Seventeen Days

by D. B. James

  “Ah, so you do know about Julian, do you? Bet that sister of mine weaved a tale of woe, no doubt.” She tried to hide the catch in her voice, but I heard it. She’s upset I know. Yes, Mother, I know your deep dark secret.

  Christ, I’d like her to leave.

  Now.

  Before anyone gets home.

  She needs to disappear.

  Forever.

  Why the fuck is she here? Choosing to ignore her comment, I walk away into the kitchen. Might as well clean up the water and continue making dinner.

  “Look at you, cleaning up a mess like a servant. Is she paying you to keep house?” Of course she followed me and has something awful to say. Throwing the wet rag at her, I get up off my knees.

  “You know what, Sienna? Fuck you. You’ve never loved me; you’ve never loved your sister. You love one thing and one thing only: yourself. But guess what? Your beauty will fade, and when it does, you’ll find yourself all alone with nobody left to love you. If you loved me you never would have made me do the dirty, vile, soul-crushing things to get the things I needed. Not things I wanted but things I needed to survive. You tried to ruin me. But it didn’t work. You failed. Unlike you, I can love. I’ve found love. And I’m not broken.”

  She steps toward me with her hand reaching out intending to smack me, I’m sure. Before her hand makes contact, she slips in the water and falls. On. Her. Ass. Wish one of her pricey heels would’ve broke.

  Laughing uncontrollably, I walk away. There’s no way in hell I’ll ever help her up.

  “Sienna, meet karma. I believe you’ll be good friends.” Bitch.

  Walking back toward the front door, I’m shocked when I see Harrison standing in the front room. With Mac. He opens his arms, and I all but run into them. His fingers tangle in my hair while he rains kisses all over my face. I’ve never been so happy to see him before. Five minutes alone with Sienna was four minutes and thirty seconds too long.

  “I’m proud of you, Morgan. You stood up for yourself. I’m so fucking proud of you.” And he is proud, I can hear it in his voice. “Babe, you did good.” Bending he gives me a peck on the lips before cradling my head and pushing my face back into his chest. Snuggled up in his arms is right where I need to be.

  Sienna and all her toxins come into the front room, and when she sees Harrison, she does a double take.

  “Garrett?” The sound of her voice is nothing like I’ve ever heard from her before. Is it longing I hear?

  It takes me a moment to realize she’s talking to Harrison. Not caring, I snuggle deeper into his embrace.

  “No, ma’am. My name is not Garrett. I believe the young lady here told you to leave. We’d be much obliged if you did exactly that.” Direct and to the point. Go, Harrison!

  Did I tell her to leave? Maybe I did, I said quite a few things to her. I would love it if she left before my aunt gets here but I do need to say one more thing.

  “Savannah and I will be in the city this weekend, I’m stopping by to pack up the rest of my things. I’d like for you not to be there. Now, is it possible for you to do the right thing for once in your life and be kind enough to walk away? I know you don’t know how to be kind, but I asking for it now.”

  She doesn’t need to know about my future plans. She’s not in my future. I don’t care what she came here for to begin with. She never answered and frankly I don’t give a shit. Not anymore.

  “As in things my money bought? I don’t think so, Morgan. You have no right to them.”

  What. The. Fuck?

  Shoving away from Harrison, I walk right up to her—she can see how angry I am, the fire in my eyes.

  “Those things are mine. I’ve more than earned them. It may have been your money that bought them, but I paid for them. My flesh paid for them. My innocence paid for them. Unless you’d like to settle this in court, a public court, you will let me get my things. This weekend. If not, I know a kick-ass attorney who’d love to drag your ass through the mud.” He also happens to be my father.

  She makes a sound of disgust. Walking toward the door, she turns and glances back at me and says, “I’ll be out of town on Friday. You can have access to the penthouse then. Be sure to leave my jewelry in place. If anything is missing, I know where to find you.”

  And with one more snooty huff, she walks out the door.

  Out of my life.

  Sienna left in a cloud of dust in the nick of time. Savannah had to have passed her on the road leading in. Good thing she was gone before they saw each other—I’m positive the sisters would’ve had an ugly fight.

