“Hello?”
“Hey baby, I was just calling to see how everything was going. I got your message last night, but it was too late to call you,” he said.
“It’s alright, I know you’re busy. We’re all hanging in there. Danny is pretty messed up, but he’s trying to keep it together.”
“Yeah, I figure. Let him know I’m thinking about him.”
“I will. Where are you guys at now?” I asked. He had given me his schedule before he left, but in all the chaos, I had no idea where I had put it at.
“We’re back in West Virginia at the moment, down in Huntington. Once we finish up here, we have a show in Fairmont, and then it’s on to Pennsylvania.”
“It sucks having you so far away, I miss you.”
“I know babe, me too. Hopefully you will be with me soon,” he hinted.
“I’m probably going to stick around here for another week and then I’ll meet you, unless something happens. We’re doing the reading today, I’m sure that’s going to end well.”
“Stick close to Jordan and Danny; she won’t mess with you while they are around. If something happens, call me. I’ll be there in a matter of hours to take you away.”
I sighed. “I know you would, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll stick close to them until I leave.”
“Just be careful babe, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I will. I’d better get downstairs before Jordan comes back up here after me. I’ll call you later.”
“Alright, but just one more thing?” He asked as I started to hang up.
“What?”
“You know, I haven’t had any more pictures from you since the one you sent the day I left. I’m feeling a little neglected over here. Think you can help me out?”
I could hear the laughter in his voice as my face turned red. I sent him that picture when I was thinking about all the bar skanks he would be around. I wanted to give him something to remember me by when he was gone.
“I have no idea what picture you’re talking about.” I decided to play dumb just to torture him.
He laughed. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I’d love to see some more skin.”
Jordan decided to open my door at that moment. “Come on! I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and haul your ass downstairs if you don’t hurry up!” He shouted.
“Hold on a minute, I’m talking to Drake!” I said before turning my attention back to Drake, “I’ll see what I can do, but I’ve really got to go.”
“Fine, call me when you get a chance. I’ll be checking my texts.”
I hung up just as Jordan walked over and threw me over his shoulder. I squealed and kicked as he turned and started carrying me down the stairs and into the dining room.
“Put me down asshole!” I shouted.
He sat me down in one of the chairs as he laughed. “I told you to hurry up.”
I glared at him as I grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich off the plate in front of me and started eating. “I was hurrying. You didn’t have to manhandle me.”
I noticed Kadi and Danny sitting across the table from us. Kadi gave me a small smile, but Danny looked like he hadn’t slept at all and I instantly felt bad for joking around with Jordan.
“You doing alright Danny?” I asked quietly.
He shrugged his shoulders as he glanced up at me. “Not really, but I’ll survive. I just want to get this day over with.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say.
My mother entered the room and sat down at the opposite end of the table from the rest of us. She looked tired as well, but no one asked her if she was alright; we all knew better than to try talking to her. With her appearance, all conversation ceased and the quiet felt awkward as I finished my sandwich.
The doorbell rang and cut through the silence like a knife. I jumped at the sound as Danny stood and walked to the door to open it. A few minutes later, he walked back into the dining room with a tall dark-haired man following him.
“This is Mr. Evans, my mother’s… I mean my attorney. Kadi, if you don’t mind, can you wait here? The rest of you follow me, we’ll discuss everything in my mother’s office.”
“Of course not, I’ll be by the pool when you guys are done,” Kadi said as Jordan, my mother, and I followed Danny out of the room.
My aunt’s office was located on the third floor, or to be more specific, it took up the entire third floor. The stairs that led up to it were just past my aunt’s room, and I couldn’t help but glance at her closed-door as we walked past. It seemed like if I walked over and opened it, she would still be there. Death was a hard thing for me to process and my mind wasn’t quite ready to realize she would never be in there anymore, that I’d never be able to walk in and visit with her again.
I felt a tear slide down my cheek as we walked up the steps leading to her office.
Jordan noticed and wrapped an arm around me. “It’s alright Chloe Bear, just hang in there for Danny,” he whispered as we entered the office.
Mr. Evans sat behind my aunt’s desk as the rest of us took a seat in the chairs across from him. I ended up in between Danny and Jordan with my mother on Jordan’s other side. I breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t Danny between us. I wasn’t sure he had it in him to fight with her.
“For those of you who don’t know me, I am Jim Evans, Jennifer’s attorney and close personal friend. I am saddened by the news of her death; there are very few people out there as good as she was and she will be missed by many. Before she was too ill to handle her affairs, she left me specific instructions on how she wanted her estate settled. I am here today on her behalf to distribute her assets.”
I fidgeted nervously in my seat as he pulled a folder out of his briefcase and set it on the desk in front of him. Jordan pressed his hand down on my jumping leg and gave me a look as Mr. Evans started pulling documents out of the folder. I smiled apologetically and tried to still my body, but it was useless. I was too hyped up over what my mother would do when she found out what my aunt had done to her.
“Here we go, first is to a Mr. Jordan Wiles. Jennifer has set up an account for you with six hundred thousand dollars in it.”
