by S. J. Sylvis
He whispered, “Careful, now.”
I smirked. “Yeah, come by after work. I’ll cook.”
I heard Mia say, “You cook?”
Rolling my eyes, I shot her a dirty look.
“Love you,” Dawson said, pulling back and smiling at me once more.
I smiled back. “Love you more.”
Then he walked out the door and I turned around to a squealing Mia.
“What are you screaming about?!” I shouted.
“YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE!”
Yes, yes, we are.
I was literally dragging at work. Like, eyelids blinking so slowly that I might have caught a 5-second nap in between the blinks. Mia and I stayed up way too late going over everything that was going on with Dawson and me and her filling me in on the stupid, ass-hat jock who thought he could play my sister.
I was still pissed about it now, hours later, sitting at my desk.
My phone rang, causing me to shake off my anger and put my customer-service voice on (we all have one, don’t pretend you have no idea what I’m talking about).
“Hello?” I said cheerfully.
“Hey, it’s me,” Abigail said, incognito.
I laughed. “Why are you whispering… and why are you calling me from the next office over?”
Abigail was probably the only other person in the office other than my boss, Mr. Daniels, who had actually tried to be friendly with me. The tellers—they weren’t so thrilled with me getting this job over them. Seniority and all.
I get it.
But I was also really good at my job, so whatever.
“So, The Hawk is coming in for a meeting with you.”
I crinkled my brow, looking around my small, 5 x 8 room. “Who is The Hawk? I don’t know codenames yet.”
She groaned through the phone. “Her name is Debbie Connors. I don’t really know much about her since I only moved here a year ago with Chase, but her husband owns the real big dealership in town, and she’s such a pain to work with. Like, seriously, even Mr. Daniels avoids her.”
The only words I heard Abigail say were “Debbie Connors” and “dealership.”
“She’s coming, like, now, so get your freaking game face on.”
“Hah,” I mumbled. “Thanks for the heads up.”
If anything, I didn’t need my game face – I needed a freaking shield and sword.
This couldn’t be a coincidence. The pit deep within my stomach from the little intel I’d gotten from Mia and Dawson last night, referring to Breanna’s mom working at St. Joseph’s, was growing even larger.
I swallowed, evening my breathing and cracking my neck a few times. This was going to take every ounce of energy out of my very, very tired body to play nice with her.
Every little jab she’d said to my parents when I was younger was flipping through my mind like the pages of a text book. Every glare and roll of her eyes when my parents would walk into a sporting event for me flared over my skin.
I thought I hated Breanna, but it turns out, I really just hated her mother.
My door opened with a cheerful-looking Abigail, red hair pulled into a low pony. “Ivy, Mrs. Connors is here to speak with you regarding some of her and her husband’s accounts.”
Slowly, I stood up from my chair, taking my hands and smoothing my dress down the front of my legs. “Ah, yes, thank you.”
And then… she walks in.
I had a momentary lapse of time where I traveled back to the past and pretended that I was sick this morning, calling off work, so I could avoid my current situation. I would have stayed in bed all day and convinced Dawson to do the same. He would have made me a big breakfast in bed, and then we would have had each other for a lunch. It would have been perfect.
But, here I am, in this tiny office, smelling of more flowers from my ex-boyfriend, whom I still had not talked to, a fake smile plastered on my face staring at Breanna’s mother.
I wonder if she knows.
Probably.
“It’s so good to see you, Mrs. Connors,” I said with as much excitement as I could muster up. Which wasn’t much, let me tell you.
“Hello, Ivy dear.”
“Please sit.” I ushered her to the chair furthest away from the door; that way if I had to escape, she couldn’t trip me on my run out the door.
“Thanks, Abigail,” I said, glancing at my coworker. She made sure Mrs. Connor’s back was turned before rolling her eyes and mouthing, “Good luck.”
I held back a snort.
“So, if you just give me a quick second,” I intoned, moving back behind my desk and sitting down on my comfy chair, “I’ll pull up your accounts. Is this regarding the dealership or your personal accounts?”
Her voice was like ice being flicked at my forehead. “There’s no need for that.” Her sentence was blunt and to the point. I slowly peeled my eyes away from the computer, heart thumping with anger.
“And why’s that?”
Mrs. Connors and her stupid, bleach-blonde hair pulled into a stupid, tight bun on the top of her head, with her stupid, matte lipstick and matching shirt, sat back in her chair, her shoulders pulled back and a conniving grin on her face.
“You’re just like your mother, you know that?”
Now, usually, I would have taken that as a compliment because my mom was absolutely amazing. She was the type of woman who went above and beyond for her family, baking homemade cookies for Christmas with Mia and I by her side, making sure my dad had a packed lunch every day to take to work.
She was a stellar human being, which is why it was so unfair that she was taken from this earth so soon. She made it a better place. Or maybe she just made my world a better place. Either way, she was incredible.
“Thank you,” I droned, acting as if I was bored with the conversation.
“You think you can come back to Oak Hill and take things that aren’t yours? You’re just like her.” Her face twisted with disgust. “Despicable.”
