Left Behind: Left Behind Series #1

by D. J. Pierson

  Making my way up the driveway, I notice two cars parked behind mine. One I’ve never seen before and the other, I wish I’d never see again. The latter is currently occupied by an older gentleman who I’ve known my whole life. When I get closer, he emerges from the driver’s seat of the air conditioned, idling Lincoln Town Car. As always, he’s dressed in a black three-piece suit, complete with a black tie and black shoes. He appears to have aged a bit since the last time I saw him, which wasn’t that long ago. It was at Gram’s funeral.

  “Robert,” I greet him, smiling. It takes the combination of me raising up on the tips of my toes and him bending over for me to plant a kiss on his cheek. “It’s so nice to see you.”

  “Likewise, Sweet Pea,” he replies. He had given me that nickname the day he drove me home from the hospital almost twenty-two years ago. I don’t think he’s ever called me by any other name. Robert and I spent a lot of time together. He drove me back and forth to school, to every birthday party I attended as a kid, and anywhere else I wanted to go until I got my driver’s license. In a way, he was my very first best friend.

  “You should come inside to cool off and get something to drink. It’s way too hot to be wearing heavy clothes like that.” I indicate the ridiculous number of layers he is sporting on this extremely hot day. He can hear the concern in my voice.

  He grins. “Please tell me you aren’t still worrying about a grumpy, old man like me.”

  “I will always worry about the people I love, Robert. You know that.”

  “Your heart of gold is one of your most beautiful qualities. Always has been.”

  “Really. Please come in. I’m sure there’s even something I could make you for lunch that doesn’t actually require my poor cooking skills.” One bad thing about knowing someone for so long is they know all the things you suck at.

  “I’m fine out here. Thank you for the more than generous offer,” he declines politely. I knew he would. He probably looks at this as a break from his pain in the ass employer.

  I turn to look over at the front door. “How long has she been here?” More importantly, I ask myself, how the hell did she get in? Has she had a key this whole time?

  “About fifteen minutes,” he answers sadly. “I am sorry for bringing her here, Sweet Pea. If I had any other choice…”

  “No worries,” I tell him. It’s not like he has the option of where to drive her. For a very hefty paycheck, he goes where the queen says. “I suppose I should get in there and get whatever she has planned for me over with.”

  He nods. “I’m glad I was able to see you today. I’ve missed you.”

  “Same here. Please take care of yourself.” He gives me another kiss and promises to do just that.

  Taking a deep breath, I walk through the front door and stand in the foyer to see if I can hear where my unwanted guests are. The footsteps above my head divulge their location as at least two people begin to descend the stairs. “As of right now, we won’t worry about the upstairs. The main problem is this repulsive coral wall. What my mother-in-law was thinking when she had it installed is beyond me. I want it gone,” my mother is telling someone. “Ah, there you are Kacie.” She scowls at me when she notices my appearance. “Where the hell have you been? You look disgusting.”

  “Not all of us have surgery to look our best, Mother,” I retort. “Some of us do this crazy thing called exercise.”

  “There are no acceptable circumstances for you to ever look like that in public,” she dismisses me.

  “What are you doing here?” I disregard her bitchiness.

  “If you would pick up your phone when I call…” I won’t lie. I’ve been neglecting her calls since the night of Noah’s party. “…you would have known that I was bringing Catherine by to go through the house.” She holds her hand out to the woman, who is typing something into her phone, standing behind her. Catherine looks up to give me an irritated smile, then her attention is back to the screen in her hand. “I need the key to the master suite.”

  “Who is she?”

  “My interior decorator. I was able to convince your father to move in here rather than put it up for sale,” she announces proudly. “We’re planning on moving in after our family vacation in July, and I want it ready before we get back. Now, give me the key so I can show Catherine how horrible it looks in there and all the work she has to do.”

  “Get the hell out of my house!” I demand. Anger has begun to boil in my veins. I know it’s not really my house, but I don’t give a shit. It’s more mine than hers. My mother has crossed the line again. She has no right to walk in here and take over.

  “Please excuse my daughter’s rudeness, Catherine. She was raised better than that but, obviously, has forgotten her manners. Unfortunately, she is still grieving over the recent loss of her grandmother. A loss that she needs to accept and from which she has to move on.” The cold, hard stare of the almighty Sophia Foster has been known to make people essentially bow down to her, but not me. Not anymore.

  “If you don’t get out of my home in the next five seconds, I will have you both arrested for trespassing,” I tell them through clenched teeth.

  Embarrassment must have overtaken her. The frostiness of her face breaks and she motions for Catherine to head to the front door. “We’ll come back another time,” she tells the woman as if she was a servant. Catherine promptly stomps over to the door and exits the house. “If you ever speak to me that way in front of someone else again, I will make sure you live on the street for the rest of your life.”

  “Now, we both know that would never happen. Just think of what people would say if your daughter was seen living on the street!” I bark.

