by Harper Sloan
Standing with my hip resting against the side of Asher’s kitchen sink, I am drinking coffee while watching Beast eat. More specifically, I am watching Beast eat out of a very nice dog bowl that is next to a very nice water dish, neither of which I bought. They are the large ones that hold an endless supply of food and water so your dog can enjoy food and clean water whenever they want.
I have no idea when Asher bought them. All I know is he must have done it yesterday. Then I watch as Beast finishes eating and walks to the sliding glass door. He lays down in a giant dog bed that is also new, and proceeds to chew on a very large dog bone. I smile and let the feeling of warmth run through me. He obviously likes my dog, and plans on us being here with him often enough that Beast will need food and water dishes and a bed for when we come to visit. I'm not ready to start staying over all the time. I mean, I am, but at the same time, I don’t want to over stay my welcome. I know Dad has people coming out to put in a security system today, so I will be sleeping at home tonight without Asher.
On that thought, I go to his room and make the bed, clean up the bathroom where all my stuff has gathered then I collect all of my clothing from his closet and pack up. I gather Beast and we go to my dad’s place so he can go with me to the lawyer.
I am stunned. I mean, this kind of thing doesn’t happen to people every day. I am sitting across from Mr. Stevenson and I can’t find my voice. My mouth is moving and I'm sure I look like a fish out of water.
He sits forward in his chair. “Are you okay, darlin’?” Mr. Stevenson asks. It has to be a trick question. I mean, I am a millionaire. That's good, right? Everyone wants to be rich. I just don’t know what to think about being told that I will be one million five hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars richer by the end of the month. Part of me wants to tell him that I can’t take it, but then a bigger part of me realizes how many people I can help with that money.
“Um, I—I just need a minute to process this,” I tell him honestly.
“Take your time.”
I look at him then over at my dad. He is holding my hand and his face looks shocked as well.
“Can I ask a question?”
“Of course,” he says, sitting back in his chair. He looks like he belongs in an old movie. He has on black slacks with a button up shirt but instead of a tie, he has one of those silver pendants that have two pieces of leather hanging from it. On his feet, he has cowboy boots and I know that he wore a cowboy hat because it is sitting on his desk.
“Why did they leave it to me and not my mom?” Why would they leave me anything when I don’t even know them?
“I'm not sure of their reasoning. A few weeks before the car accident, they came in and changed their will so that you would be the sole beneficiary of their estate at the age of twenty-five. Now, your mother contacted me about their estate shortly after the death of her parents and I explained the situation to her. She was upset, but said she understood why her parents left their estate to you. I'm surprised that she never told you about this.”
I'm not surprised she didn’t tell me. We aren’t close and she never talks about her parents. Maybe she doesn’t talk about them because they left me the money. That might also be why she treated me so poorly growing up. She feels that I took something away that should be hers. I decide I am going to call her later and tell her I will give her half of the money. They were her parents and I'm sure they would want her to have some of it.
“Are you okay, baby girl?”
I turn towards my dad. His eyes are concerned, and I know I'm so lucky to have him. His love is unconditional. No strings, no stipulations. He just loves me. He doesn’t even care that I now have money. And I know that if my mom was sitting where he is, she would be mentally spending every penny.
“Yeah, Dad. I think I need to call Mom later and talk to her about this.” I squeeze his hand. I can tell by the look on his face that he wants to say something.
“I'm not sure that’s a good idea, baby girl.”
“Dad, I want to tell her that I'm going to give her half the money.”
“No, that’s your money. You are going to keep every fucking penny. That bitch is not getting one cent of that money.”
“Dad,” I whisper. “They were her parents. No matter how you feel about her, they gave her life. I feel like they would have wanted her to have something from them.”
“Fuck, no. They left it to you, not her, and they did that shit for a reason.”
“Dad—”
“Baby girl, I want you to think about this for a week. Seven days. Then, you decide what to do about it. But don’t call her yet. Wait a week and see how you feel.” I feel tears sting my eyes and I know my dad hates my mom for what she took away from him. I also know he wants me to make a good decision.