Chills broke out along my arms. I moved my hands to my lap so she wouldn’t see how badly I was clenching my fists. I didn’t care if she wanted to talk about me. I didn’t. I’d grown a pretty thick skin over the years, but bring up my mom, and I would rip her fucking head off.
I kept my voice even, although my mind was going a thousand miles a second. “I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to. Did I accidently take your parking spot? Or the wrong bag of potatoes at the store? Did you already claim them?”
She rolled her eyes so hard that I half-expected them to come out. “You’re just like your father in that sense, trying to make people laugh when nothing is funny.”
“Okay, now that’s enough,” I uttered, feeling blood rush through my veins.
“Did you know that your mother…” I held my breath, watching Mrs. Connor’s face look as if she had a bajillion Lemonheads in her mouth. “Did you know she took your father away… from me?”
I raised an eyebrow. The way she said “me” sounded as if she thought she was the mother fucking Pope.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I retorted, still clenching my fists.
She crossed her legs, anger pulsating off her body. “Your father and I, we were best friends in college. We were best friends in high school, actually, but more so in college, and the second your mother walked up to him in her stupid cheerleading outfit… he was gone.”
My heart stuttered in my chest, just for a second, but it did. I knew my parents met in college. I’d heard the story over and over again when Mia and I would ask my dad to tell us about it before bed, but conveniently, this part of the story had been left out.
I wasn’t quite sure what to say to Mrs. Connors, so I didn’t say anything. I was supposed to be acting professional. This was a new job and it was one I couldn’t afford to leave. Literally. I had bills to pay and Mia’s school. The scholarship only paid for half of her tuition; the other part was on my shoulders.
Sure, I could get a new job somewhere else
but this was the only bank in Oak Hill. I wasn’t leaving again, no matter what.
I wouldn’t leave him again. I wouldn’t.
“So imagine my reaction when I’d heard that you took Breanna’s boyfriend away from her. How dare you?”
Mrs. Connor’s voice rose a little at the end and I quickly averted my attention to my glass door, hoping someone, anyone, would hear the commotion going on. Why didn’t I record this? I should have known she would come in here being her usual psycho self.
“I didn’t take Dawson away from Breanna. They broke up on mutual terms, Mrs. Connors, and I would like to explain to you that this is a personal issue and right now, I am at work, so if you could like to discuss your accounts with me, that is fine, but otherwise I’d like you to leave my office.”
She cackled, her entire body shaking with an evil laughter that made my teeth ache. “Listen here, this is what’s going to happen. You will end it with Dawson and you will give him back to Breanna. Down here, in Oak Hill, we don’t give up what’s ours. Not anymore, we don’t. I was played once by your family, I won’t fall for it again.”
My mouth fell open and I had to hold back a laugh. “Are you threatening me because Breanna and Dawson broke up, and now he’s with me? Because from what I learned, Breanna is just fine.”
She scoffed. “She doesn’t know what she wants; give her a few weeks and she’ll realize what a mistake she’s made by agreeing to this ridiculous breakup. Breanna needs someone to take care of her, and Dawson did… that is, until you came back into the picture.” Mrs. Connors let out a sigh. “The second you throw him away, he’ll come back for Breanna. You just watch.”
I was stunned. The whole forming sentences skill was long gone. You’d think that she was the who had been broken up with, not Breanna.
“That’s not going to happen, Mrs. Connors. Please leave my office or I’ll call security.”
She laughed again, leaning forward slightly so I had a clear view to her glare.
“Here’s the thing, darling. You either end it with him and give him back to Breanna, or you can say goodbye to your sister’s scholarship.”
That had me pausing and she realized it by the smile that broke out on her face.
“Oh yes, that’s right. Didn’t you know? I’m head of the scholarship committee at St. Joseph’s, and guess whose pocket I’m in?”
My stomach churned and I could feel the dread hanging over my head like a cumulonimbus cloud. I pinched my leg, distracting myself from what was actually happening.
Breanna’s mom was threatening me. She was blackmailing me to break up with Dawson… because of my mom taking my dad away from her? I could barely wrap my mind around it. She needed to be fucking committed.
My voice was near cracking. “You’re blackmailing me to break up with Dawson… for what?”
I was simply confused. So, so confused. Everything inside was jumbled like dumping the pieces from a very wacky puzzle all over the floor.
“Because even if your parents are dead…” Her words sliced through my skin, tears instantly springing to my eyes. “I’ll never let them win. Ever.”
Gathering myself for a second, teetering back and forth over my decision to either throw my stapler at her head or to cry, I asked, “You hate my mom that much, from years ago, that you’d try to ruin my and my sister’s lives? What is wrong with you?”
She shrugged. “Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, Ivy dear. You should know that better than anyone.”
My heart felt like it had been punched. My lunch threatened the back of my throat. I felt stuck. Completely stuck.
I had to tell Dawson. I had to tell someone. Better yet, I would call Breanna and tell her to get her fucking nutjob of a mom out of my office.
What in the actual fuck is happening?
Mrs. Connors stood up from her chair, to hover over my desk, flowery perfume hitting my nostrils.
“You end it, or I swear to God, I will end your sister.”