  “You only have yourself to blame for losing the house. All you had to do was date the handsome doctor we picked out for you and your life would have been set. Instead, you are acting like the pitiful child your grandmother encouraged you to be.” The bitch walks toward the door, but stops right before opening it. “You will be at my house tonight promptly at seven o’clock for dinner. Your father will want to discuss this with you. So you’re not late, Robert will be here to pick you up at six-thirty.”

  “Unlike you, I’m perfectly capable of driving myself.” I should be telling her to shove dinner up her ass, but there’s no doubt in my mind that having me at her house tonight was on her agenda all along.

  “You will not park that piece of garbage you are currently driving anywhere near my house. Seriously, Kacie. You move out of state for a few years and your standards go out the window. Clearly, this is why your father and I still need to make decisions for you.” She opens the door and before closing it behind her, she adds, “Don’t be one second late.”

  I waste no time rushing to the door to lock it up tight. Then, my back crashes into it as I slide down to the floor. With my hands in my hair, my breathing becomes short and uneven as panic takes control of me. What the hell do I do now? My parents want to move into my grandmother’s house? That’s even worse than selling it to a stranger. My entire body begins to tremble at the thought of my mother changing anything in here. I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen. Will there ever be a time when she doesn’t affect me?

  Gathering myself takes a little more effort than it should, but eventually, I’m back on my feet. My phone is strapped to my arm from when I was running. Still standing in the foyer, I remove the Velcro strap and call the first person on my mental list. He answers on the first ring. “To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing from my best friend on this beautiful day?” I can hear music playing in the background. I’m glad to hear he’s already in his truck.

  “Jake, I need your help.”

  “What’s wrong?” He instantly becomes alert by the tone of my voice and lowers the stereo.

  “Could you please come and change all of the exterior locks on the house?”

  “I’m on my way,” he answers without needing a full explanation. Jake became the owner of Quinn Homes, a new home constructio
n company, when his father decided he’d rather destroy his liver in dive bars than run the company his grandfather started many years ago. Most likely, Jake already has what he needs in his truck. “Do you want to tell me why?”

  “My mom was here when I got back from my run. She let herself in, along with an interior decorator. Apparently, my parents think they are taking the house for themselves.”

  “No, they are fucking not!”

  “That’s my thought exactly.”

  “It will take me about forty minutes to get there. I was on my way to a job site. Will you be okay until then?”

  “You can do this later. I’m not planning on going anywhere for a few hours.”

  “Kacie, you aren’t going to feel safe until it’s done. I’m on my way. Will you be okay or should I call Jade to come sit with you?”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m sure my mother has no desire to come back here today.”

  “Did you have the security alarm set?”

  “I did. I guess she had a code. Maybe from when Gram was sick. I’m not sure, but I’m calling them next. Thank you so much, Jake. I’m really sorry for calling you when you have so much work to do. I know how busy you are.”

  “Don’t apologize and work can wait. I have guys on site that can take care of stuff for me. I’ll be there soon.”

  Next, I call the security system company. Aside from Gram, her nurse, Jade, and myself, my parents and my brother have access codes. I had all of the codes deleted except for mine, Jade’s, and Gram’s, and added one for Jake, just in case. The lady who took my call was very helpful. I explained what happened and for added safety, she noted on the account that if any of the deleted codes were punched in, the police would be notified to come immediately. Between that and the new locks Jake is coming to install, leaving the house or sleeping won’t be as much of an issue as I was beginning to fear it would be. I was surprised to learn, however, that Gram had changed me to the primary account holder back in September. Why would she do that?

  The third call I make is to Jade. If she hears about this from her brother and not me, she’ll be pissed. “Spencer and Spencer,” she answers the law firm’s main line.

  “Hi, Jade. It’s me.”

  “Hey, Kacie. What’s up?” She almost sounds bored, which is ironic considering I’m about to completely upset her day.

  “I just wanted to let you know that Jake is on his way over here to change the locks on the house. I’ll make sure he gives you the new keys.”

  “Why is he doing that?” she asks, guardedly.

  “My mom was here today. She got in when I wasn’t home.”

  “What?! I had no idea she even had a key! Why the hell didn’t I know that?!” I hear drawers slamming and hope there’s no one in the waiting area of the office to witness it.

  “I don’t know, but I also called the security system company and had all but our codes deleted. I also had them add one for Jake. Just out of curiosity, do you know why Gram would switch the account over to my name?”

  “Maybe because it would just be easier than having you do it,” she suggests. “Then you would need legal documentation.”

  “They said it was done back in September.”

  “Really? That’s weird. I’ll check with Mary and see if she has any idea why. What was your mom doing at your house, anyway?”

  Oh, boy. Here it goes. “She said her and my dad are taking the house. They plan on moving in by the end of the summer.” I was expecting an uproar, but all I got was complete silence. Seconds ticked by and still nothing. “Jade?”

  “Please tell me you didn’t just say what I think you just said.” Her voice is low and barely controlled.

  “I wish I could.”

  “Who the fuck does that bitch think she is?! Who does something like that to their own child?! Does she know who your lawyer is?!” And there it is. The pandemonium of Jade Quinn begins. If I don’t put a stop to it, she will continue until the sun sets and rises multiple times.

