Chapter Fifty
Brook
The call from Rob came as we were getting ready to leave for my parents’ home. When I saw his number, I was tempted to send the call to voicemail, but I was hopeful he was calling to tell me he was going to stop being difficult about the divorce, which proved I was far too optimistic.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Hi, baby girl,” he began. “I heard about your mom, and I wanted to see if there’s anything I can do to help?”
“How did you hear about my mom?” I asked suspiciously, not sure why my dad would think to call Rob.
“Your dad called the landline at the house,” he explained. “I gave him your cell number so he could reach you.”
That explanation made sense. “Thanks for telling him how to get in touch with me.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” he assured me. “Listen, I know things didn’t go well when we talked yesterday, but I really do love you. Let me help you. This can’t be easy for you, and I want to be there for you. Can we meet for lunch today?”
My knee-jerk reaction was to snap at him, but he seemed to be trying, and this might be my chance to convince him to move forward with the divorce. “Rob, I appreciate your offer, but I’m fine, and I think it would be best if you didn’t call again. You obviously want something I can’t give you.”
“I love you too much to let you go without a fight, Brook,” he insisted.
I didn’t know if he realized he was lying or not, but his insistence that he loved me might have made me laugh if I weren’t dealing with the complex emotions surrounding my mother’s death.
“No, you don’t,” I argued. “You haven’t been a part of my life in years. I don’t know why this is so hard for you to accept, but I need you to understand that it’s over between us.”
“This isn’t the time for you to be alone,” he insisted.
“I’m not alone,” I told him. “Ty is with me.”
“Your fling with Ty isn’t the same as a real relationship. He’s just a kid.” Rob was beginning to sound desperate.
He’d also exhausted my patience.
“Ty is more of a man than you could ever hope to be,” I snapped.
“Your mother wanted us to get back together, Brook,” he stated. “Don’t you think you owe it to her memory to at least give this a try? How can you be so selfish as to put your fuck buddy ahead of your own mother’s last wish?”
If Rob had been standing in the room, I would have resorted to violence. I was gritting my teeth, seriously tempted to call and ask Luke to punch him again.
“Don’t call me again, Rob,” I snapped, ending the call before he could say more. I’d like to say he finally got the hint and left me alone, but I ended up muting my phone because I got tired of hearing it ring with his continued calls.
“Want me to go over and punch him?” Ty asked, and I sensed the tension radiating from his body. Ty was not over his anger at what Rob had said.
“You’re still mad that Luke got to punch him instead of you, aren’t you?” I asked.
“That’s part of it. I’m mostly pissed that he won’t leave you alone.”
“Me too,” I admitted, “but there’s nothing we can do about Rob, at least not today. Let’s worry about one problem at a time.” I was trying to convince myself as much as Ty, but it wasn’t working. I let out a frustrated growl. “I wish he would just leave me alone. Why does he have to make this difficult?”
Ty slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me close to kiss the top of my head. “Don’t let him get to you. Like your attorney already told you, Rob can be as big a pain in the ass as he wants, and it won’t change things.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I said I wasn’t going to worry about Rob being an ass today, but I’m really annoyed that he’s trying to use my mom’s death to get me to take him back. Let’s just go deal with my father.”
Ty nodded and led me out to his car. Ready or not, I was going back to the hell I’d grown up in, this time to say goodbye for good.
Chapter Fifty-One
Ty
Brook was quiet during the drive to her parents’ house in the small town of Samson Valley. According to Brook, the unincorporated community had been named after the founder of their local church. After what Brook had told me about her hometown, I hated imagining what her life would be like had she stayed. She’d essentially grown up in a cult.
“How are you doing?” I asked as we neared her childhood home.
“I’m doing okay,” she replied with a forced smile. “I should probably feel more about my mom being dead, but it’s hard to feel much for her. At most, I’m sad I didn’t have a real relationship with my mom, even knowing it was her choice to keep the distance between us. I suppose I also feel guilty for acting like a bitch the last time we spoke.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about things you can’t change,” I told her. “From what you said, she wasn’t exactly pleasant during your conversation.”
“I know you’re right, but I still wish I’d been nicer,” she admitted. “My last memories of her are so ugly, and it’s too late to fix that.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I murmured. “I’d say I understand, but that would be a lie. I have no clue what you’re going through.”
Reaching over, she squeezed my thigh and gave me a genuine smile. “It’s okay, Ty. I’m just glad you’re here with me.”
“I’ll always be here for you,” I assured her, meaning every word.
Driving along the streets, we passed rows of rundown houses with flattop roofs and old cars parked in the driveways or on the front lawns. Their main strip included a grocery store with broken stucco on the sides and a boarded-up window. There was an old gas station that looked like it had been closed for many years. The place was a shit-hole. My GPS didn’t work near her hometown, so Brook had been giving me directions since we’d left Soledad.
“This is the street,” she told me, pointing to the left. “Park anywhere you see a spot. People have a tendency to keep old junkers parked all over, so it’s hard to find an open spot.”