  I’m so fucking proud of Morgan for standing up for herself.

  From what I overheard of her argument, her mother has done more to her than forcing her to lose her virginity. She said something about paying for her things in flesh. What the fuck does she mean?

  After dinner tonight when I take her home, I’m going to see if she’ll open up to me a bit more. If not, it’s no big rush but I have a feeling she needs someone to talk to about everything. Maybe not me but someone.

  I’m worried as fuck to let her go back to New York for a few months. Worried she’ll go back to the lifestyle she knew before. Endless parties, drinking, and drugs. That’s not the Morgan I know, the Morgan she is inside.

  She was covered in thorns when she came to Alabama only a few short weeks ago, it didn’t take much for her to lose the thorns and show the beauty inside. It was all façade, and I saw right through it, through the haze. We didn’t have to know each other for two minutes, for me to know she was hiding.

  Her eyes gave it all away. Those beautiful emerald jade eyes. Eyes full of fire.

  Once Sienna left, I helped clean up the kitchen while she worked on dinner. As I was mopping up the last bit of water, Savannah pulled into the drive.

  She knew the instant she walked through the kitchen entry something had happened. There was a thick tension in the room left over from the bitch.

  “Good heavens, why is the radio so loud?” Taking one glance at Morgan, she forgets about the radio and rushes to her nieces’ side. “What’s the matter, Morgan? Is everything okay?”

  Going into the living room to turn the radio off, I don’t hear her reply. Shit, I didn’t even notice the radio was on. When I walked in, all I could hear was their raised voices. Sienna doesn’t do anything quietly. Red must have been singing and dancing while she cooked.

  Giving them a few minutes alone, I check the messages on my phone. Zeroing in on one from Gentry. Better see what he wants and shoot him a reply. I don’t want Red to see me texting and ask who it is, because I’d have to lie to her. Again.

  Gentry: Did we have a good time on our ‘guys’ day’ or what?

  Me: We had a great time. We went and seen the new Matt Damon flick, in case she asks. Maybe you should go see it to know what we’re talking about, I did. Saw it before my meeting. Thanks for covering for me, I owe you.

  Gentry: You owe me a sixer of Bud. Why are we lying to Morgan again?

  Me: We’re not, I am. And it’s personal.

  Gentry: Oooookay, I won’t ask anymore. I’ll expect my six-pack tomorrow.

  Stuffing my phone back in my pocket, I rejoin the ladies in the kitchen. Savannah is mad as a hornet, pissed that Sienna had the nerve to come down here. Honestly, I can’t say I blame her. Thing about it is, we don’t know why she was here. She never answered when Morgan asked her. More than likely it was to use her daughter for her personal gain, again. When she called me Garrett, I all but shit myself. Is my uncle Garrett who she was dating when she slept with Julian, breaking up her sister’s marriage? If so, this situation keeps getting more twisted with each day that passes.

  “Why don’t you go take a nice warm bath while we finish up dinner, Savannah? Have a glass of wine and enjoy a nice soak. I’ll help to finish up dinner, and it should be done by the time you are,” I suggest.

  A nice warm bath and a bottle of wine sounds good to me. Maybe I can convince Red to do that tonight once
we make it back to my place. Get her nice and relaxed, offer her a massage, and open myself up more to her. In turn, I’m hoping she’ll open up to me.

  “Sounds like a grand idea, thanks for mentioning it. I’ll go do exactly that.” Smiling, she leaves the room.

  “You don’t have to help me anymore. Everything is pretty much done, we just need to wait while it bakes,” Morgan says while placing a dish in the oven.

  “How about we go rock on the porch swing while we wait? Indulge in a glass of wine, ourselves. Let me comfort you, babe.” Like you comfort me.

  “That’s the best idea you’ve had. You’re full of ‘em tonight.”