“Okay, a week,” I agree. He pulls me into his arms and hugs me close.
“I love you, baby girl. Never forget that.”
“I know, Daddy.” I hug him tighter.
“Okay, November,” Mr. Stevenson says, bringing my attention back to him. “Since that is all out of the way, I'm going to have Nick call you in a few days when I have all the papers ready to be signed. Once that’s done, we can talk about the accounts and I can help you get things sorted so that it’s more manageable for you to handle on your own.”
“That would be great,” I tell him. He stands and Dad and I follow. Mr. Stevenson comes around his desk and shakes my hand.
“We’ll be in touch,” he says, walking us out to the front of the office where Nick is sitting behind a desk, typing away at a computer.
“Son,” Mr. Stevenson calls out and Nick’s head lifts, “I'm going to need you to pull all the papers for the Armsted estate then gather the transfer papers.”
“No problem. How are you, November?” Nick asks. He has on a suit and he looks good in it. He also has on a pair of black rimmed reading glasses that make his eyes stand out. His hair is a little shaggier than the last time I saw him and it fits him well.
“I'm good. How are you?” I ask, starting to get uncomfortable about the way he is looking at me. I have on a pair of black leggings and a cream scoop neck sweater. I'm also wearing black knee high wedge heels and the scarf I got from Liz’s store.
“Good. I was just getting ready to have lunch. Do you want to join me?” Nick asks me.
His dad takes a step back and I feel awkward that he is asking me out in front of his father. Plus, he knows I am seeing Asher, who has made it perfectly clear that I'm not available.
“I'm sorry, but I'm meeting Liz for coffee.” His face falls and I feel bad. I’ve never liked hurting people’s feelings. “But I'm sure she wouldn’t mind if you joined us.”
Even though I am sure that she will mind. I invite him anyway She doesn’t seem like a people person. I am actually surprised that she even agreed to have coffee with me. Then an idea forms in my head. Nick is cute and Liz is pretty. Maybe they could get together.
“Sure.” He smiles and stands. He takes off his glasses and lays them down then grabs a file and hands it to his father, who looks shocked.
“I’ll be back in an hour. Do you want me to get anything for you while I'm out?” he asks his dad.
“Coffee,” his dad tells him. Mr. Stevenson turns towards me. “It was nice meeting you, November. See you next week,” he says, smiling big. EEEKKKK!!
“Nice to meet you too,” I say, walking out the door. “Um, Dad, I’ll see you at home, I guess,” I say, almost wanting my dad to offer to stay. I don’t want Nick to get the wrong idea that this is a date or anything close to a date.
“Sure, baby girl. See you at home.” We are all standing outside on the sidewalk a couple blocks away from Liz’s store. I watch my dad walk to his car. His head is bent towards his boots and he is shaking his head.
“Um, we can just walk to get Liz, and then go to the coffee shop next to her store, if that’s okay with you?” I say, looking up at Nick.
“Sure, lead the way.” He
smiles and I smile back, and then I pull out my phone. I debate about calling Asher. I feel guilty and I don’t want him to find out that Nick is with me by someone else, but at the same time, I don’t want to call him in front of Nick, and have him freak out and get into an argument with him while on the phone.
“So, are you still seeing Asher?” he asks. I put my phone away, deciding I will just call him later.
“Yeah,” I say, smiling.
“Oh.” His eyebrows shoot together in surprise, and worry crosses his face. “Look, November, I know you’re new but you should know—”
I cut him off before he can make me mad. “What? That he has bagged almost every girl in town? Tell me something I don’t know. Do I like knowing that?” I ask, looking up at him. “No, but it is what it is, and I'm giving him a chance. He is sweet to me, and if there comes a time when he is not sweet to me, I will deal with it. Got it?” I narrow my eyes.
“Got it,” he says, his lips twitching. I am still looking at him when I'm grabbed from behind and pulled off the ground. I scream and start kicking, trying to throw a punch. I can hear someone telling me to calm down, but I can’t stop fighting. I won’t let myself be dragged down an alley and beaten again. I kick, scratch, and scream then arms wrap around me, and I am being rocked back and forth. Someone is whispering to me that it's going to be okay. I start pulling myself together.