Blood rushed to my ears as I stood up, too. “And how do you expect to do that? What evidence do you have to take her scholarship away?” Please be nothing. If I ever needed my sister to be a goody-two-shoes, it would be now.
She smiled. “All it’ll take is one word to the dean and he’ll rip that scholarship right out from under her and get her kicked out of school.” She tapped her red fingernail on her chin. “Good luck getting into another four-year college after being thrown out of St. Joseph’s.”
I ground my teeth. Even if I didn’t abide by her wishes and Mia got kicked out of college, she wouldn’t be able to get another scholarship even if she did apply to another school and got in. I couldn’t afford to pay for full tuition, and there was no way I could get a loan for her. I wouldn’t even be able to co-sign a loan for her, given that I’d just taken out a chunky amount for my mortgage. I almost wanted to laugh out loud thinking about Uncle Tim trying to co-sign. Yeah, right. He was sweet but he had absolutely no credit.
“Do it, Ivy. You don’t get to win this time.”
I wanted to say no. The very words were on the tip of my tongue. Just say no, Ivy. You’ll figure it out. You’ll find another way… But would I?
I’d given up everything to get where I am right now.
I quickly tried to come up with another plan. I would tell Dawson. He could fix this. He could…
“No one can help you, Ivy. You’re stuck and you know it and you also know that you’ll do anything for Mia, which is how I know I’ll walk out of here a winner.”
I flicked my eyes up to her, feeling my hands tremble by my sides.
I always thought that Breanna was the devil, but I was wrong…
Breanna was just the poor, little spawn of the devil.
And that devil just took my fucking heart.
Chapter Thirty
Dawson
I’d been sitting at Ivy’s house for an hour now. My legs bouncing up and down, my knuckles being cracked every few minutes. Where the fuck is she?
This morning I had a weird feeling come over me. I couldn’t shake it all day, not once. My stomach ached. I couldn’t focus worth shit.
I thought it was because, for once, I’d actually woken up without Ivy’s warm body pressed to mine. I thought it would pass once I got to work, but it didn’t. If anything, the feeling grew larger. So large that I finally broke down and called Ivy’s work phone.
One of the bank tellers told me she went home early. I found that strange. Why wouldn’t she call me and tell me she went home early? Was she sick?
I instantly told my father that I had to dip out early because Ivy was sick. He didn’t put up a fight. He could see the distress on my face and told me to go, and to tell her he hoped she felt better.
I wanted to smile at him with astonishment because my father wasn’t usually the nice and sappy kind of guy, but that was just the thing about Ivy—you just had to love her. There was no other way.
When I pulled up to her house, nearing three, her car wasn’t there. The feeling I had this morning overtook my body and I started to truly worry. I ran up to her house, skipping over her newly concreted steps, and knocked a few times before grabbing the key under the mat and going inside.
I was met with new floors and the smell of fresh paint that had been applied last week, but that was it. Ivy wasn’t home.
Pacing the living room, I called her phone four times before going outside and sitting on the porch.
I told myself I’d just wait. She was probably at the store, gathering canned soup and some crackers for whatever illness she came down with. I thought back to what she’d eaten last night at the bar, which wasn’t anything unusual. She drank a little, but nothing to the point that would make her sick.
As each minute passed, the nervousness in my stomach got worse.
I looked down the road a few times, and then dialed Max’s number.
“Hey, man,” he answered.
“Is Becca with you?” I asked, out of breath from
pacing the porch. The wind picked up in the distance, howling and swirling leaves around.
Max stuttered, “Uh, no… uh. Why would she be?”
I groaned. “Where is she?”
He started to stutter again.
“Max, I know you fucking know…tell me.”
He could try to hide his attraction and awareness of Becca’s every move all he wanted, except for right now.
“She’s at practice. She coaches cheerleading. What’s wrong, dude?”
I exhaled. “Something. I can’t find Ivy and apparently, she went home sick today, but she’s not home. Go get Becca and have her call me as soon as possible.”
Max’s voice was calm, relaxed. Unlike me at the moment. “I’m sure she’s fine. What could be wrong?”
My heart clenched, my voice on the verge of breaking. “I just know something’s wrong, Max.”
He must have heard the agony in my voice. “I’ll go find Becca. We’ll call you in a sec.” Then he hung up.
I wasn’t waiting for Becca to call me.
The drive to Becca’s house should have taken me at least forty minutes, but I made it there in twenty, heart near stopping when I pulled up behind Ivy’s Camry.
I put my truck in park and flew out of the driver’s seat, running up to the front door. I pounded my fist on it like my life depended on it.
I stood there, breathing in and out of my nose, trying to prepare for the worst. When the door finally opened after what felt like a lifetime, my heart dropped.
Immediately, I knew something wasn’t right. Ivy looked normal but the way she pulled back into her body, wrapping her hands around her torso, shoulders slumped… I knew.
“Ivy?” I asked, grabbing her chin and directing it up towards my face.
She swallowed loudly, looking anywhere but in my eyes. I studied her, observing the way her eyes were puffy and her usual mascara long-gone.
“Ivy, what’s wrong? Is it Mia?”
Her pale lip trembled and fear shot through me, but then she shook her head no.