"That's my best friend, Kellen. You can’t be like that toward her."
"I didn't call to fight let's drop it babe." Easy for him to say, I will have to go console Olivia when I get off the phone. We talk for several more minutes, avoiding the subjects of break ups and weather. We end our call with tacky I love you and miss you. I head upstairs to check on my best friend.
I knock on her door. "Liv," I say. I open the door and cross the room to sit on the bed beside her.
"I told him I never wanted to see him again and kicked him out." She begins before I can even ask. "He's called me twice, but I haven't answered."
"He will take you back. You two have been crazy about each other for three years. We were all drunk and you guys said stupid things. Think about how happy he makes you and work on the rest together."
"When did you become a relationship expert?" She smiles at me.
"I’m better with your problems." I nudge her with elbow. "Call him," she nods. I exit her room and walk to my on-suite to take a bubble bath in my jetted, sunk-in tub. I let the stress of my day melt away as I sink into my bath and turn on my iPod.
∞
I walk into my home Thursday, after my last class lets out. Olivia is giving me a warning look and I immediately know something is wrong. I follow her into the living room to find my mother sitting on the couch.
A noise from the downstairs hallway captures my attention I turn to see William, my previous boyfriend, in the hallway. William was my mother's favorite of my friends growing up. When we started dating and he was accepted into Yale, my mother had our wedding planned. I moved here and broke up with him shortly after my father's passing.
"I hope you don't mind the sudden change of plans." My mother says as she crosses the space between us. I am frozen with shock. My mother isn't playing fair.
"Audrey you look lovely as always." William kisses my cheek. He's wearing a well tailored suit. He’s very handsome. He graduated Ivy League college a year early and started a business the same month. He's good on paper, but he was never my type.
"Excuse me." I run upstairs and lock myself in my room to be alone with my anxiety.
My mother plans to show off my ex-boyfriend to Kellen and humiliate us. She's only doing this so I will move back to New York after college. She knows I'm slipping through her fingers. Kellen didn't have the best home life and he was dropped off on his aunt and uncle at the age of five. He grew up completely different than me, and I'm afraid my mother may throw this at him tonight. I think about canceling and refusing to do this. I yank my phone from my pocket.
"Hey baby, I'm just leaving the airport," I let out a sob.
"Are you crying? What's wrong?" I can't respond immediately. I continue to cry.
"I'm coming over," he finally says to me.
"No. No, you can't do that," I plead with him. "You won't be meeting my mom this trip but I do want to stay with you this weekend."
"You know you can stay whenever you want. What's going on?"
"I’ll tell you later. I will be over soon." I hang up with him and start gathering my things to stay with him this weekend. I walk down the hallway and down the stairs where my mother and William are waiting for me. My mother sees my duffle bag and raises an eyebrow at me.
"Where do you think you're going, Audrey? I just flew across the country to visit you."
"You can take my bedroom this weekend. I'm not staying." I shove past her and stalk towards the door.
"William will be assisting you with the company with you. He will start this month. I thought it would be nice if you two would get acquainted again." I stop and turn to her. This is it.
"I'm not moving back. Find someone else." My tone is much harsher than intended but I don't wait for her reaction I get into my car and speed away to Kellen’s house. She's finally pushed me too far. At least I admitted I'm not running the company. She's turned cold since my father died and I'm not taking it anymore. If she decides to apologize this weekend she can find me at Kellen’s.
Chapter twelve
The front door opens as soon as my car turns into his driveway. Kellen steps out and walks to my car when I park. The tears have stopped, but my reflection in the mirror makes me cringe. I brush my fingers under my eyes to wipe away the smeared mascara.
"Thanks for letting me stay," I say when he opens my door.
"What's going on?" He asks as soon as he sees my tear stained face.
"Olivia told her mother that I was seeing someone. She told my mother and she decided to take matters in her own hands. She came to remind me she wants me to move back to be her pawn next year." I stop to catch a breath. The words fly from my mouth so fast but the Kellen appears to be keeping up.
