by Jo Cattell
“It’s just all happening so fast. While we’re in New York this weekend, I need you to clean out your mother’s room. I have a moving company coming on Saturday to take it to storage for you, unless you want to donate it. But I want to use that room as the baby’s room,” Shelly informed her.
Chloe was speechless. She couldn’t breathe. “Excuse me.” She got up from the table and the chair fell behind her. She felt like the walls were closing in, so she all but ran from the table. It felt as if she was going to collapse suddenly. It was as if all the air had been sucked from her body. She ran until she made it to the car, and then suddenly, she felt Nick’s arms around her.
“Shh, it’s okay.” He held her, not really knowing what to say.
“What just happened? What did she just say? I have to clean out my mother’s room?” She tried hard to catch her breath. How was she going to do this? She was afraid to be in that room.
“I don’t know what to say.” He tried to help her to calm down.
“He wants a second chance at being a father? How about asking me for a second chance? Why can’t he try with me?” After all, she was his daughter, his firstborn. What had she done to make him give up on her? She was fighting back the tears. She didn’t want to cry in front of him or them.
“Chloe, go back in there and ask him that. Ask him why he has treated you this way.”
“What would it matter? I’m nothing to him. He has a new family now. What does he need me for?” She was starting to realize that her days at home were numbered now. She put her arms around him and felt him hug her tighter. “I’ve got nothing now. There’s nothing I can do to make that man treat me like his little girl.”
“Then it’s his loss. Someday, maybe he will realize it,” Nick said as he stroked her hair.
After her mother died, she just wanted him to take care of her, but instead, he turned to Shelly. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, let’s go back.”
He took her hand in his and they went back.
When they sat back down, Shelly watched her and waited.
“Are you finished with your little temper tantrum?” her father scolded her.
Chloe could just nodded.
“Nick, what time are your parents expecting us?” Shelly questioned him.
“Around 7:30,” he answered.
“We’re just waiting for the check, and then we’re leaving. You have embarrassed me, young lady. You owe Shelly an apology,” her father said, continuing to scold her.
Chloe bit at her lip and then said, “I’m sorry for my actions. I am very happy for you and my father.”
* * * *
It killed Nick to hear her talk this way. It wasn’t as if she‘d run from the place screaming. She got up and the chair fell over. But they had to show the power they had over her, and Chloe was so starved for their attention that she would do as they wished.
He couldn’t understand what he just witnessed, but he knew that it was like her father was talking to hired help instead of his daughter.
“You should be happy for us, Chloe. This is very important to your father and me. We have wanted a family for a while and now it is finally happening. Besides, you’ll be off to college soon, and you won’t be bothered by the children we’ll have. You are at the start of your life. Just think of it as a happy way to close this chapter,” Shelly stated, adding to the rejection Chloe was already feeling.
Nick watched as Chloe held her head down, and he tried hard not to say anything about how they were now dismissing her.
When they arrived at his house, Nick walked through the door and Max tackled him.
“You missed it. I nailed Kevin in the face with the butter,” he gloated.
“That’s cool, buddy. Where are Mom and Dad?” Nick now just wanted to get far away from Chloe’s parents as possible.
With perfect timing, his mother came into the living room to greet them.
Nick left Chloe in the living room and walked into the kitchen.
“So, how was your fancy restaurant dinner?” Mark asked as he and Kevin sat playing poker.
“Couldn’t tell you. After they dropped a huge bombshell on Chloe, they made her apologize for a scene she supposedly made and got their dinner to go and left us with nothing. So, yeah, it was a great night!” Nick was going through the cabinets.
“So, you’ve had nothing to eat all day? Lucky, Mom made you a plate and hid it from Kevin,” Mark told him and smacked Kevin in the head as he tried to cheat.
“Oh, no, did I not mention I had the horrible cold pumpkin soup? Where the hell is the aspirin?” Nick slammed the cabinet door.
“What is going on in here?” his mother asked as she walked in.
“Nick didn’t eat dinner except for some horrible soup and he hates Chloe’s parents,” Kevin explained.
“What happened?” She looked confused as to why he hadn’t eaten.
“Let’s just say her stepmother may or may not be pregnant and her father is overjoyed because this means he has a second chance to be a father again, and Chloe should be happy about it. Oh, yeah, and clean out the room your mom died in because that is going to be the baby’s room and it needs to be done by Saturday. Oh, and you shouldn’t mind that we don’t care about you at all!” Nick groused as he tried to keep his voice down.
His mother handed him the bottle of aspirin.
“Wow, sounds like a fun evening. Good thing you invited them here for dessert.” Kevin wondered if they could really be that bad.
“Okay, let’s just get through this evening. I will bring up Christmas, then we will talk. For now, there are two plates in the fridge. You and Chloe go in the sunroom and have dinner.” She glanced over at his brothers. “You two, leave them alone and don’t send Max in there. Give them a break, Kevin. I mean it,” she warned him.
Chloe hadn’t spoken much since they left the restaurant. Even back at his house, she just sat in the window seat and watched the rain fall. She hardly touched her dinner and now just stared at the food like it was something she’d never seen before.
“Talk to me.” Nick touched her hand.