Jordan’s mouth fell open as he looked over me to Danny. “Did you know about this?”
Danny glanced down at his hands as he spoke. “She might have mentioned it,” he mumbled.
Jordan fell back into his chair looking shocked. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Mr. Evans smiled at him. “No need to say anything. Here is the information on the account, as well as a letter Jennifer left for you,” he handed the papers to Jordan before continuing, “If you have any questions, please let me know and I will be glad to assist you. Next is Chloe Richards; Jennifer has left the same for you, six hundred thousand dollars in an account under your name.”
I took the papers he offered to me with a small smile. It didn’t feel right taking her money, but I had promised her I would. I had no intentions of spending it; I would donate some to different charities I knew of and the rest would sit where it was. Call it my rainy day fund.
“Next up is for Ms. Andrea Richards,” he said as my breath stilled. This was the moment I had been dreading.
He pulled an envelope out of the file and handed it to her. “Jennifer requested that I give you this.”
She gave him a questioning look as she took the envelope and opened it.
Mr. Evans didn’t waste any time moving on. “And finally, Danny. Your mother has left you her remaining assets as well as complete control over her stocks and any businesses that she owns. When you are ready, just give me a call and I will explain everything to you. Until then, I will watch over everything for you. I understand that you need time to grieve.”
Before Danny could reply, my mother was out of her chair trying to pounce on me. “You stupid little bitch! You did this, didn’t you? You’ll pay, I fucking swear you will!” She screamed as Jordan grabbed her and pulled her a
way from me.
I flinched as she threw the envelope at me. “You just wait Chloe, you’ve done nothing but fuck up my life since you were born! I’ll get you back.”
She jerked free from Jordan’s grasp and stormed out the door. I could hear her screaming my name and a string of profanities as she went.
Mr. Evans was staring at me with a look of shock on his face. It would have been comical if the situation hadn’t been so dire.
Danny cleared his throat and we all turned to him. “Thank you for your help Jim, I’ll be in contact with you soon. But right now I think you should probably go before Andrea does something stupid.”
He nodded as he pushed papers back into his briefcase and stood. “Yes, I’ll just be going now,” he glanced at the door my mother had just left through before settling his eyes back on me, “If you have any… trouble, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll help you anyway I can.”
We all thanked him as he left the room. I fell back into my chair and started looking through the papers my mother had thrown at me. There were several brochures for rehab clinics in the area that dealt with alcohol and drug addiction, along with a handwritten letter addressed to my mom. I unfolded it slowly and started reading.
My Dearest Andrea,
I know I will be gone by the time you read this, but I had to make one final attempt to reach out to you. I love you so much little sister, and I can’t stand to watch as you self-destruct from the inside. I have enclosed several brochures with this letter for rehabilitation clinics in this area and I beg of you to consider going to one. I have already spoke with my lawyer, and if you are willing, he will make sure that your treatment is paid for.
I’ve watched you waste your life for years and I can’t stand to do it any longer. It pains me to do this, but I have no choice. You will receive nothing from my estate until you check into one of these programs and complete it in full. For the year following your completion, you will be required to take a drug test weekly. Again, contact Jim and he will set everything up for you. If you manage to pass all of the tests, there is an account containing ten thousand dollars that will be placed in your name. I’m sorry that I led you on, but I cannot stand the thought of you taking any money I give you and using it on drugs.
Please do not blame Chloe for any of this; she had no idea of my plans for you. I know that will be your first thought, but please don’t. You have put that poor girl through enough already. Just let her go her own way until you get your act together, and if after you want to make amends with her, do it. She needs a mother Andrea, and you are the only one who can give her that.
Again, I’m sorry that it came to this, but just know I do this out of love for you.
Love Always,
Jennifer
I wiped a tear from my eye as I finished reading my aunt’s final plea for my mother to get help.
I looked up at Danny as he laid a hand on my shoulder. “You ok?”
“Yeah I will be, I just hope she listens to your mom,” I said as I handed the letter to him.
He read it quickly before placing it and the brochures back in the envelope. “I’m going to make sure this gets to her room, hopefully she will take my mom’s advice and get straightened up. Until she does, I don’t want you out of Jordan’s or my sight.”
“Damn straight, she’s freaking nuts,” Jordan growled.
I smiled as I stood up and walked out the door behind them. “Thanks guys.”
We were quiet as we went down the stairs and back onto the second floor. Danny stopped at my mom’s room and left the letter on her dresser before continuing onto his own room.
“I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit, I just want to be alone for a little while.”
“You sure man? I hate for you to be alone right now.” Jordan asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure. You guys go hang out or whatever, I’ll find you later,” Danny said as he closed the door in our faces.
I glanced up at Jordan as we walked to my room. “What do you want to do? Since you have to babysit me, I’ll let you pick.”
“Kadi said she was going to be by the pool and I still don’t trust her. Let’s go down there to keep an eye on her until Danny decides to come out.”
“Sounds good to me, just let me change and I’ll meet you down there,” I said as I started to close my door.