  “While it’s a good idea, I don’t think it’s the best one I’ve ever had. The best one I’ve had in the last few weeks was something we may have done in the truck bed,” I say while winking at her. She knows exactly what I’m talking about. Two nights ago, we took my truck out and parked in the middle of a field, made a bed in the back, and watched the stars. Well, to clarify, she watched the stars while I had the sweetest dessert known to man.

  Blushing, she turns so I can’t see her face and walks out to the porch. I love making her blush.

  Following her out, I sit next to her on the swing, placing my arm around her. I push us back and forth. How am I supposed to cope while she’s gone? I’m so used to her head on my shoulder, waking up to her in bed every morning. It hasn’t taken much for me to become addicted to her. This weekend will be tough enough with her gone, three months will feel like a lifetime compared to it.

  Choosing not to ignore it, I ask, “Have I mentioned how proud I am of you, Red?”

  Her hand drawing circles on my chest stills. “Only about a hundred times, but you can say it again.”

  That she’s in the mood to tease me is a fantastic sign she wasn’t as rattled by Sienna’s visit as I thought. I figured the first time she saw her after finding out about Julian would be a complete disaster, but I guess it wasn’t. She’s stronger than I gave her credit for.

  “Are you nervous to go back to the city this weekend?”

  “Not really. Especially now that I know Sienna won’t be around to fuck with me, my nerves have disappeared. The only thing scaring me is possibly seeing Celene or Amanda. They were truly never the friends I thought they were. I don’t wish to see either one of them, but I know that’ll be next to impossible. Once classes start, anyway, I’m bound to run into them some time.”

  Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about them when I asked; I’ve all but forgotten they were an issue.

  “Isn’t Celene supposed to still be at the shore? So you probably won’t run into her this weekend. And would it be so bad if you did see one of them anyway? The sooner you see them, the sooner you can tell them to kiss your ass and be done with them.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I know, I’m right. “That’s a good way to think of it. If I do see them, it’s that much sooner I can truly get them out of my life and move on.” She’s interrupted by a buzzer sounding from the kitchen. “The oven timer. Guess dinner is done.”

  She gets up and hurries back into the house, promptly ending our discussion.

  After dinner, as we’re heading back to Harrison’s for the night, I ask how his day went with Gentry. He tells me they saw a new movie and had a few beers over lunch. I’m happy he spent some time with his friend, they needed it.

  Today, I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Not a particularly fun one, either. This one made me so dizzy at times I felt nauseous. Seeing my mother made me feel ill. She's toxic, and I’m praying after today she’s truly out of my life. For good.

  Dog greets us at the front door, like every night. I’m going to miss the ol’ guy when I leave for school. I’ve become attached to him, not to mention his sexy as sin owner. How am I going to leave someone I’ve become so attached to? My heart is hurting thinking about it. But getting a college education is extremely important to me. Maybe I should wait to hear back from the other schools and take this first semester off. Shit, I don’t know. My heart is telling me to stay, but my brain is telling me to go. To find myself. Take these few months for myself and just be. Truly figure out who I’m meant to be. Not dependent on someone telling me who I should be but listening to my brain and letting it fully guide me.

  When he asked if I was nervous, my reply was a total lie. I’m so incredibly nervous. If Aunt Savannah wasn’t going with me, I’m not sure how I’d make it. Probably wouldn’t make it within two-hundred feet of my mother’s door. She’s the only thing holding me together. I’m scared to go back and be around so much. Here, things are more laid-back, less rushed. There, it’s the complete opposite. Temptation is around every corner. Literally.

  I fear once I’m back there I’ll turn back into the bitch I was before. That this time the damage will be more than skin deep, and it’ll consume me. All the corruption. All the sin. All the temptation.

  Choosing not to think about it one second more, I bend to give Dog a little love.

  “What do you think about putting my big Jacuzzi tub to use, and us taking a nice warm bath together?” he asks me.

  I’m game for that.

  “I think it's an absolutely perfect idea, way better than wine and the porch swing was.”

  Harrison, naked flesh, wine, bubbles, and warm water sounds like the perfect combination to me. And the only way I want to end this roller coaster of a fucking day. Wrapped up in his arms is how I planned on ending it anyway, so adding in a few other things sounds amazing to me.