After parking, I looked over at Brook. “Are you ready?”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “About as ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go before I change my mind.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Brook
Walking toward the house I’d grown up in felt surreal. As I passed the homes of neighbors, it was clear many recognized me, but the most I got from any of them were disapproving glares. None had been happy when I’d left the church, thus setting a bad example for the other impressionable teens. From what I’d heard, I’d inspired many in my generation to leave town, and the church had condemned me for my wicked influence.
I’d expected a lot of things when I’d decided to come home. Mostly, I’d expected my father to be angry at me for defiling his home with my presence and embarrassing him in front of the neighbors. He definitely wouldn’t be happy about me bringing Ty with me. Of all the scenarios that had played out in my mind, nothing could have prepared me for what I actually found.
The all too familiar sounds of my childhood were coming from my old home, and it made my blood boil. I stopped in my tracks, simply staring in disbelief at the rundown two bedroom home I’d grown up in.
“Is that your parents’ home?” Ty asked as we stood facing the puke-green house that had been in need of new paint for the last twenty years.
“Yes,” I replied through my teeth.
“What’s wrong, Brook?” Ty asked, sounding confused and concerned.
“Apparently, not what I thought,” I muttered, stalking toward the front door. I’d never really had it out with my parents. While I’d told them I wasn’t going back to the church, I’d been too terrified to tell them how much I hated my life with them. My recent calls with my mom had been the closest I’d come, and I’d been feeling guilty about those since my father had told me my mom was dead. Now, I was beyond pissed and not planning
to hold anything back.
When I pounded on the door, the yelling stopped, and it took a few minutes for my father to answer the door, reeking of wine. My father insisted drinking was a sin, but he claimed red wine didn’t count as drinking since it was God’s wine. I’d always felt there was a big difference between drinking wine at communion and downing a box of cheap wine every day.
“What are you doing here?” he asked in a reasonable, yet slurred tone.
“Cut the crap, Dad,” I snapped, pushing my way into the house with Ty behind me. “Mom!” I shouted.
“Elizabeth,” my father began patiently, “I already told you that your mother passed on. You haven’t been taking drugs, have you?”
I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. “Mom is dead?”
“That’s what I told you,” he insisted.
“Then I suppose you were arguing with her zombie,” I scoffed.
“We don’t talk of such things in this house!” my dad shouted, his face turning red with anger, suddenly looking more like the man who’d raised me.
When he took a step toward me with his fists clenched, Ty blocked him.
“Back the fuck off,” Ty growled. “I will not allow you to threaten Brook.”
“I take it this is the kid you’re whoring yourself out to,” my dad said with a nasty sneer.
I grabbed Ty’s arm, worried he might hit my father. Even though part of me wanted someone to punch my father, I’d probably feel bad about it later.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are, don’t ever talk to Brook like that again,” Ty warned through his teeth, which made my father take a step back.
“Where is Mom?” I asked. “Before you start with any bullshit lines, I heard you arguing when we got here.”
“Watch your mouth, Elizabeth,” my mother warned as she came into the room. “God has enough reasons to frown on you already.”
“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” I demanded. “Did you just want to hurt me by pretending to be dead? Is this some sick joke?”
“What the fuck?” Ty breathed out from beside me, clearly even more shocked than I was by my mother’s miraculous return from the dead. Then again, Ty hadn’t grown up around these people.
“We will not talk until you can keep your tone civil,” my mother stated, refusing to look at me.
My father looked like he was going to say something, but I suspected Ty’s glare stopped him.
The ringing of my parents’ phone gave my mother a temporary escape, which she quickly took, moving across the room to answer it. “Hello.” Her voice sounded pleasant and not at all strained.
“This isn’t a good time,” she told the caller, looking over at me. “I’ll call you later. I understand why you’re worried, but we have a bigger problem at the moment.”
The way she kept looking at me nervously, combined with my mother’s last wish that I get back together with Rob, clued me in to who was on the phone, and my anger morphed to utter disbelief.
Stalking across the room, I snatched the phone from my mother’s hand. “Rob?” I asked, hoping I was wrong.
“Hey, baby girl,” he stammered. “I was calling to see how your dad is doing after losing your mom.”
“You knew about this, didn’t you?” I asked quietly. While I’d known Rob was a selfish bastard, I’d had no clue he would go this far to get what he wanted.
“It’s not what you think, Brook,” he insisted.
“You didn’t know my dad had lied about my mom being dead to try to trick me into staying married to you for some insane reason?” I asked. “Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
Ty was staring between me and my parents like he couldn’t believe his ears, and I didn’t blame him. Even knowing how horrible my parents could be, I was shocked by their hurtful scheme.
“I just want you to give me a chance,” Rob whined. “If you’d just give me a chance, I wouldn’t have to resort to this sort of thing.”
“You are a selfish little boy,” I told him.
