by Heather Long
“I know.” For once, that part I did know, even if I struggled with reconciling what I wanted—what I should do—and what I’d always done. Mom was Mom. I’d made excuses for her all my life. She was complicated and high-strung. But I didn’t deserve this, not right now, and especially not after the last week.
She stood outside the car by the time we arrived. Jake and Archie leaned against their own cars but hadn’t gone anywhere near her, and thankfully, Mr. Standish stayed in his car.
“You want us close or to give you some privacy?” Coop asked as we crossed the last bit of ground between us and where the benches were. I didn’t head toward my mom so much as those places to sit. Maybe I should stand, but tired kept hitting me in waves, and even with the adrenaline hit from seeing Mom in the office, it wasn’t helping.
“Stay close, but maybe give us a little space?”
It seemed like a concession, and I didn’t want to give her any. At the same time, I wanted to get this over and done with. The less posturing the better.
“You got it.” Coop ran his hand down my spine lightly. “And as soon as this is done, you take something, okay?”
I didn’t plan to argue. I hurt too much, so I just nodded. Ian squeezed my fingers once before he let me go, and I continued to the benches. Mom had to cross the damp grass to where I was standing, and her heels kept trying to sink.
Nope. Not a shred of guilt did I feel.
“Fifteen minutes starts now,” Archie called, and I threw him a smile. He held up his phone with a timer on it, and my mother scowled, though with her back to all of them it was unlikely they saw it.
“That boy’s arrogance knows no limits, does it?”
I wanted to fold my arms, but the splint made that hard, so I settled for leaning against the back of the bench and setting my hands on it. It was damp and moisture seeped into the denim, but it was better than falling, and I didn’t want to sit and let her loom over me.
“I’m here,” I said.
Though I’d really rather be anywhere else. I don’t know when Mom and I became this bitter camp of antagonists rather than family, but I’d never felt further apart from her than I did right now. What did it say about me that when I looked at her, I saw the enemy? I also saw all the things I’d wished she’d been and hated because she wasn’t. If I spent too long on it, I wondered what had I done wrong. It sucked.
But here was where we were. “What do you want?”
“Is that really any way to talk to me?” Mom demanded.
I shrugged, because it hurt and I was tired. “It’s the best I can do at the moment. Would you rather I ask you how Europe was again? Oh wait, you never mentioned a trip, so I don’t see why I should.”
“I don’t understand what has gotten into you,” Mom said, almost exasperated. “Why are you doing this?”
What? I frowned. “Doing what?”
“This,” she said, flicking her hands at me. “Why are you doing this? Why are you fighting me on every little thing?”
“I’m not,” I said. “Fighting you on every little thing would require you be around. You’re not. You moved out, remember? You have your new boyfriend. You know, the married dude back there who happens to be the father of the arrogant boy?”
Honestly, I wasn’t trying to be quiet, and I had no idea how much carried back to the guys, but the flicker of a smile on Archie’s face told me he got that much.
Embarrassment flooded me as I caught Coop’s eye and the tautness in his jaw. If Archie could hear, then the others could, too. Archie understood crappy parents. The other guys had good ones.
Caring ones.
Jerking my attention back to Mom, I stared at her. She frowned. “What happened to you?”
“Life.” Because I wasn’t discussing Homecoming with her. Not a chance in hell.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out. There was a message from Mr. Wittaker on the screen.
Mr. Wittaker: Any questions regarding the emancipation from her direct her to speak to her lawyer and to have her lawyer contact me. Do not answer her questions directly.
Fine by me. I cleared the message then shoved it back in my pocket.
“Frankie,” Mom exhaled as she took a step toward me. “What happened to you?” She nodded toward my arm. “How did you get hurt?”
“I fell down.”
“You are not that clumsy,” Mom snapped. “There were messages… I had calls from the hospital about you being admitted. It was why we came home.”
A week later.
“Must not have gotten those messages really quick.”
“We weren’t in Europe on a vacation.” From concerned to annoyed. “We came to get you to check on you, to take you to our place. I think you should still come. You don’t need to be on your own.”
“But I’m very good at it. I’ve had years of practice. You might almost say I’m an expert.” The longer we stood here, the angrier I got. I resented her. I resented that she was casting me in the role of bad guy because she’d rushed home a week after I’d been let out of the hospital and I seemed ungrateful. I resented that her life revolved only around her—her wants, her needs, and her interests.