"She talked my ex boyfriend into helping me with the company and she brought him here to attempt to get us back together. She's so obsessed with him she might as well date him!" I get out of my car and stalk toward his house. Kellen follows behind me and takes a seat by me on his couch.
"Wait let's take this from the beginning. Your ex-boyfriend is staying at your house this weekend?" His jaw clenches.
"Is that the only thing you heard in my rant Kellen?" I narrow my eyes at him, waiting for his answer.
"No, of course not¸" he’s lying. He relaxes his jaw and waits for me to finish my rant.
"I told her I'm not moving back." His mouth turns up at the corner.
"You don't have to decide right now. Just stay here until you figure out what you want to do," I nod in response. "I do want you to stay here with me."
"Me too,” I agree.
"So your ex-boyfriend is at your house?"
"Yes Kellen! Is that clear now?”
The doorbell interrupts him from asking me anymore questions. He walks into the foyer to open the door. He widens the door to allow me to see my mother and William standing there. My mother has her arms crossed with a look of disgust on her face.
"Audrey," he calls out to me.
"I tracked your phone." My mother says as she walks into the house without an invitation.
"This is my mother, Vivian Henson and her friend, William." Kellen chuckles by my side.
"I’m Kellen, nice to meet you." He offers out his hand but neither takes it.
"If you would excuse me I would like to speak with my daughter alone." Vivian snaps at him. Kellen shoves his hands into his pockets and shrugs as he walks into the kitchen. I know he will still be able to hear us.
"What are you thinking?" My mother starts.
"Audrey, I've looked into this guy. I don't think this is a man you need to be with," William says.
“Oh? And you are?” I say with a harsher tone than I intended to have.
“Audrey Henson!” My mother says with disgust.
“You can’t make me change my mind!” I yell back at her.
“You’re father would be disappointed in you.” She shoots at me in her last defense.
“In me?” I look at her with question holding the tears that threaten to spill out. “Dad would’ve wanted me to do what makes me happy. He would’ve been disappointed in the cold hearted woman you’ve become. You can leave now,” I say in a surprisingly calm voice.
"I do hope you come to your senses." She says as she and William start to leave out of the door.
“I could say the same for you. I will not ever move back there and I will not ever run that company for you. I don’t want to speak to you until you can accept that,” I add. “And Kellen!” She shakes her head at me as she shuts the door behind her.
"Women usually don't hate me until after I sleep with them." He finally says.
"Well you are sleeping with her daughter." I wiggle my eyebrows at him. We both laugh but I know he heard everything that they just said about him.
“I’m sorry.” He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him. I knew that he would feel guilty for the scene we just caused, but it was going to happen eventually.
“Why are you sorry? None of this is your fa
ult.” I assure him, “This was going to happen regardless of if you were in my life or not. I’m just happy you’re with me so I don’t have to go through this alone.” He grabs the backs of my head and crushes his lips to mine in response.
I lay awake for hours listening to Kellen’s breathing and the waves crashing on the beach. Minutes turn into hours when you’re analyzing every aspect of your life. The previous conversation with my mother has replayed in my mind all night. My decision has been made to stay in California and she knows she can’t win that argument.
I tap the home button on my phone to check the time. It’s now past three in the morning. I hold Kellen’s arm up and roll off of his bed. I gather my clothes from the floor and tug everything on. When I enter the living room, I flip on the light and grab my purse and overnight bag that is still lying beside the couch. Knowing I need to spend the night alone, I toss my phone in my purse and grab my keys.
My phone begins ringing at eight in the morning. I ignore the desperate sound of each phone call until Olivia yells at me. Pulling the phone off the charger, I glance at the screen and see that it’s Kellen calling me this time.
"Hi." I rub my eyes to wake myself up.
"Where are you?" He snaps.
"My house," I tell him.
