Raine

by J.C. Valentine

  “Girls like you lie all the time. Everyone knows it. You saw the house and the car and started fantasizing about what your life would be like to be a Moss. You’re just pissed that I dumped you and took that all away.”

  Affronted, Raine reared back. She’d been in love with him, for crying out loud. “Girls like me? I was a virgin before you—you…” The word she was looking for stuck in her throat. She’d never said it out loud, not even to herself. She didn’t want to be that girl.

  “I what?” Camron taunted. “Popped your cherry? Newsflash, sweetheart, it had to happen sometime. Just because you’re having second thoughts now doesn’t mean you get to start throwing around accusations. I don’t even know why you’re complaining. You know you liked it.” He spit on the ground next to her feet, the look on his face filled with irritation. “Go whine to your daddy about your problems, Raine. I don’t have time for this bullshit.”

  She grabbed his arm as he turned to walk away. “Say whatever you want about me, but it’s thanks to you that my parents won’t have anything to do with me. As soon as I told them, they kicked me out.”

  “And I care why?”

  “Are you serious? This is your baby, Cam. Don’t you even care that I’m homeless? That I’ve been living in my car for the last week?” The blank look on his face said everything. Frustrated, she tried a different tactic. “You don’t have to care about me, but don’t you want better for your child?” As much as she hated to admit it, her circumstances were such that she needed him. She needed whatever she could get from Camron if she was going to survive this.

  A cruel smile tipped his lips and Camron stepped up close to her, bending his head down so his mouth grazed her ear as he spoke. “You were nothing more to me than a bet, Raine. Thanks to you, I’m a thousand bucks richer. So, no, I don’t give a shit about you or your kid.” He stepped back, staring her in the eyes as he backed away. “You’re a smart girl. Figure it out yourself.”

  Raine blanched, all the color washing out of her as what was left of her world dropped out from beneath her feet. What was she going to do now? She’d been abandoned by everyone. She was living out of her car. The only thing she had to fall back on was a seven-dollar-an-hour job, without benefits. Desperation clawed at her. “Camron,” she called to him, her voice so weak it barely made it past her lips.

  She watched as Camron returned to his family, his carefree smile back in place. There he was, acting as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on his world. He had effectively washed his hands of her, of their child. He wasn’t father material, not by a long shot, but he was damn well going to pay for it. She’d be damned if he just walked away while she struggled to keep her head above water.

  Adjusting her glasses, she squared her shoulders and marched back across the wide, green lawn, her thoughts single-minded. Camron wasn’t getting out of this. If she had to make sacrifices, then so did he.

  Conversation halted and everyone looked at her as she reentered the circle and stood in front of Camron. His blue eyes blazed and his hands fisted at his sides as if he’d like nothing more than to strike her down. What he wanted to do with his hands, she was prepared to do with words.

  “You’re not getting out of this that easy,” she told him.

  “Shut your mouth and walk away,” Camron warned her.

  “Camron,” his mother gasped from behind her.

  “Is something wrong, son?” his father asked, his black eyes darting between them.

  “No, there’s nothing wrong,” Camron assured his parents. To Raine he said, “We’ll talk later.” Turning his focus to an older gentleman standing to his left, he resumed his conversation, but Raine wasn’t taking the brush-off that easily.

  “No, we’ll talk now.”

  Sighing, Camron apologized to the man. Wearing a tight smile, he clasped her elbow and hauled her away from the group. When they were a few feet away, he rounded on her, getting into her face. “I’m done with you, get it. Done! Don’t call me, don’t write me. Don’t even look in my direction. If I see you hanging around again, I’ll have you arrested.”

  “You can’t do that.” But with the kind of money his family had, Raine feared he might.

  “Did you miss who my family is? I can and I will.”

  “I’d like to see you try. Money can’t buy everything,” Raine hissed with false bravado. “I didn’t think it was possible, but you just got uglier. What’s sad is that I’m going to have to live with a constant reminder of your ugliness for the rest of my life.”

