by Naomi Niles
All of my original plans went out the window as I felt my world fall apart–the idea that I was going to find something out about my dad, plus the novel plan to make things good between me and Danica again. This needed to be only about survival. I just had to get through it, and go back home. That was it.
But almost as soon as that decision was made, Lyla walked back into the kitchen having returned from her meeting with the wedding planner, with an idea that was going to kibosh my new resolve almost as quickly as I’d made it.
“How you doing, Rhett?” she asked, with an uncertainty in her tone. She was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, which filled me with a nervous energy. She wanted something from me, and she didn’t like having to ask. This could only spell bad news.
Much as I wasn’t in the mood to make pleasantries, I did just because I liked her and she’d done nothing to deserve being on the wrong end of my bad mood. Plus, despite my reservations, I found myself intrigued–we’d spoken in passing, but that was about it. I felt like this was going to reveal more of her to me. “I’m okay, thank you, Lyla. How are you? Did it all go well this morning?”
“Yes, thank you,” She smiled at me, as she put on a pot of coffee. “It was really productive. The wedding planner is brilliant, she can really make magic happen. It’s going to be an amazing day.” I nodded numbly, not exactly having an opinion on wedding days having never seen one myself. “Of course, Danica has been amazing, too.”
“Yeah,” I replied quietly. I remembered all of the lonely days spent waiting for her to contact me, when she was embroiled in all of the wedding planning. I was upset about things then, but nothing compared to now. The unknown was probably better than this! “I know.”
“She’s been brilliant. I just feel bad that it’s made her so ill.” Again, I didn’t say much because I knew that it was mostly my fault that she’d been faking being unwell. “I hope she’s okay for the big day–her dress is gorgeous, it would be a shame not to use it.” She laughed, and I did my best to join in.
Eventually, she sat at the dining room table, giving me an odd look. Whatever her purpose was for being there, it was about to be revealed; I could just sense it. “Rhett, I know this is all a bit strange for all of us, but I’d really like to get to know you a little better if that’s all right with you. This isn’t to do with your relationship with you father; that has nothing to do with me.”
Obviously by this, she meant that he’d spent a lot of time talking down about me. Considering all that had happened today, this didn’t affect me as much as it normally would. Normally, I’d be raging at the thought of that horrible douche bag saying bad things about me, but this time it was like a mild irritation, somewhere at the back of my throat. Something that I would deal with later.
“And, you get on so well with Danica.” I didn’t correct her as she said this, sensing that it wasn’t the time. “So I wondered whether you might like to spend the day with us tomorrow. We could go out for the day into the city.”
My heart sunk into my shoes at her words. Oh God, how the hell was I going to get out of this one? I didn’t want to spend any time with anyone, never mind the one person I’d just promised not to. That was a disaster waiting to happen.
“Erm, I don’t know,” I replied lamely. “Have you asked Danica?” I hoped this would be enough to stall her for a few moments, but it seemed that I was wrong.
“Yes, she’s really excited for it.” She nodded enthusiastically to highlight her point, making me feel about a million times worse.
She was?
I was struggling to believe that Danica had agreed to anything that involved me after the shitty way that I’d treated her, but why would Lyla lie? She couldn’t honestly be that desperate for us all to spend time together as a family.
“Right, okay.” I was speaking, but barely aware of what I was saying. “That sounds great.”
“Lovely,” she stood up with a satisfied smile on her face. “We’ll go in the morning, then.”
As she walked away, I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell I’d allowed myself to get roped into.
I decided that the only thing I could do would be to get the perspective of an outsider–someone who could shed some unbiased advice on the situation, and there was only one person in the world that I felt like I could trust with this information. And it wasn’t my mother, not with this. She had too much of her own baggage involved.
“Hello?” James’s voice came blasting over the phone, but I could instantly tell that he was at some crazy party in the Alps. The exact place I would have been had I not been so determined to screw my dad over.
I could have avoided all of this if I’d gone. Sure, I never would have seen Danica again, but then we would only have good memories rather than this mess.
“How’s it going, James?” I asked, sensing that he was barely going to be able to hear me over the music. Now was certainly not the time for the heart to heart that I needed. “Are you having fun?”
“Man, this is the best fucking week ever; you should totally come here!” He was dunk and forgetting that I was already in the middle of something. It also seemed to have slipped his mind that I couldn’t afford things as readily as him. If I was given some time to prepare, I could save up, but there was no way I could fly over last minute. “Come and party, dude!”
I laughed loudly, trying to hide my longing. “I wish I could, but I have this wedding, don’t I?”
He slid into a quieter room, which made it so much easier for the pair of us to communicate. “Yeah…how are things? With your dad?” He wasn’t asking just to be polite, he genuinely wanted to know, making it much harder. I knew that I couldn’t just brush him off and that I was going to have to tell him something of the truth.
“It’s not great,” I admitted. “He’s acting like his dickish self around me, just like I expected.”
He blew out a sad sigh before continuing. “I’m sorry. Are you sure you don’t want to blow it off? If he’s acting awful, then is there much point in you staying and upsetting yourself?” He meant well, but unfortunately there was no magical solution to this one.