“I’m a grown man!” he snapped. “I take good care of you. I’ve offered to give you more.”
“All I want is a divorce,” I insisted.
“No,” he replied, and I heard the pout in his voice. “We are staying married.”
“From now on, talk to my attorney,” I stated.
“Wait!” Rob sounded panicked. “Please, Brook. I wasn’t joking about being fine with you fucking around, but I need you to stay married to me. It’s the only way to avoid marrying that money hungry bitch. The baby’s probably not even mine. This one’s refusing to get an abortion because she was there when you had those papers served. Now, she thinks I’m free to marry her.”
Ending the call, I looked over at my parents. “So, that’s the type of man you want me to stay with? He’s only trying to get out of marrying the woman he got pregnant. God, I pity that poor child.”
“Don’t you dare take the lord’s name in vain,” my mom warned.
“You should be glad he still wants you for any reason,” my father muttered.
“What the fuck is wrong with you people?” Ty demanded of my parents. “You made her cry, made her think her own mother was dead to help a man who left her? You don’t deserve Brook in your life. She is loving, loyal, funny, and too good for you.” He slipped and arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.
“Thank you for standing up for me,” I said with tears in my eyes.
“I love you,” he told me. “Maybe this is a bad time to tell you, but I just can’t help feeling you need to hear it while all these assholes are trying to manipulate you.”
I turned, wrapping my arms around Ty’s waist. “I love you, too,” I said quietly. “Thank you for reminding me what’s really important.”
Pulling away from Ty, I faced my parents. “I’m leaving. Don’t call me about getting back together with Rob. In fact, don’t call me unless you want to talk to me about my life without judgment. I have no intention of being miserable to make you or your church happy. Maybe you should take a moment to look at the wretched life you’ve led. Do you think God would want you to be unhappy? Do you really think he’d want you to manipulate your own daughter into being miserable?”
For a moment, neither of my parents spoke, and I foolishly hoped they might listen to what I was saying.
“Get out of my house,” my mother hissed. “I will not associate with a whore. You are dead to me.”
I nodded and left the house with Ty by my side. I could tell he wanted to say something in my defense, and I was grateful he didn’t. There was no way to convince my parents they were wrong, and it would only feed into the drama they thrived on if we stayed. Instead of feeling sad or rejected, I felt free.
“Are you okay?” Ty asked.
“Yes,” I replied honestly. “I think I needed this confrontation with them to get some closure with that part of my life.”
When I looked over at Ty, he was regarding me with a lopsided grin. “That makes you happy?” I asked.
“You said you love me,” he replied.
“I do,” I admitted. “It was hard to admit to myself, because I kept thinking it was too soon, but I do love you.”
Just as Ty was about to speak, my phone rang with a call from Rob, which I immediately sent to voicemail. Rob was going to be an ass about the divorce, but in the end, I would get my divorce, and I would be with Ty.
“I’m so glad Luke told me to go after you,” Ty stated.
“I’m glad Rafael died,” I told him.
“Your old vibrator?” he asked with a laugh.
I nodded. “He’s the reason I decided I needed a real man.”
“I wish we didn’t have such a long drive home,” Ty complained, wrapping an arm around my lower back to pull me close. “I’d love to show you what a real man can do for you.”
“Get a room!” a teen called out when Ty kissed me.
I giggled. “Now, there’s an idea. Let’s get out of this hel
lhole and find a nice hotel.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart,” he promised, and I knew he was talking about more than the room.
Turning back, I spared my old life one final glance before sliding into the car to begin the rest of my life with the man I loved.
Excerpt from Naughty at 30
Luke
So far, my attempts at online dating had been a complete failure. I hadn’t even met with any of the women from the site. It was nice chatting and looking at profiles first, because it made it easier to pass on women I knew I wouldn’t be compatible with. That had probably saved me from a bunch of horrible first dates. I’d been chatting with this one woman for the last twenty minutes, and so far, she seemed pretty normal. When I’d mentioned my original intent to major in marine biology, she’d told me how much she loved going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This was the first woman I’d felt any sort of connection with since I’d signed up for an account. I was just about to ask if she wanted to meet for a drink when a new message popped up on the chat screen.
VAL1990: Are you cut or uncut?
ME: Huh? What you do mean cut?
VIV1990: I’m talking about your winky. Is it cut or uncut?
What the fuck? Had she seriously asked if my dick was circumcised? I didn’t even know where she’d come up with winky as a name for my dick, but I was not happy with that one at all. I figured I might have misunderstood what she was asking, so I decided to ask for clarification. It seemed pretty obvious, but it was also a big shift in our conversation.
ME: Are you asking if I’m circumcised?
VIV1990: Yes. I’ve never been with a guy with an uncut winky. What would I even call a winky with a hood?
Maybe something more manly than winky, I wanted to say.
VIV1990: How about Lord Vader.
ME: Vader had a helmet, not a hood.
Dirty at 30 (Love Without Batteries Book 1) Page 20