  While he’s busy in the bathroom, I search his iPod and find Sam Hunt, hit play, and plug it into the docking station. Removing my clothes piece by piece while Sam’s sultry voice sings about making love with nothing but the speakers on, I make my way into the bathroom to find Harrison.

  “Bubbles or no bubbles, babe?” he asks while his back is still to me.

  “Bubbles, definitely bubbles,” I reply while pressing up against him from behind, my hands making their way under his shirt and into the front of his jeans, finding him already hard. “Somebody’s already thinking about fun times, I see.”

  “All you have to do is glance at me and I’m hard. My being hard now should come as no surprise. Now, let’s get you naked,” he says while removing my hand and turning around. “Or not. It seems now I have too many clothes on.”

  “Mm Hm,” is my only reply, my hands making quick work of removing his shirt, while he shifty undoes his jeans and tugs them down with his boxers in one abrupt move. All that’s left are his socks. He bends to remove those as quickly as possible.

  “I didn’t intend on making love to you in the bath. I thought we could relax a bit with a glass of wine. Unwind from the day. Talk. End the night in bed, wrapped up in each other. But I can’t wait, I need you now.”

  He’s reaching for me at the same time I’m reaching for him, our lips colliding in a battle and we both win. He nips at my bottom lip asking for access I easily grant him. I’ll never get enough of this man. He’s my everything. How easily he’s become my whole heart. Which is another reason I need the time away. Shut up Morgan, enjoy the moment. Shutting my mind off, I sink back into his kisses.

  Breaking the kiss, I turn away and step into the tub. The water is warm and feels like heaven. It’s the perfect temperature.

  “What are you waiting for? Join me.”

  Not wasting one more second, he follows me in. Sitting down, he pulls me into his lap, facing him. All at once, it seems like too much. These feelings inside of me all come boiling over and I begin to cry. He hasn’t even entered me yet.

  “Baby, please don’t cry,” he says as he wipes the tears making their way down my cheeks.

  Not saying a word to him, I lift up and guide him inside of me. Needing to feel all of him. To feel our connection. He seems to know exactly what I need and doesn’t say anything else. He continues to meet my movements with thrusts of his own. What feels like hours but is surely only minutes later, we follow each other ove
r the edge. My tears quickly drying, my head falling to his shoulder, and my eyes closing.

  “I love you, Harrison,” I whisper softly.

  The worries of the day long forgotten.

  The next morning, I wake before the sun rises and decide to go out to watch it rise one last time before leaving for New York with Aunt Savannah. I’m going to miss moments like this. I’m surprised Harrison didn’t wake me before leaving for work this morning. But, on the other hand, not so much. He probably wanted me to get as much sleep as possible. We argued about my going into the office today, but he said Gentry had things covered for now. Whatever that means.

  Finding Dog in the living room, I ask his lazy ass if he wants to come outside with me by promising him we’ll play with his ball after the sun rises. He may be old, but he sure loves playing with his ball. If I didn’t know exactly how old he was, I’d swear Harrison was lying when he told me how old Dog was.

  Stepping out onto the porch, I’m happy to see the dregs of orange and pink lighting up the morning sky. We appear to have made it outside in nick of time. This is what true beauty is.

  Could I truly be happy here for the rest of my life? A month ago, my answer would’ve been no. Today, I’m almost positive my answer would be yes. There's a tiny part of me that still says no. And it scares the shit out of me, if I’m being honest with myself.

  I’ve always heard the saying, “Home is where the heart is” and I’m only now beginning to get the meaning of it. Never once did I question it. New York was always my home, and until recently, I always thought it was where my heart was. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Harrison is my heart.

  He’s not only my heart, he’s the other half of my soul.

  But …

  I’m also drawn to Paris and Julian now. That’s the tiny part of me saying no. The need to get to know my father. I’ve never had a true parent in my life, and Julian is more than willing to be in my life. I’d be stupid to not want to explore it. Wouldn’t I?

  After all, he has a tiny part of my heart now too.