I open my eyes and see Nick standing further down the sidewalk with Cash blocking him. I take a breath and realize that I'm sitting on the ground. Not only that, but I'm in someone’s lap. I hold my breath and lift my head. Yep, it’s Nico and he has a bloody nose and a mark under his eye.
“I'm sorry,” I whisper. I swallow hard and shake my head. “I don’t know what happened.” I shake my head again, trying to clear the adrenaline.
“Do not apologize,” he says, framing my face with his hands. I can feel the tears sliding down my cheeks.
“Jesus, Asher’s going to kick my ass.” He leans in and kisses my forehead then pulls my face back into his neck. I let him hold me for a minute and feel so embarrassed about what just happened.
“I'm okay now,” I tell him, wiping my face on his shirt.
“Did you just wipe your face on me?”
“Nope,” I say, smiling into his shirt, remembering Asher and the fake blood.
“Just checking,” he mumbles. I look up to see his lips twitching. His eyes scan my face and his thumb sweeps my cheek. “Have you talked to anyone about what happened?” I can’t talk. I just shake my head.
“Babe, you need to talk to someone.” I swallow and look down. I feel tears pooling in my eyes again. “Ah fuck,” he growls and hugs me tighter to him. Then he stands and pulls me with him, and then Cash is here hugging me.
“Hey, sis, you scared the fuck out of me.”
“Sorry,” I mumble while I try to smile. I like that he called me sis. He pulls back and Nick steps closer. Nico steps in front of him then I see the damage I caused. Nico’s shirt is ripped, his nose is bloody, and there are a few bruises under his eye.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. I walk to Nico and grab his hand. “Come on, we have to go to the bathroom.”
“What?” He stops and pulls his hand away. He looks at me like I'm crazy.
“We have to go to the bathroom,” I say slowly.
“This may have escaped you, but I have a dick. The only time I go into the bathroom with a chick is for a quick fuck, and that’s not happening, so no, we don’t have to go to the bathroom.”
“Yes, we do,” I yell. I grab his hand again and drag him down the sidewalk. When we get to the café, I see Liz. We make eye contact and her eyes almost pop out of her head.
“Hey, honey, I'm going to take Nico to the bathroom. I’ll be right back. Can you order me a coffee and a cinnamon roll?”
“Take Nico to the bathroom? What am I, five?” I hear him mumble beside me and I giggle.
“Um, sure,” she says, her eyes large from shock then I hear her gasp and look behind me. Cash and Nick are walking in.
“Oh right. Liz, meet Nico,” I say, pulling his hand up, which I am still holding. “Cash and Nick, this is Liz. We will be right back.” I drag Nico with me down the hall and pull him into the bathroom. I see Liz give a slight wave to the guys and can tell she wants to bolt.
“Stay here,” I mumble, standing him in front of the mirror. I go into the stall to get toilet paper.
“We have to make this fast before Liz bails on me.”
“Are you this bossy with my brother?” Nico asks, his lips twitching. I smile and shrug my shoulders. He laughs.
“So, how do you know Liz,” he asks as I wet a paper towel and start wiping the blood from his face.
“I don’t really know her. I just met her the other day when I went into her store. She seemed sweet and some of the Mayson boys’ harem were there,” I say, glaring at him.
“We don’t have a harem.” He smirks, so I just shake my head.
“Yes, you guys do but anyway, they were rude to her, so I figured that if they didn’t like her, I most likely would. No offense.”
“None taken,” he chuckles and I finish cleaning him up. Then, I turn toward the mirror and wipe the mascara off my face.
“You’re going to need ice for your eye,” I say to him through the mirror then turn to throw the garbage away. He ignores my comment and opens the door. “You need ice,” I repeat and he just shakes his head.
“I’ll be fine,” he says and my phone starts ringing, saving him from a lecture. I pull it out of my bag and see Asher calling. Crap!
