by Mj Fields
She rolls her eyes at him and looks at me. “Blaine and I were on the fence about whether to be together or not. The newness was wearing off and things were weird. I dove into my studies and I stumbled upon what could be a huge breakthrough in research for multiple sclerosis. I was going to present it to my professor and he stopped me. Told me some crap I believed and well, we decided he wouldn’t be so upset about me not giving a shit about getting dressed up and attending parties and I agreed to ignore his mother’s obvious disappointment in my disdain for day spas and fundraisers. I also agreed to keep this to myself, I am a month away from clinical trials for my work, his family’s money backing me. He’s fucking her?” she asks, looking back at Zack.
He nods and runs the back of his hand down her cheek. “You are fucking beautiful and smart and obviously loyal. You’re the trifecta of chicks. He doesn’t deserve you.”
She pulls away and scowls, turns in her seat, pulls out her disk, and starts deleting files.
“Fuck him.” She hits a bunch more keys then laughs haughtily. “There’s a virus for you assholes.”
She stands up and looks at me. “Can I come stay with you?”
“Yeah,” I nod.
“Can you help me pack some things?”
“Of course we will,” Zack says and walks through her apartment toward a room. “Let’s go.”
After Zack’s jeep and my car are loaded up with mostly notebooks and her computer, we sleep for four hours before Blaine calls her. I’m sober and showered and we head out the door.
Once in the car she finally answers his call, on speaker, and yes it’s awkward as fuck.
“We’re done.”
“What the hell are you talking about Josie?”
“I’m not marrying you, I quit Hawthornes, and you can relay that message to your father along with one to your lover.”
“My what?”
“Cecilia. Tell her you’re all yours.”
It takes him too long to respond and when he does I wish I could fucking choke him.
“She’s nothing. A last hurrah. We have something Josie, we have love, and a business deal. One is not exclusive of the other. It’s all the same to you. If you can’t forgive me for that indiscretion, don’t punish my father. He put a lot of money into-”
“Blaine,” she interrupts, “there was no love when you were fucking her. I remember you saying partnership. So we had a partnership and a business deal. Both are done. Goodbye.”
“It’s that bitch isn’t it?” he snaps.
“Hawthorne, you’re a fucking dickless worm.”
“And you’re a bitter bitch Katherine. Owen was right about you.”
“Is that so?” I laugh.
“Wait, so Owen, he’s the one who hurt you?” Josie asks.
“For someone so fucking book smart Josie you really have no damn clue do you?”
“Hawthorne,” I interrupt, “just wanna tell you I have been secretly in love with Josie since I first saw her, and last night the three of us fucked like monkeys,” I say and Josie covers her mouth. “Sweetest tasting pussy either of us have ever eaten. I bet that twat you’re banging tastes like plastic and bitters.”
I reach over and hang up the phone. Josie laughs and then she cries.
She cries for two hours.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Manic Monday
KAT
Sunday was spent much like last week. I spent it in my bed between Josie and Stephanie, both cried, both shared reasons they were stupid for believing in love where I tried my best not to tell them both that I had warned them.
Monday Macey is lying at our feet eating tortilla chips and drinking wine listening to them both and more than once opening her mouth to say something and closing it when I give her the look.
At noon I finally can’t stand lying there so I shower and get dressed.
I am about ready to order a pizza when the phone rings and it’s Josephina Steel.
“Kat, it’s Joe. I just received a call from Natalia’s school, apparently she is, well having issues and they need someone to pick her up.”
“Okay?” I say having no idea what that has to do with me.
She sighs. “Ricco is in the hospital. They are prepping him for an emergency appendectomy.”
“A what?”
“Look, he asked that I not say anything but he’s been sick for two days. The stubborn ox is lucky to be alive. But this morning he took himself to the hospital after dropping Nat off at school.” She sounds less Joe and more worried momma. “He is very upset he’ll miss his court date. More upset that I sent Steel’s lawyer with his lawyer.”
“He should be thanking you.”
“Aw, he’s a proud man Kat. Proud men like him like to deal with things by themselves.” I hear her cover the phone and then a second later she’s back as I am walking out the door with that stupid heart of mine in my throat. Fucking thing, I wanna stab it! “Apparently you and I are her emergency contacts, so if you could hurry and get to her-”
I start my car. “Already in my car.”
“Kat, don’t worry her. Just bring her home with you and I will let you know when he’s out of surgery okay?”
“Will do.”
“Would you like me to tell him anything when he wakes?”
“Yeah, tell him next time he’s sick go to the fucking hospital, Natalia needs him.”
“Anything else.”
“Yeah, he’s fucking stupid for waiting so damn long.”
In a harsher voice she asks, “Anything else?”
“No.”
As soon as I hang up, the phone rings and its Macey. “Bitch you did not just leave me here with the wailing twins.”
“Ricco’s in the hospital, Natalia had something happen at school. So yeah I did. Deal with it. I’ll be back with the kid soon.” I hang up.
I walk through the front door of the preschool and toward a security glass window with a woman sitting at a desk beyond it.