"Where's William?" The accusation is thick in his voice.
"They went home last night, Kellen! What's your problem?" I throw my covers back and sit up from the bed.
"Where do I begin?"
"Were you seriously implying that I came home for him?" I stand up and walk into my bathroom. I know at this point that I’m not going back to sleep.
"Let’s not do this over the phone, Audrey."
"I honestly don't want to do this anywhere."
"Of course," He snaps. “Let’s just forget about it, right? How do you think this would play out if you knew I had a girl over here, and I snuck out of your house in the middle of the night to come home?"
"I told you from the start I'm expected to move back to New York. This is too much for me I can't do this right now." I swipe the stray tear that falls down my cheek. I’m not wasting any more tears over this situation.
“You told your mother you are not moving back.” He sighs when I don’t answer."Do what right now?"
"Us," I blurt out. As soon as the words slipped from my mouth I regretted them.
“That’s ridiculous. You don’t mean that,” he tells me.
“Yeah, Kellen, I do.” I bite my trembling lip. “I’ve been so upset over my mother’s visit, but I doubt you can see that because all you can think about is my ex-boyfriend being in my house for five minutes today!”
I end the call and let out a slow breath I didn’t know I was holding in. When I answered the phone I had no intention of ending my relationship with Kellen, but after having the same fight with him I knew I couldn’t do this right now. I toss my phone on my bedside table and curl into a ball under my covers. After spending most of my nights at Kellen’s my bed feels cold and empty.
∞
“Take another shot,” Olivia hands me a glass with shaky hands. It spills on my shirt. I just laugh and toss it back. “Being single is fun, right?”
“If you say so,” I mutter. It’s only been two days and I’m already regretting my stupid decision. I always let my mother get inside my mind. Kellen has called twice but I’m not answering yet.
“Audrey, that guy is so hot. You should dance with him.” She nods her head toward the dance floor.
“I need to go to the restroom,” I walk toward the back of the bar where the women’s restroom is located. When I walk inside I sit my purse on the counter and dig out my phone. No calls or texts from Kellen. You’re not that drunk, you should call him. I click on his name and hold the phone to my ear without further thought.
“Audrey?” He answers on the second ring.
“Baby, how are you?” I say not recognizing the high pitched tone I’m using.
“How many drinks have you had?” He groans.
“I really haven’t had that many drinks, but don’t ask me how many shots I’ve had.” I giggle.
“Are you with Olivia?” He asks.
“Yeah,” I answer, when I hear his car door slam the call ends. I stare down at my phone with a frown. He only lives minutes from the bar Olivia always drags me to. I could go by his house when we leave.
I walk out of the bathroom in a bad mood and every intention of leaving. When I get closer to the table, I find Olivia talking to a guy in my seat.
“There she is,” she yells when I approach.
“Do you care if I leave?” She frowns when I ask.
“I’ll make sure your friend gets home safely,” Olivia’s encounter leans over and says to me. I can’t help that my face turns into disgust. When I look back at Olivia she is starring above my head with wide eyes. I turn around to find Kellen standing behind me starring at the guy next to me.
“Kellen Reeves, I’m a huge fan,” the guy says.
“You’re a huge fan of my girl,” he says through clenched teeth. The guy looks between Olivia and Kellen in confusion.
“He’s with Olivia,” I say to Kellen when he still doesn’t understand.
“I don’t like the way he’s whispering in your ear.” He grabs my hand to lead me out of the bar with him but I push past him. I thought that he could change but I was wrong.
“We broke up if I remember correctly!” I yell back at him, “Come on, Olivia.” She rolls her eyes but walks out of the bar with us.
“You didn’t mean that,” he stops me once we get to the car. Olivia climbs in the back seat, but Kellen makes me stand outside to talk with him.
“I didn’t,” I admit.
“Are we okay?” He kneels down to look in my eyes.
Yes. “I don’t know, Kellen, this is all so fast.”