  Camron’s answering smile was chilling. “There’s one thing I’m not, and that’s ugly. But if you’re ever curious to find out what ugly really is, take a look in the mirror. A thousand dollars wasn’t worth having to stick my dick in you. That’s something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.”

  His hurtful words struck a chord so deep, Raine rocked back on her heels.

  From behind her, someone cleared their throat. Camron’s head snapped up and his smile vanished. “Dad. How long have you been standing there?”

  Raine turned around to find Mr. Moss’s stern frown and hard demeanor focused on them. He was quickly joined by Mrs. Moss and Jarret. “Long enough to ask what the hell is going on here. Drake Cole didn’t come all the way here to be ignored, so you’d better have a good explanation why I had to apologize for my son’s rude behavior.” He gave Raine a pointed look, clearly labeling her as the problem.

  “It’s nothing to worry about,” Camron said coolly. “She was just leaving, weren’t you, Raine?”

  Stuck in the middle, that’s what Raine felt like. Everyone’s eyes were on her. Mr. and Mrs. Moss watched her in a way that made her shift uneasily, as if she were so far beneath them they could hardly be bothered by anything she had to say. And Cam, well, he was itching to be done with her. The only face that felt remotely friendly was Jarret’s. But with his hands stuffed into his pants pockets and those blue eyes identical to Camron’s staring back at her, she was well aware she was an island in the midst of a storm.

  “I think the most important question here is who is this young lady and why is she crying?”

  Raine swiped at her cheek and when her fingers came back moist, she stared at them in confusion. A Kleenex was pushed at her, and she took it from the bony fingers, giving Mrs. Moss a grateful smile as she lifted her glasses and wiped beneath her eyes. As if she needed to add another layer to her embarrassment.

  “Camron?” His father gave him a stern look, demanding he answer his mother’s question.

  “Fine, whatever. Mom, Dad, this is Raine Forester. Raine Forester, these are my parents. Can we go now?”

  “No,” his father barked. Then he turned the whole of his focus on Raine. “Tell me what’s going on between you and my son.”

  Raine looked between the four of them, from Camron’s parent’s questioning gazes, to his fury-filled one, but the only set that really mattered, the only one that gave her any indication of how best to proceed belonged to Jarret, and they were telling her that this wasn’t something that could be swept under a rug. When Mr. Moss demanded answers, he got them.

  Raine pushed her shoulders back and cleared her throat. It was now or never.

  FIVE

  The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. The moment Raine revealed that she was pregnant, Camron’s mom did the only thing a woman of her wealth and power would be expected to do: she fainted.

  Once the ambulance arrived to make sure she was okay, and Mr. Moss declined a trip to the hospital, they dismissed their guests and told everyone to meet in an hour.

  And that’s how she ended up in one of the most expensive restaurants in town, sitting at a table with four sets of eyes focused like lasers on her, with a buttered lobster on her plate that she was never going to eat. If she hadn’t lost her appetite from the never ending bouts of morning sickness, then being in the mere presence of Camron had certainly taken care of it.

  If Camron hated her before, he damn sure desp
ised her now. She’d held him accountable, and now he couldn’t escape the judging stares and comments spilling out one after another.

  “How could you be so stupid?” That was the fourth time Mr. Moss had spoken those words, and each time Camron flinched.

  Raine would feel bad but… well, she didn’t. He deserved whatever was coming to him.

  “Don’t you know what condoms are? And you, don’t you use birth control?”

  Raine jerked her head up. “I was a virgin,” she breathed, unsure if she should be offended or embarrassed. It wasn’t as if it was her choice.

  “Plenty of women get pregnant the first time,” Mrs. Moss stated, condescension ringing in her voice. She cut into her chicken masala and slid a dime-sized piece between her pale pink lips.

  “That’s all water under the bridge now,” Mr. Moss said as he sawed into his steak. Blood oozed out into a puddle on his plate, making Raine’s stomach turn. “The question now is what are you planning to do about it?” He looked directly at her, one eyebrow raised.