“I’m here to pick up Natalia.”
“ID please?”
This annoys me, but it’s nice to know they just don’t hand out kids to anybody.
After I hand her my ID I hear a click and she points to the left. “End of the hall. Last door on the right.”
When I get to the door I knock. A brunette woman in a navy two piece suit, a bun in her hair, a pair of wire glasses, and a pair of flats looks at me sternly.
“Come in and have a seat.”
“Where’s Natalia?” I ask looking around the sterile office, which is nothing like I envisioned a preschool should be.
“Have a seat Miss Brun,” she says sitting behind her large metal desk. Bitch up front must have announced me.
“Your name?”
“Mrs. Holster,” she says. “Miss Brun, we have a problem with Natalia.”
“Is she okay?”
“She is physically but her temperament has gotten, how do I say this?” she asks and then continues, “Her social skills are lacking and her behavior is atrocious.”
Immediately I am on edge ready to tell her to fuck off, ready to fly off the hook, ready to punch her in the throat when I realize, I’m not supposed to feel like that.
“She told another little girl today that she was a brat and that her dad was ugly because he didn’t have tattoos. She said he was a pussy, Miss Brun.”
I bite my tongue hard because I am gonna laugh and that would be widly inappropriate.
She continues, “She told her that her mother looked like a troll and that she also looked like a troll.”
Okay, I may be falling in love with this kid.
“The final straw was when she told them all she hoped they had a golden shower in bed.”
At that I had to pinch myself hard to stop from laughing.
“I don’t know why you would find that amusing Miss Brun. It’s a wonder I haven’t called child protective services yet,” she snaps.
“If she wets the bed, that’s what she call
s it.”
“Now why would she do that?”
“Maybe because pissing the bed would be wildly inappropriate for a three year old to say but shower isn’t.”
“Golden shower,” she gasps.
“Urine is yellow,” I answer back.
“Do you think I’m stupid Miss Brun?”
For self-amusement I cover my mouth and gasp, “Oh my… what kind of woman are you?”
Her face turns bright red. “Miss Brun!”
“Mrs. Holster,” I stand, “I would like to see Natalia right now. I won’t have her here another minute.”
She doesn’t stand.
I take out my phone. “What is the number to child protective services.”
“This school is very prestigious. The only reason Natalia was given a skip the line pass is because of her association with the Steel family.”
“I don’t give a damn. Take me to her.”
“I’ll fetch her for you.”
‘Like hell you will,’ I think and follow her through the door. Bitch doesn’t even notice until she uses a key card and then opens a door where I see Natalia’s tear stained face lift from where it is buried in her knees as she rocks in the corner.
“Nat, come here baby,” I say feeling those fucking emotions build in the back of my damn throat.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“I asked him if I could come get you,” I say as I squat down and she dives in my arms.
“He’s not mad at you anymore?”
I laugh. “No honey no one is mad at anyone.”
“That lady is mad at me,” she says lifting her head briefly and pointing to horseface Holster. She wiggles down as I stand. “I gotta shower.”
“Of course, where’s the bathroom?” I snap at horse face.
She points to the door and I look around as we exit. No one else is in the room and the fucking door was locked. As Natalia opens the bathroom door and slides in I take out my phone and take a picture.
She tries to grab the phone from me.
“I wouldn’t if I were you. You think she’s out of line. Bitch I don’t even know what a line is.”
“Miss Brun,” she hisses.
“Natalia out of time out?” A little boy with a fauxhawk tossing a little rubber ball in his hand asks.
“Liam it’s a thinking room,” she says sternly.
He looks at her like she’s crazy and shrugs then walks away.
“How long was she in there?”
She doesn’t answer me. “How long, was she, in that locked room?” I repeat.
Natalia comes out with a paper towel in her hands. “I’m hungry.”
“Did she eat lunch?”
“Not yet,” Bitch answers.
I swoop her up and walk toward the area Liam came from.
“Miss Brun,” she calls from behind me, I don’t stop until I am standing in front of a desk where another bitch sits who looks like she has a stick in her ass.
“What time is lunch here at Camp Happy days?”
“Excuse me?” she says.
“It’s not a difficult question. I assume you keep a schedule here. Hell, it looks as if you’re running a… freaking boot camp.”
“Miss Brun, don’t make me call the police,” horse face snaps.
“Feel free.” They both gasp. “I’m just asking a question.”
“Eleven thirty,” she snaps.
“And it’s after noon. So she hasn’t eaten lunch.” I set Natalia down. “Go get everything that is yours and let’s go.”
My hands are shaking in anger now that they are empty.
“I have to leave stuff here for tomorrow,” she says skipping all R’s and L’s.
“No Natalia, you don’t. You will not be coming back here, not ever.”
“My new ride,” she says as I set her in the booster seat. I buckle her in with a smile. One brought to me by the fact that her face isn’t so filled with worry and literally breaking my heart.
I go to step back and she grabs my face with her two tiny hands. “I wanna go to the beach and eat my lunch. I will share it with you if you say yes.”