He groans but opens my door and helps me in the passenger side. Olivia has the radio blaring rap when we get in and she’s dancing in the back seat. Kellen pulls out of the parking lot and gasses it on the highway. Suddenly the music, the drama, and the alcohol are too much. I try to tell Kellen to pull over but my body forsakes me. I lean over the seat to throw up in the floor board. He sighs and pulls over on the side of the road.
“Watch out, Audrey, this guy will kick you out of his truck for that.” Olivia giggles from the back seat.
Kellen pulls his t shirt off and hands it to me. “Wipe your face off with this. Don’t worry about the floor board. I’ll have it cleaned in the morning.”
Chapter thirteen
My phone buzzing pulls me from my thoughts. It's been roughly three weeks since I broke up with Kellen. He has called me and showed up here during this time in an attempt to get me back. I’ve agreed to two dates with him in this, but we always end up having the same fight. I’ve come close to taking him back, if only he would stop picking fights about William, and any other guy. If he could accept that William is in my past and he is in my future then we could move past this.
I’ve kept myself buried in homework and studying. My GPA is better than ever and I can thank this break-up for that. If the fear of running into Kellen didn’t motivate me to stay indoors to study, I don’t know what would.
I look down to see his name on the screen and my stomach twists into knots. The last time he called was to try to talk me out of the break up and I haven't heard from him since. I answer right before the phone goes to voicemail.
"Hello."
"My family is in town and they want to meet you."
"You haven't told them." I say knowingly. I haven't said anything to my mother about the break up.
"No," he sighs.
“I haven’t told my mother yet. I don’t want to hear an ‘I told you so’,” I admit to him.
“I don’t want my ass chewed out,” he laughs. I remain quiet. Each lingering second is a reminder of what needs to be said. “Look, Audrey, I’ve changed.”
“Kellen,” I plead with him.
“Can we talk about this?” He asks ignoring my warning.
“Kellen, I can’t.” I tell him. I can’t have the same conversation. If I listen to him one more time I might cave in, and neither of us need that. "I can meet them tonight, but I'm leaving early in the morning to spend thanksgiving in New York."
"I'll see you at five." He hangs up and I glance at my clock it reads three fifteen pm. I better start my prepping ritual now if I want to be on time.
In the past three weeks I’ve been going through the motions. I’ve gone to school, studied, and socialized when Olivia made me. I try to avoid being at bars, clubs, or parties in fear that I may run into Kellen.
I spend extra time getting ready. Meeting the family for the first time is terrifying, especially when you have no idea what’s going on in your relationship. The drive over goes by too quickly and before I know it I’m pulling into his driveway, nowhere close to being mentally prepared.
Kellen opens the door before I knock. This is the first time I've seen him in person in almost two weeks and he's as handsome as I remember. He's wearing faded ripped jeans and a simple white v neck. His hair chocolate brown hair is shorter than the last time I saw him. He pulls me into a hug and my heart aches.
"This is Audrey." His aunt and uncle and cousin all speak at once and come to embrace me in a hug. I've never been around a family as warm as this one. Mrs. Reeves announces that her lasagna is ready and pulls us into the dining room to eat.
"Kellen tells me you're supposed to take over a publishing company in New York." His aunt says after she serves us.
"My mother wants me to but I've decided against it." I admit to her. She has an inviting vibe that draws you to her, and even though she's almost fifty she's still a stunning lady.
"Don’t let anyone tell you what to do Audrey. You'll figure it out when you're supposed to. Just enjoy your friends and Kellen with no pressure on your last year." She smiles sweetly at me not knowing how much her words speak to me.
I reach over and grab his large, calloused hand to pull it in my lap. He grins over at me and presses his full lips against my cheek. The dinner flows smoothly with conversations about Kellen’s childhood. I've never laughed so hard in my life as I did while hearing stories of him and Chloe. After being around his family, I can see where Kellen gets his personality.
Forever Careless Page 7