  “I—I’m not sure. Keep it?” She hadn’t meant it to come out as a question. Of course, she planned to keep it. It was her child. The decision had been made the instant the test came back positive, and it was the reason her parents told her to leave. Even without a plan, she’d complied easily, confident in her choice, but when leveled with one of Mr. Moss’s no nonsense looks, she’d temporarily lost her wits.

  Their mother was shaking her head before Raine spoke the last word. “No, that’s not an option. You’re both too young to be raising a child. Camron is going to State in the fall. He can’t be strapped down with a baby. No. Abortion or adoption is the only option I can see here. Although, adoption would be the best decision. What if someone found out we aborted our own grandchild?” She shuddered, as if the very idea of a political backlash was too deplorable to think about.

  “Yes, that would be the best option. People tend to look more favorably on adoption. Camron,” his father asked, “what would you like to see happen here?”

  “I don’t care either way, as long as it’s gone. I’m not dealing with a kid.”

  “Of course not. We’d never expect you to.”

  Raine’s mouth gaped open as they continued to talk about her as if she weren’t even in the room, as if she had no say over what she did with her body.

  “You’ll pay for it, right?” Camron asked his parents.

  “Of course, dear.”

  His mother’s demure smile enraged Raine. “Wait a minute. I never agreed to anything.”

  Mrs. Moss paused, her fork hovering midair. “Of course, you don’t want to raise this child. You’re just a child yourself.”

  “I’m eighteen. A legal adult,” Raine informed her.

  Mrs. Moss’s icy gaze narrowed. “This is about money, isn’t it?” Reaching out, she covered her husband’s hand with hers. “Honey, give her the check.”

  Mr. Moss reached into his breast pocket and slid an envelope across the table before Raine could protest. “I’m sure you’ll find the amount is more than generous.”

  With a shaking hand, Raine picked it up and opened the flap. Inside was a check that held more zeroes than she had ever seen in her life.

  “There’s enough there to take care of the problem, whichever route you choose”—meaning abortion or adoption, Raine noted angrily—“including medical costs and a little extra for the trouble.”

  Raine couldn’t believe their audacity. Paying her off? She didn’t think anyone could ever be as cold or unforgiving as Camron, but she’d just realized where he learned it from. “I don’t want your money,” she stated as calmly as she could manage. If this was what a little financial help came with, no thanks. She’d rather rough it. “All I want is for Camron to be a father to this baby.”

  Beside her, Camron snorted. “Not gonna happen.”

  Across the table, Jarret’s lip curled and he leaned over his dinner plate, saying something to his brother that was too low for Raine to hear, but if the look on his face was any indication, it wasn’t anything good.

  “You can’t be serious,” their mother was saying, her bejeweled hand pressed over her heart. “You’d ruin yours and my son’s life? Is it the money? Is that not enough?” She pointed to the envelope Raine continued to hold in her hands.

  “I already told you, it has nothing to do with money. I don’t want your money,” she said in earnest, pushing the envelope back across the table with a shaky hand.

  “Of course you want the money,” Mrs. Moss snapped. “William, do something.”

  Sighing, Mr. Moss—William—pulled out his wallet and flipped through a thick stack of bills. “How much will it take?”

  “I said I don’t want your money.”

  At the end of the table, Jarret and Camron were engaging in a heated discussion. She caught a couple of curses and some insults to Camron’s intelligence, but with their parents shoving money in her face and questioning her morals, she couldn’t concentrate on what was going on between the brothers.

  “What is it with boys?” Mrs. Moss muttered as she sipped her red wine. “Is it just the excitement? Does sleeping with trash have some benefit I don’t know about?” To Camron she said louder, “Why couldn’t you have dated that one girl. What was her name? Marylyn. Now that was a nice girl. She never would have strapped you down like this. Not like this… this… whore.”

  Jarret’s head snapped up and he turned to his mother. “If anyone at this table is a whore, it’s him,” he said, jerking his chin at Camron.