“Thanks, bud, but I really have to just get through this–for Mom’s sake.”
“Okay,” he drawled. “If you’re sure.” He paused for a moment. “You never know, there might be some fit birds there.” Oh God; if only he knew. I was quiet for a beat too long, which made him suspicious–even when he was wasted, James could see right through me. “Oh, I see,” he said teasingly. “There’s already a girl.”
“Mmmm…” I replied, in a non-committal way.
“Has it gone to shit? Is that why you sound so down?” He caught on far too quickly for my liking.
“Something like that,” I muttered, suddenly regretting my decision. How the hell was I supposed to explain all of this in a way that made sense to James when he was in a different country? I didn’t think he would judge me for my crappy decisions, but I also wasn’t ready to hear how much I was in the wrong. Not yet, not like this, not while I was still stuck here. “I’ll tell you all about it when we both get home.”
“Okay, man, if you’re sure.” He was as disappointed as me that I wussed out on being honest, but it was too late now. I was just glad that we were back on something of an even keel. “I’ve got lots to tell you, too.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself. My best friend was a good-looking guy, and that combined with his laid back attitude seemed to have ladies flocking to him like flies. A fact that he took full advantage of.
He wasn’t like me; he wanted to have all the fun in the world with as many women as he could while he was young. He couldn’t have been further from being ready to settle down if he tried, whereas I was more sensible…well, usually.
“Go on, how many?” I chuckled. “And try to spare me the gory details.”
“Well, first there was this amazing blonde. Mary, I think her name was…” I tuned him out as he spoke, knowing that he was going to
ignore my request and tell me far too much. Instead, I made the occasional agreeable noise, while I thought about my life out of this situation.
At least James had done one thing–helped me to put it into perspective. It wouldn’t be long until I was home and back to normal. Then it wouldn’t be long until all of this would be nothing more than a distant memory.
I was putting far too much stock into all of this because I was here in the middle of it. Taking a step back was the only way. Sure, I was going to have to face a day with Lyla and Danica tomorrow, which I wasn’t looking forward to one bit, but it would only be a few hours. I could get through that. And the wedding day would be a farce, but not for long.
I could do it. I could do all of it.
“Right, man,” I eventually spoke out as James wrapped up his in-depth account of his time skiing–although I didn’t hear much about the slopes. “I have to go, but I’ll see you real soon okay.”
“Sounds great,” he replied. “Miss you! Love you!”
“Go and get even more drunk, you idiot,” I laughed. As I hung up the phone, I felt much happier, even though I hadn't really even discussed any of my actual problems. All I knew for sure now was that I was going to be okay. I would keep my head down, be civil with Danica but nothing more, and then I would go home and I would organize my life from there.
Simple.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Danica
This was a fucking mess. Why the hell did things keep going so wrong between us? Sure, we were in a crazy situation, but did it have to be so difficult? Rhett’s cold words ran through my mind over and over again.
“If that’s how you feel, then we won’t talk anymore.”
Why did he not want to talk to me? I could understand that it was difficult, but he didn’t need to be so horrible about it! I just wished that I’d never met him. My whole life would have been easier if we had never laid eyes on each other. Or maybe if we’d only met knowing that we were going to be stepbrother and sister. If Camp Woodtree had never happened.
But then would we still have feelings for one another anyway? Was the magnetism so powerful that we still would have felt it? Probably; the chemistry was certainly intense, and I wasn’t sure that had anything to do with our history.
I spent the day crying on and off in my room, while all of these thoughts plagued me. It was as if I was trapped in a torturous cage that only I was experiencing; it was awful. I felt awful–so overly emotional–and I didn’t know what to do about it, any of it. I wasn’t sure where I could begin.
I’d never been on such an emotional rollercoaster before and it was almost unbearable, why couldn’t things juts be simple? The pregnancy hormones weren’t helping–they were driving me crazy, and to be honest all of this was the total opposite of what I needed at this time. It was all at once, and there was no denying that it was starting to overwhelm me.
Knock, knock.
Oh God, someone was at my bedroom door. Panic instantly consumed me; who the hell was this now? I sat up on the sheets, feeling the terror coursing through my veins. I really didn’t want to face Rhett at this moment after everything we’d been through today–he was screwing with my head and I hated it.
“Who is it?” I asked cautiously, listening to my heart thump wildly against my chest.
“It’s me.” Much to my relief, it was my mom who replied. I let out a deep, calming breath feeling my body return to normal. Thank God–Mom I could cope with. “Can I talk to you?”
“Oh, okay,” I stood up, straightening out my hair a bit trying to make my appearance a little better. I knew I was a mess, and I didn’t want to arise any more suspicion about my ill state. She was already constantly asking me questions about it. “Come in.”
She snuck in through the door with a slightly guilty look on her face. My hackles instantly rose–what the hell was going on now? The only thing I knew for sure was that it wouldn’t be good. Whenever she came to me with that face, it was guaranteed trouble.
“Are you okay?” I asked, the suspicion already lacing my tone.