I nod and she gives a little sigh, pops those two fingers in her mouth, middle finger sticking straight up and I am swooning over a… kid?
A frown forms and she pulls one of the fingers out. I must look concerned or confused because she pulls out the other and says, “The mean lady told me that I was naughty to suck two fingers,” she leans forward, “it doesn’t taste the same.”
“You suck them then,” I say with a nod. “She isn’t the boss of you.”
“Are you the boss of me?”
“Nope.”
“Just Daddy then?”
I nod. “Because he loves you.”
“You love me too,” she smiles and sticks her fingers back in her mouth and mumbles, “Beach.”
“Yeah,” I nod. “Yeah.”
***
After we eat little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into shapes, fruits, and crackers, we splash in the water. She asks if we can go to my house and I tell her yes.
It’s two o’clock when we walk in the house and three sets of eyes are on me, then on her.
I look at my phone for the hundredth time and still no call or message.
I introduce Natalia to everyone and she smiles but looks to the stairs.
“You want the pencils?” I ask.
“And a new cat book,” she nods.
“Go get ‘em,” I nod and she is off.
I quickly give them a heads up and Stephanie seems uncomfortable.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“We need to talk,” she whispers.
“Okay. Later?”
“No now,” she says insistently.
“Kat?” I look up and Natalia is peeking down the stairs between the banister spindles.
“Yeah?” I say feeling a bit frazzled.
“Can you come up here?” she asks.
“My God she is just too perfect,” Josie says and tears immediately fall. She touches her face. “Oh crap. I am so sorry.”
Then there is a knock on the door and I look at Macey for… I don’t know what.
“Kat?” Natalia says again.
“Can you give me just a second,” I say as I go to answer the door because none of my three friends are moving a damn inch.
“Hey Kat.” It’s Zack who up until this second I forgot that I was pissed at. He notices. “I brought food.”
“You’re lucky.” I open the door and he walks in, his eyes scan the room then fall on Josie. A look of concern crosses his face and then I see a look. A much different look that I am used to seeing him sport.
“Watch it,” I growl at him in a whisper.
“I’m a man not a boy,” he hisses back in the same hushed tone.
“You sure about that Rider one?” I say to him.
He rolls his eyes. “I got pizza for the ladies.”
He walks past me like I don’t exist.
“Hey Zack,” Stephanie smiles at him.
“Hey back. You hungry?” He winks at her.
“Um Kat?” I hear Natalia from the stairs.
“You guys got this?” I look around the room. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
***
Natalia walks me toward the office, slash studio, slash one of the rooms one of my new housemates will be living in.
As soon as we’re in the room she climbs under the bed and pulls out a sketchpad.
“I made a coloring book for you.” She plops down on the floor and pats the spot beside her.
“That’s sweet,” I say and sit.
She climbs up on my lap and I allow it. It actually feels good. She leans back against me and it feels even better. She’s relaxed.
“Rough day huh?” I say pulling her hair to the side and looking around her at the book.
“Yeah.”
“You wanna talk about it?” I ask her and she shakes her head no.
“This is
a big cat and a little cat,” she says opening the sketchpad.
“I can see that,” I say shocked because she’s freaking three and it’s not a stick figure. “It’s great.”
“This is a big cat bed, and a little cat sleeping in it,” she says and looks out of the corner of her eye at me. I nod.
“This is a big cat giving the cold little cat a towel,” she says and flips the page. “This is where they goed to the beach.”
Page by page she flips and tells me the next thing the big cat and the little cat did together.
Only a few are things I don’t remember doing with her.
“I’m gonna draw the big cat taking the little cat out of a scary room now.”
I fight with everything I have not to appear shaken up, but how do you do that? How do you as a human being not want to go to that fucking little prison after hours and torch the place.
How did I not call and turn them in immediately? Could I do that? Should I do that? I needed to find out what her ass of a father wanted done. But could I tell him when he is sick? Is he even awake yet? Was he fucking okay?!
“Kat?” she grunts. “You squishing me.”
“Oh shit sorry,” I say letting up on the bear hug I am giving her.
“Little lady, I have pizza for you,” I hear Zack yelling up to Natalia.
“He’s talking to you Nat. You hungry?”
She shakes her head no.
“Can we bring these downstairs and you can keep drawing?”
She nods yes.
“Okay.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Sore
RICCO
I wake up feeling like hell. My head is foggy, my side is fucking killing me, my mouth is cotton and I’m so fucked up I can barely open my eyelids.
When I do get them open I see her sitting next to me in a chair.
“Water,” I grunt.
“Say please asshole,” she hisses like the snot she is.
“Now,” I grunt again.
“I should kick you in the side instead of getting water for you,” she says with a lot less sass and a lot more concern in her voice.
“Don’t be a bitch,” I say as she holds the straw just out of reach from my mouth.
“You keep a schedule of my fucking period at work for you and the boys to gauge my mood?” she snarls.
“Only reason they’re still working.” I cringe as I hit the button on the most uncomfortable bed in the history of beds. “For us.”