  “Jarret, don’t talk about your brother that way!”

  “Why not? He’s the one getting girls pregnant. Do you have any idea how many people he’s had sex with?”

  “Dammit, Jarret, this is not the time or place for this conversation,” their father chimed in. “Least of all from you.”

  Raine gathered her purse from the floor. She was not going to sit here and listen to any more of this.

  “It wasn’t my bright idea to discuss family business in a public place,” Jarret retorted.

  “And just where do you think you’re going?” Mrs. Moss’s sharp voice forced Raine back into her seat. “We’re not finished here. Now, what is it going to take to get you to make the smart choice?”

  Every pair of eyes landed on her, and Raine felt her spine stiffen. She refused to be bullied by these people, and she refused to let them decide what she did with her body and her life. Maintaining a stiff upper lip she said defiantly, “I don’t want a penny from any of you.” Standing she looped her purse strap over her shoulder. Looking at each of them, she stopped at Camron.

  “You all act like you’re so perfect, so put together, as if you’re better than everyone else. The only thing that makes you different from me is you have more money to hide behind. Well, let me tell you something. I might be eighteen, I might be a single mother, and I might not have a penny to my name, but the one thing that will always bring a smile to my face is knowing that my child won’t ever have to be around any of you disgraceful people.” Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take my whore ass out of here and find a real dinner.”

  Raine burst out of the restaurant near tears, but filled with pride. She’d just made the second toughest decision in her life by turning down that money, the first being the decision to become a mother. Walking away from that restaurant meant that everything was about to get ten times harder, but at least her conscience was clear.

  A part of her had held out hope that Camron cared about her in some way, however little, and would step up to help her. At the very least, his family would make him do it. He was her last hope, her last resource. Any hope she had of that happening was now shattered. She had nowhere to go, no one to lean on, and no one to help her.

  She was truly alone now.

  The truth of that knowledge slammed her back into reality like a wrecking ball to the face. The fight sucked right out of her as she realized ju
st how much trouble she was in, and her tears fell in earnest as her feet picked up pace until she was sprinting for her car. Once inside, tucked safely behind the wheel, she tore off her glasses and let it all out. Resting her head against the steering wheel, she gave in and had a good cry. She’d held them back this long, but there was no reason to fight it any longer.

  The knock on her window startled her. Jerking her head up, Raine wiped her swollen, wet eyes and peered up at the dark figure standing outside. Everything was a blur, until she slipped her glasses back on. She groaned when she realized who it was. Well, she’d already been humiliated once today. Might as well go for broke. Opening the door, she stepped out of the car and tried to smile but it just wouldn’t come. “Hi, Jarret.”

  “Uh, hey. Raine, right?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Raine looked away, searching for an escape. Standing here with him, talking to him, a month ago would have been amazing, but now he was one of them. He wasn’t her friend. He wasn’t anything but Cam’s brother, a stark reminder of what she’d never had, never would have, and didn’t want.

  “Listen,” Jarret said, licking his lips and looking as uncomfortable as Raine felt. He ruffled his fingers through his shaggy black hair. “What happened in there was… I want to apologize. My family is…” He looked down, words escaping him. More specifically, he stared at her flat stomach, and Raine’s hands covered it reflexively. His expression turned pained. “I’m sorry, but I have to know. Is the kid really Camron’s? Is he the father?”

  Certain she was in for another confrontation Raine said fiercely, “Yes. I wouldn’t lie about that.”

  “No, I never thought you would. I mean, you don’t really strike me as that kind of girl.”

  “Well, your family seems to think I am.”

  “I’m not my family. They said things they shouldn’t have said, things I don’t agree with. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay. Are you? Okay, I mean.”

  His question and the sincerity behind it caught Raine off guard. She wanted to call him a liar. She wanted to shout at him the way she wished she had shouted at Camron, but when she looked at Jarret, she couldn’t deny that she saw something different in him. Something softer, maybe. But she didn’t really trust her judgment, not after…