“Yeah.” She sat down on the bed, so I copied her, not knowing what else to do. “How are you? Are you feeling better?” I nodded numbly, not even thinking about my answer. I really should have really mentioned some sort of illness, in case I needed to get out of anything–unfortunately I didn’t think that far ahead. “Good, good. Things went really well with Victoria today.”
“Oh God, sorry I forgot to ask!” I exclaimed, feeling ashamed of myself. I’d become selfish in all of my misery, how could I have forgotten about the final wedding preparations? “Is everything sorted? Is it all okay?”
“Yes, it’s great; thank you.” She smiled–that serene expression back on her face. The one that told me just how happy she was. “She’s great, and of course, I must thank you, too. I didn’t quite realize how much you’d done. Victoria covered it all today, and I must say I was taken aback!”
“Oh, of course.” A humble embarrassment overcame me. I hadn’t ever done any of this for the thanks. I did it because my mom deserved to be happy, and it was my duty as maid of honour to help out wherever possible. Sure, it had absolutely worn me down, but that was part and parcel of my duties. “You must be excited now.”
“Oh, I am,” she exclaimed with an extremely happy look on her face. “I can’t wait to become Mrs. Fronton.” I suddenly realized that for the first time in my whole life, I wouldn’t have the same surname as my mom. That was really weird, and it hit me harder than I expected it to. It made me feel a little…alone. Like I had no one in the world.
Of course she would change her name! Why hadn’t I considered that before?
I rubbed my stomach protectively, remembering my unborn child, my little secret. At least I would have my baby soon enough–the only one there for me. An unexpected rush of love washed over me; I’d spent such a long time worrying about everything, that I hadn't actually thought too much about the actual child and what would that was going to mean.
I was going to be a mom.
I was going to have a child.
I would have someone relying on me; I would have a family no matter what. Everything else didn’t matter really. All of this would mean nothing soon enough, not when my baby was here.
“Yeah,” I smiled a genuine grin at mom. “It’s going to be fantastic. The day will be amazing!” I suddenly felt closer to her than I ever had before, and it was really nice. It was like we were friends, as well as mother and daughter. We’d always been extremely close growing up, but that had disintegrated a bit recently. It felt nice to have some of it back.
“I can’t believe how quickly we’ve managed to pull it all together.” And there it was again. The one problem I had. But still, I wasn’t going to say anything. It was far too late for that. Brad and mom were getting married, whether I thought it was too quick or not.
“You’ve done a great job,” I nodded. “And with Victoria there, nothing can go wrong.”
“So I was thinking…” Her tone suddenly changed, which made me sit up straighter. She was getting to her point, the part that made her feel guilty, and I had no idea what to expect. “I want to spend some more time with Rhett.”
Oh God. What the hell did that mean? Did she know something? Was she trying to get me to confess? I began to tremble at the prospect of our sordid little secret becoming common knowledge.
“Why?” I practically whispered. The terror was back, and this time it had returned with a vengeance.
“Because we’re about to become a family, and I don’t feel like I’ve gotten to know him well enough.” She sighed deeply, furrowing her eyebrows. “I don’t know; things are so strained between him and Brad, and I want him to feel more welcome here.”
I’d noticed that things were a little odd between Rhett and his dad, but I didn’t realize it was quite that bad. Maybe there was a story here that I didn’t know anything about.
“What do you mean?” I asked curiously. “Is th
ere something I don’t know?” I was really interested now, suddenly wondering if this was something to do with his behavior. Maybe there was more going on under the surface that I hadn't been paying any attention to. Maybe I’d been so self-involved that I didn’t realize Rhett was struggling in other ways too.
“Well, it’s always been very difficult between them. When Brad split up with Rhett’s mom, he didn’t get to see his son as much as he liked, and Rhett always resented him for that.”
For some reason, that sounded a bit like a one sided version of events. I was certain Rhett probably had another opinion, and I wanted to know what it was.
“And then he played him up a lot growing up, making up lies about him and things.” I couldn’t believe Mom was so sucked in by Brad that she would just accept that as the truth, without even asking anyone else. “It’s been a nightmare. I’m glad I managed to persuade Brad to invite him to the wedding, though; I think it’s good for both of them that he’s here.”
My heart raced furiously at the realization that all of this was Mom’s fault. She made Brad invite Rhett here when he didn’t want him to come, and when Rhett probably didn’t want to be here, either. Maybe that underlying tension was to blame for all of this. After all, he was massively up and down with me, with no obvious explanation.
Did that mean there was hope after all?
Did I want there to be hope after all of this?
I had no idea.
“So, with that in mind, I wanted the three of us to go out into the city for the day tomorrow,” Mom continued, stunning me to my core. What the hell was she up to now?
“The three of us?” She said that she wanted to get to know Rhett properly–why did I have to be dragged into it?
“I thought we could go for a treat–get some lunch. It’ll help us all bond away from this house, and it’ll also get me away from the wedding stress before the big day.” She sounded innocent enough with her explanation, but I didn’t trust her one bit.
A day away from all of this sounded tempting–like something I really could do with–but I wasn’t convinced that it was a good idea at all. I didn’t think that spending any time with Rhett would be beneficial at all.