“I don’t know how I can do this tomorrow. It’s typical of Shelly to make me clean up the room that they left her to die in. She won’t have to deal with her guilt then.” She thought of her mother’s room and how cold it was.
“I’ll help you. I could sneak out tonight and come back. When they leave, we can start,” he suggested. Nick already knew he could never let her do this alone.
“You can’t do that.” She looked down at her plate again.
“Who says? I’ll leave them a note and say I headed out early. They’re never going to know.” He missed being alone with her, and since they were home, they hadn’t gotten the chance.
“After your parents spend five minutes with mine, they’ll hate me. And if you sneak out, it will make it even worse. I’m sorry about dinner tonight. I didn’t mean to ruin it. I should have said something to you earlier.”
“What did you do to ruin it?” He was surprised she’d said that. If anything, it was her father who had.
“My actions at the restaurant. I should never have run out of there. I should have just told them I was happy for them and left it at that. Besides, it is just a room.”
“Chloe, forget about it. I don’t think you did anything wrong. I think I would have acted the same way. Let’s forget about them right now. My mom gave my brothers strict orders to leave us alone. It’s our first Thanksgiving. So, here’s to one of many firsts.” He raised his glass of milk to her.
She smiled at him, raised hers and they clinked glasses. He seemed to know what to do to make her smile. “Maybe next year will be better,” she mused. She looked down at her plate, and although everything looked and smelled so good, she couldn’t seem to eat it. “Do you know how long it has been since I had a home-cooked meal on a holiday? And I can’t eat it now because of the pit in my stomach.”
“You don’t have to eat it
. Since they are going away, why don’t I see if you can stay here?” he offered. He hated seeing her like this. This wasn’t the girl he’d come to know. She’d hidden her feelings really well since he’d known her, never once could he remember her being so down.
Now that she had let him into her life, he could see the sadness she held. The longing she had for her father to just look at her. He wished the guy could see her now, sitting here in the candlelight, trying to make herself seem so grown-up, but still just that little girl waiting for him. Why couldn’t the man see what he did?
Nick got up and reached for her hand. Chloe looked at him, confused, but he took hers and pulled her up. “I don’t want to do this, but I think I have to. From now on, when you’re with me, you are not allowed to look down, unless you’re studying or sketching. You have a beautiful face, Chloe. You shouldn’t hide it,” he told her as he lifted her chin. She tried to look away but he held her face still. “Please don’t look away from me. I can see you, even if he doesn’t.”
“Why am I so scared?” She was trembling as he touched her.
“Because you’re afraid to trust me,” he replied. “I’m not going to give up on you.” He wouldn’t. He cared about her too much now.
“Hey, you two, if you’re done, we need to talk to you.” His mother came in and interrupted them.
Chloe and Nick sat down and waited to hear what was going to be said.
It was strange to see how his parents were interacting with hers. And Nick could tell his mother wasn’t very happy about having them there now.
“We were just telling the Allen’s about our Christmas trip,” Shelly said and smiled.
“Oh, are you still going?” Chloe was surprised that now that Shelly might be expecting, she would chance it.
“It’s her job, Chloe. You can’t just not show up and expect to be paid. Besides, it will give us a chance to spend some time together before the baby comes,” her father added.
“Anyway, it is no place for a sixteen-year-old girl to be, and we were going to leave you home, like last year,” Shelly continued.
“Um, okay, that’s fine. I’ll be okay,” Chloe agreed as tears glistened in her eyes.
“Well, Chloe, instead of you spending Christmas by yourself, how would you feel about spending Christmas here, with us? We’re leaving for the mountains the day after, but you are still invited to come. I just hate for you to have to be alone on a holiday,” Mrs. Allen said as she looked over at Chloe’s parents.
Suddenly, Nick felt relived. His parents were the best. He’d always assumed that before, but now he realized it as a fact.
“If it isn’t too much trouble,” Chloe mumbled. “I mean, I was okay last year. I’m used to being by myself.” She looked at her father, hoping he would change his mind.
“We understand that you’re old enough to take care of yourself, but we talked to your parents and it’s kind of a relief for them to know you’re being taken care of. I know the boys can get crazy, but you seem to put them in their place when they get out of line,” Mr. Allen added. He, too, seemed relieved that she would be with them instead of by herself.
“Good, then it’s settled. Just let me know what you need for her. I will make sure she has it. And if you need money, please just let me know,” Shelly gloated.
It was obvious to everyone there that she was glad to be free of Chloe over the holidays.
“Well, this has been a nice evening, but we have to leave early tomorrow. Chloe, get your coat,” her father ordered.
“Yes, you have a lot to do tomorrow. I only wish I could help, but with my delicate condition, I don’t want to chance it. It pains me that I can’t be there to help you,” Shelly added with a fake plastic smile.
“It’s fine. Nick is going to help me.” Chloe tried to smile and he winked at her.
“I can come by, too. I’m not doing much tomorrow and I know how hard it will be for her to go through her mother’s things,” Mrs. Allen added.
Shelly looked over at Chloe. “It’s just time. We can’t leave that room a shrine anymore. I’m sure a lot of it will be donated to the church,” she assured them.