“Hey,” I answer.
“Are you okay, baby?”
“Um, yeah. I just freaked and beat up your brother,” I whisper into the phone.
“I'm going to kick his ass. What the fuck was he thinking, doing that shit?”
“It’s fine. He was just joking around and I don’t think he will ever do it again.”
“Yeah, I heard. So, how was the meeting with the lawyer?”
“Oh…um…it was okay.”
“Well, what did he say?”
“Oh, you know, this and that, typical lawyer stuff.” I cross my fingers, praying that he doesn’t ask me anymore about it. I want to tell him everything but money always changes people.
“What the fuck?”
“I’d rather not talk about this over the phone.”
“Okay. You can tell me tonight. Should we do takeout?”
“I'm staying at my dad’s tonight.”
“November, you’re not staying there. It’s not safe.”
“I’ll sleep in the guest room upstairs. My dad will be in the next room.”
“Have dinner with Mike then I want you in my bed tonight.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Don’t you think we should have a break? I mean, we have been together all weekend.”
“A break?” he yells and I know that was the wrong thing to say. “Careful how you word shit right now, November. I'm already pissed off about you being out with Nick then you say you need a break. I might get the wrong idea.”
This is when I remember that he can be a total jerk. “Are you serious right now? Wait, don’t answer that. I know you are,” I yell back. “I also told you that you have to trust me. That is not optional, Asher,” I whisper into the phone, knowing my temper is going a little crazy. “Liz is waiting for me. I’ll talk to you later.” I hang up and turn my phone to silent.
I walk to where Liz is sitting with Nick. Her head is bent, studying the coffee cup in front of her like it holds the secrets to the universe. I feel guilty for leaving her out here for so long. She looks up as I sit down across from her.
“I'm so sorry,” I tell her honestly. I feel bad that I made plans with her and they got completely messed up.
“It’s fine.” She smiles and looks over her shoulder at Cash and Nico, and I know that she is in hot-guy heaven. I laugh and she st
arts laughing too. Yep, we are going to be great friends.
I look up from her to see Nico and Cash walking towards us. Both are carrying coffee cups.
“Alright, sis,” Cash says, looking down at me. “We gotta go. We’ll see you this weekend, right?” His phone starts ringing and he picks up. “Yo, yeah, hold on.”
He pushes the phone in my direction and I know it is Asher. I look at it in his hand and feel like it is going to uncoil and strike out at me. Then, he shoves it closer and I have no choice but to take it from him.
“Hello?”
“Don’t ever fucking hang up on me.”
“I—”
“See you at seven.” Then the line is dead.
“Crap,” I whisper.
“Is everything okay?” Cash asks.
“I guess we’ll see,” I tell him truthfully, biting my lower lip. For the first time, I'm not looking forward to seeing Asher.
After the guys say goodbye, I debate on telling Liz I have a headache. I no longer feel like visiting. I want to go home and crawl into bed and cuddle with Beast, but I stay. Nick is really nice, no flirting, just chatting. Liz is watching him closely. They had gone to high school together but didn’t know each other well.
After a while, we all say goodbye and I tell Liz to call me so we can meet up later in the week. I tell Nick that I will talk to him when he gets the papers ready for me to sign. Then, I get in my car and drive home.
When I get home, my dad and uncle cameo out on the front porch and had me follow them around the side of the house to the garage. When we got there, I have no idea what is going on until they pulled the tarp off a shiny, black motorcycle.
They explain that it’s a 2011 Ninja 250r. It’s a small bike—perfect for my height and weight. It also doesn’t have as much power as a bigger bike, so there is less of a chance of me doing damage to myself or someone else. I only half listened to them. I mean, I have a motorcycle. How flipping awesome is that?
Uncle Joe tells me that one of his buddies bought it for his son when he wanted to learn to ride. Now, he is upgrading to a Harley so he’s ready to sell it. I‘m instantly in love. I love it. He also hands me a white helmet with hot pink and black airbrush writing that says baby girl on the back. I jump up and down when he hands it to me.