Jordan caught it and smiled. “I’m not leaving you alone that long; I’ll wait out here until you’re ready.”
Chapter Ten
Chloe
I changed quickly, not wanting to make Jordan wait, and was back out in the hallway in record time. Jordan and I made our way down the stairs and toward the patio door when I noticed Allison standing in the kitchen doorway.
“Your mother just tore out of here like she was on fire.”
“That’s probably for the best, give her some time to cool down,” Jordan said as we walked by her.
Allison gave me a sympathetic smile, “It went that bad huh?”
“Pretty much.”
I smiled as Jordan and I walked to the pool; Kadi was sitting in one of the chairs, sound asleep. I moved quietly to one of the chairs next to her, afraid I would wake her. Jordan laughed as I tripped over one of her shoes and nearly fell on top of her. I turned to glare at him and held a finger up to my lips. I glanced back at her to see that she was still sleeping, despite the racket I had just made.
“You’re an idiot Chloe,” Jordan mock whispered.
“Shut up! She looks so peaceful and I don’t want to disturb her.”
“Whatever,” he muttered as he flopped down into the chair next to me. I sighed at the creaking sound it made and he shot me a grin.
He tried to talk to me several times, but I cut him off with a look as I relaxed back into my chair and let the sun warm my skin. Within minutes, I felt myself growing drowsy. I finally stopped fighting it and closed my eyes, letting sleep overtake me.
Somebody was poking me on the cheek. I groaned and swatted them away, refusing to open my eyes. I heard someone giggling close by.
“Man, she’s really out of it.”
“Knock her out of the chair.”
That was Jordan. And I had no doubt he really would push me out of my chair. I opened my eyes to see both him and Kadi standing over me.
“She’s alive!” Kadi shouted.
“I can’t even take a nap around here!” I grumbled.
“Well, you’ve been out here for over two hours. If you don’t roll over you’re going to burn,” Kadi pointed out.
I glanced down to see that I was starting to burn, and I was sweaty. “Ugh, I’m all sweaty and gross.”
Jordan gave me a wicked smile. “I can fix that.”
My eyes widened as he bent down and scooped me out of my chair. “Wait! What are you doing?” I shrieked as he threw me into the pool.
The cool water was a shock to my overly hot body. I came to the surface coughing and sputtering. “You asshole!”
He was sitting next to the pool laughing like an idiot. I swam over to the side and pretended to get out before falling back in.
“Need some help? He asked.
“Not from you!”
He stood and held out his hand for me. “Oh come on, I’m sorry.”
“I bet you are,” I said as I took his hand.
Just as he started to lift me from the water, I tugged with all my strength and pulled him in with me, clothes and all. The look of shock on his face before he went under was priceless and I had to grip the side of the pool because I was laughing too hard to stay afloat. He surfaced beside me and pulled me away from the pool to dunk me.
Kadi was laughing hysterically and grabbed her phone to record us. We spent the next several minutes taking turns chasing each other around the pool and dunking each other. Or more like, I spent the next few minutes trying to get away from him as he dunked me over and over again. When I’d had enough, I launched myself at him when he turned away from me for a split second. It was al
l the time I needed though; I landed on his back and he slipped under.
He resurfaced with me somehow still clinging to his back and walked over to the edge of the pool. I hopped off of him and stood beside Kadi as he pulled himself out. She shut off the video on her phone and fell into her seat laughing.
“You two are like two little kids together, you know that right?” She asked.
“Yeah, and she does a hell of a job playing the annoying little sister,” Jordan said as he pulled his soaked shirt off.
I stuck my tongue out at him as I sat down beside Kadi.
“See what I mean?” He asked.
“Oh whatever, you love me and you know it,” I said as I looked at his bare chest. A thought struck me and I smiled, “Hey Jordan, can you do me a favor?”
He eyed me suspiciously, “Depends on what it is.”
“Nothing major, Drake asked to me to send him a picture with some skin in it. He didn’t specify if it had to be my skin.”
He glanced down at himself before grinning. “You know you’re going to piss him off.”
“Nah, he’ll laugh. Hopefully,” I said as I grabbed my phone and held it up to take the picture.
“Should I strike a pose or something?”
“You’re taking a picture, not modeling.” I said as I snapped a couple of pictures.
“Fine, you ruin all the fun.”
I sent a few of the pictures as I smiled to myself. Drake was on the road right now so I was sure he would see them soon. Sure enough, he texted back a minute later.
Drake: Not. Even. Funny.
Me: Hey, you said you wanted to see some skin. I was only doing what you told me.
Drake: I’m not sure what bothers me more – the fact that you’re taking pictures of Jordan shirtless and wet or that you thought I would enjoy them.
Me: LOL Sorry, I had to.
Drake: I’m sure you did. At least Jade got some enjoyment from them. What are you doing?
Me: Sitting by the pool. Everything went ok at the reading today, mom stormed out.
I decided it would be better if I left the part out about her threatening me. He would freak out and I didn’t want to add any more stress to his life.
Twisted (Torn Series) Page 10