  “Jade…” I try to get her attention.

  “I’m calling Mary! Mary is going to fucking flip when she hears this! There’s no way in hell she’ll stand for that no good wench thinking she can do whatever she fucking feels like! Absolutely not! I’m not going to stand for it! I’m going over there. I’ll give that rotten piece of shit a piece of my mind!”

  “JADE!” I shout.

  “What?”

  I pause to give her a moment to quiet down. “You can’t just go over there.”

  “Like hell I can’t!” she snaps. I can almost picture her eyes popping open and staring me down.

  “I have to go there tonight. She wants me to talk to my dad. I’ll let you know what happens.”

  “I’m supposed to go out with Kyle, but it’ll be no problem to cancel. He’ll understand. I’m going with you.”

  “No. You are not canceling your date. I won’t be there long. I’ll survive.”

  “Kacie, I don’t feel comfortable letting you go there by yourself.”

  “I’ll be fine. Listen, I have to run up and take a shower before Jake gets here. I’ll call you later.”

  “Okay. I’m so sorry she’s doing this to you, Kacie.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Everything will work out. I promise.”

  “I hope so.”

  I make it out of the shower in plenty of time, so I wait for Jake out on the front step. This was not the kind of day I had envisioned for myself. The worst part is, something tells me it’s far from over. Trying not to think about having to move out of the only house that has ever felt like home to me is proving to be difficult. Right before Jake pulls into the driveway, I decide that if my mother wins this battle, I’m moving out of Florida and never coming back. There’s no way I’d be able to stay here and watch her ruin Gram’s home.

  Jake’s truck crawls past my car to a stop. He lowers himself out of the cab and comes over to me. “You doing okay?” he asks, standing by the lowest step. I shrug my shoulders. “Do you want me to change the lock on the gate, too?”

  I didn’t even think about the gate. “I guess. Just to be on the safe side.”

  “I have a lot of different doorknobs and locks stored in my garage. Do you want to come over to pick out what you want?”

  Evan’s truck is now coming up my driveway. In all the chaos, I forgot he was coming over before going into work today. There’s no way for me to get out of telling him about my parents now. How the hell do you rationalize changing the locks around your entire house? “Great,” I murmur before Evan reaches us.

  “If you don’t want to tell him…” Jake says.

  “No. It has to come out at some point.”

  I sit there watching him while he strolls over to us. He’s finishing with a phone call, so he’s taking his time and making sure the person on the other end understands what he wants. The handsome features of his face still impress me as much as they did the very first time we met. The more I’m around him, the more I’m convinced it had nothing to do with the alcohol I was drinking. He still doesn’t have a clean-shaven face, but I don’t think I really want him to. He’s perfect just the way he is.

  Evan hangs up the phone and looks up at me. The smile he just had is gone. He knows me enough to sense something’s off. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

  “I’ll give you a minute,” Jake says.

  “No. I don’t want to take up any more of your time than I already have,” I tell him. “Evan, will you walk over to Jake’s with me? I have to pick out new locks for the house.”

  “New locks? Why?”

  As we start walking next door so I can pick out locks for Jake to install, I tell Evan everything. How my parents have always treated me, how my dislike for them goes far beyond just them wanting me to be a doctor, how they always try to run my life, the things they said to me when I came home a couple weeks ago then, while we’re walking back to my house, we finally get to what happened only over an hour ago.

  “She
went into your house while you weren’t home?” This seems to be the only piece of information that shocks him out of everything I just told him. I confirm the answer to his question. “Fuck!” he yells, looking at Jake. “I would have been here around that time, but I had an errand to run before going into the club. It took a lot longer than it should have.” The two of them seem to be silently conversing. “You wouldn’t have had to deal with it alone. I’m sorry, Kacie,” he whispers the last part and pulls me into him. For the first time today, I finally feel better.

  “Evan, you being here could have made it worse,” I mumble against his chest.

  “I don’t know how to help you,” Evan mumbles.

  “One way or another, we’ll figure it out. There’s no way in hell I’m letting that woman into the neighborhood,” Jake declares from behind me. “And, more importantly, I’m not letting you leave.”

  “Thanks, guys,” I say.

  “Do you need help changing the locks?” Evan asks. “We can knock it out in no time if we both work on it.”

  “Sure.” Jake smiles. “Do you even know how to use a screwdriver?”

  Evan punches his arm. “Fuck you, Quinn.”

  “Between my mom and you two acting like this, I’m going to need a damn drink before I eat lunch,” I utter, retreating up the steps into the house. They are chuckling behind me, but I ignore them.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kacie

  After Evan and Jake left, I spent the better part of the afternoon in my closet trying to find something appropriate to wear to my parents’ house this evening. There were too many wardrobe changes to count. I couldn’t find what I was looking for. No matter what the occasion is, if you are going to be at my mother’s dining room table, she expects a certain level of class. No wonder I’d never bring any of my friends over to eat dinner as a kid. Who the hell wants to get dressed up to eat a meal at someone’s house?