“It’s just going to be the memoires that will be hard to part with. Chloe, Honey, I’ll get Kevin and Mark to help, too. And if there is anything you want that you don’t want to go to storage, I can keep it here for you,” Mrs. Allen offered as she hugged her.
With that, they left.
Nick stood smiling at his mother.
“Don’t say a word.” She pointed her finger at him.
“Gina, I know how you feel, but—” His father started but she interrupted him.
“That woman has no soul and neither does her husband. The way he talked about Chloe, it was like she was this burden he’d been left with and that woman was a saint for stepping in and caring for her,” Mrs. Allen ranted, still furious by the meeting.
“Go, Mom,” Nick said, proud of her for challenging Shelly.
“Don’t encourage her. Son, you have to realize that we’re going to be watching out for Chloe now. After talking with them and seeing how they don’t really care about her welfare, we have to. If something happens between the two of you? You can’t ask us to just abandon her because it didn’t work out,” Mr. Allen explained. “The girl has no one, and after what we just witnessed? We couldn’t let her continue to be neglected like that.”
“Dad, I know. And after what I saw tonight, I wouldn’t ask you to,” Nick replied. At this moment, he was so proud to be an Allen that he could hardly contain the huge grin that spread out on his face.
Chapter Seven
As her father’s car pulled away, Chloe watched for Nick to come up the driveway. He texted her a few minutes earlier to tell her he was almost there. It was 5:30 in the morning, and all she’d wanted to do was sleep, but the thought of him being there kept her awake and waiting. The thought of them finally being alone again was exciting the more she thought about it.
She also knew that it would probably be one of the only things that would help her get through the day, considering what she had to do. She hadn’t gone into that room in what seemed like forever, and when she did, it was for a brief second to put one of her paintings in there. She had to decide what to do with them, too. She had to push it from her mind, because the only thing she wanted to think about was the fact that Nick was coming up the driveway and they were finally alone.
He all but ran up to the front door and she rushed him in.
“This is a bad idea. I really should have waited until it was a little warmer. It’s like thirteen below out there.”
“Wait, didn’t someone say when I suggested a walk last night that, ‘Hello? It’s November’?” She laughed and tried to rub his hands to warm them up.
“Yeah, well, at four this morning, I forgot all that and couldn’t wait to get here. They didn’t call you, did they?” He was a little nervous.
“No, they won’t. Why?” she asked.
“I thought they saw me. I ducked behind someone’s tree so they wouldn’t.”
“You’re safe. Do you want something warm to drink? Like maybe some breakfast or anything?”
“Something warm to drink sounds good,” he answered and followed her into the kitchen.
After making them her special hot chocolate, Nick followed Chloe up to her room. “So, when do you want to get started?”
“I’m not ready yet. I really just wanted to go back to bed. It’s way too early to even think about it.” She sat back against her pillows.
“Oh, I guess that sounds good. I guess I’m banished to the guest room. You did change those sheets, right?” He was kind of pouting.
“If you promise to be good, you can stay. I think there’s some room here.” She giggled, thinking about how nice it would be to sleep with him again.
“I will try my best to be good.” He crossed his heart with his finger. He came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her.
“This isn’t being go
od. You’re making me cold. Nick, stop, your hands are cold.” She giggled and tried to squirm free from his grasp while he touched her stomach where her shirt had lifted a little.
“Baby, I need you to warm me up.” He held her tightly as she tried to struggle free from him.
They both fell to the bed laughing, and he leaned up on his side. “Hi.” He touched her face softly.
“Hi. I’m glad you came.” She kissed his fingers.
He kissed her softly, the slow, light lip kisses, which led to more. Their lips parted, tongue’s touching.
The moments like this one were few and far between. Nick laid back and pulled her on top of him. The warmth of her body was starting to warm his.
This time, she kissed down his chin, to his neck with soft little kisses. Then as she came up to his ear, her warm breath gave him chills. Softly, she bit his earlobe and then kissed his cheek. He turned his head to meet her lips and bring her to her side. “Tell me when to stop, and I promise I will,” he whispered into her ear, and then he kissed her neck the way he did the other day.
Chills of excitement ran through her body, and again she felt like she could lose herself to wanting more of him. She brought his lips back to hers and felt herself start to float from her body. As he moved his leg between hers, she took his hand. Trembling a little, she glided his hand up her body and felt it stop just below her left breast.
“Do you trust me?” he spoke softly by her ear. He was panting, on the edge of touching her.
“I trust you.” She was breathless as his lips were at her neck. “Show me what to do.”
He pulled away from her and took off his sweatshirt, only leaving his undershirt. When his lips returned to her, he reached up and took her hand, then slowly glided it down his chest. Shyly, she felt the edge of his shirt and let her hand glide up along his hard stomach to his chest.
He returned his hand to her stomach. At the edge of her shirt, he started to caress her side, wanting badly to touch her naked breast. He tempted fate and, slowly, his hand glided up under her shirt until his fingers just barely touched her breast. His lips were at her neck again and her breaths grew deeper. Ever so slightly, his hand cupped her breast and, slowly, his thumb softly glided across her nipple.