wasn't his choice, it was mine.
And without her, nothing else would matter.
Turning around, I walked with hard strides away from his downed form. A surge of people had surrounded him, helping him up off the floor. I could hear the faint yell of my mother from the back of the room.
Glancing over my shoulder, she had crouched down next to her husband and was angrily yelling at me to come back. Holding my head down, I just shook a silent no.
Not this time.
Throwing my arm out in front of me,
I shoved the door open that Noella and Stefan had gone through. There were several different phones in the house, which one did he take her to? I had no clue. It was going to be a matter of hunting them down.
Stefan was going to be the next one to get a piece of my mind. He had obviously been the one to tell my dad about her being a stripper. It wasn't his business to do that, and he was going to find that out first hand.
I was fucking pissed, a shaken bottle not done popping yet. My dad went down, and now it was Stefan's turn.
He had wriggled his fingers into my world. And I didn't like that one bit. I thought he had let it go after the whole incident at the mansion. A couple weeks had gone by, and he acted like his usual self. A sneaky, creepy butler.
I was able to relax, thought he maybe realized that he'd gone too far. Now I knew he didn't, he had just waited to tell my father. Waited to make sure he had exposed her at the perfect time for my dad to really jab her with his serrated blade.
He was going to pay for this, and I was going to make sure he understood how badly he fucked up.
Crossing through the living room, it was empty. He hadn't brought her to that phone, but it was close to the party. For an important phone call like that from her family, she might have wanted to have a little more space from the hoots and hollers of drunken guests.
“Noella? Stefan?” I called out through the hall as I entered. There was nothing but silence, no muffled voices, no patter of feet. Where the hell did he take her?
Spotting Claudette, one of the maids, I asked, “Claude, have you seen Stefan and Noella? She had a call and I'm not sure what room they went to.”
“No, Sir. I haven't seen them. But maybe they went to your father's office.” Shrugging her shoulders, she continued dusting the pictures lining the walls.
Turning towards my father's office, I stopped to listen. There was still nothing, no sounds, no movements. Everything was dead silent.
My heart started to beat against my chest, breathing heavily, my lungs strained to keep calm. The two of them were nowhere to be found.
Alright, calm down. They have to be around here somewhere. Maybe she got bad news? Maybe she needed to get some air? Rubbing my forehead, I started for the backyard.