More, I resented that she dragged me out of school to do this. Going back had been harder in some ways than I’d imagined and now this?
“What do you want, Maddy?” I almost said Mom. Almost.
But I suddenly understood why Archie did it.
‘Mom’ implied a relationship that just didn’t exist anymore. If it ever had.
She recoiled as though I’d slapped her. For the first time in my life, she retreated a step and disappointment flooded her eyes. Or maybe fear. I had no idea.
“Seriously, what do you want? You have your boyfriend and your perfect new place and you haven’t looked behind you for a while. So what do you want?”
The fist around my heart turned to lead. I didn’t want to care about her. I didn’t want to care what she thought about me. And I really didn’t want to have this conversation right here and now.
“I wanted to make sure you were all right,” she admitted slowly, hesitantly. Maybe she wasn’t terribly certain. “I wanted to take you back to our place. I wanted to give you a chance to see how nice it could be. It’s a real upgrade from that apartment, and you won’t be able to afford it shortly. Not if you still plan on college.”
And there it was.
How did she still have the power to disappoint me?
“I’m fine,” I said, aware of Coop straightening and taking a step in my direction. I shook my head. I didn’t want them to intervene. “I have no interest in your new place or this new life you’ve been transitioning to for the last year or so. I didn’t have a place in it before, I don’t see wanting one now.”
“That’s not true,” Mom—no, Maddy said, her voice torn between sounding like she could barely hold back tears and at the same time her eyes were so angry. “You’re my daughter.”
“Could have fooled me.” I was so tired. “And if that’s all, I’m going to go now. You pulled me out before I got to finish my last class. And I have homework to do.”
Was that a flash of guilt?
Did I care?
I pushed away from the bench and headed for where the guys waited. Archie’s car or Jake’s, right now I didn’t care. Ian had ridden in with Jake for practice, and Coop had his car back at the school. We needed to get that…
“You can’t just walk away from me.”
“Why not?” I asked, not slowing down, and Coop was moving now. Archie had pushed away from his car, and Jake planted himself between Archie’s dad’s car, Archie and me.
I could have kissed him for having Archie’s back like that.
“Just putting into practice what you taught me, Maddy. Don’t like something, walk away from it. I’m sure you two are very busy doing…whatever.” I made it two more steps then paused and glanced at her. “I’m not a doll you get to decide you want to play with and discard when y
ou’re bored. You’ve done that to me my whole life. When you feel like being a mom, you can be great. Most of the time, you’re not. I’m not letting you do that to me anymore.”
Turning away, I continued my trek to toward the guys.
“Francesca Elizabeth Curtis.” Her voice grated. “Don’t you dare take that tone with me.”
Yeah, the guilt died a swift death. I didn’t look back. “Sure, Maddy. I can say it politely if you want. Have a nice day.” Coop was there, and he slid an arm around my waist and headed me straight for Jake’s SUV.
The car door on Mr. Standish’s car swung open, and Archie passed us. “Keep going, get her out of here.”
Ian moved with Archie, but Jake opened up his passenger door, and Coop gave me a hand getting in. I dragged the seatbelt on and kept my gaze firmly away from Maddy. Edward. Any of it.
What happened to me?
She had her nose pushed in because she couldn’t even let me know she was leaving the country or dating or even truly moving until after she’d done it? Eyes closed, I leaned my head back against the seat.
“Hang on, Baby Girl. We’re going to drop Coop at his car, and then we’re going home.”
“Okay,” I murmured. Coop slid into the back seat, and the doors slammed. Raised voices carried from outside, but I only checked to make sure Archie and Ian were okay.
As Jake pulled out of the lot, it sunk in to me that Ian glared at my mother. And was yelling at her.
Oh.
“They’re going to be okay, right?”
“They’re going to be fine. Archie is making sure we can go without having them up our ass. And I want you home before they decide to head back to the apartment and find out they can’t get in.” Jake put a hand on my knee.
“Do you have your pain meds?” Coop asked. “Your backpack is here.”
“No, Archie had them.”
“Got it, texting him now.”
That whole interaction hadn’t taken thirty minutes. School wasn’t even out yet. At the same time, it seemed to have taken years. Jake drove us right up to Coop’s car.
“Come straight in,” Jake advised. “We might go in the front if we have to.”
“She won’t follow,” I said.
“Frankie, you don’t know that.”
“Yeah I do. To follow would imply she cared. Right now, she cares about being right. I made her look bad, so she’s going to try and make up for that with Mr. Standish.” I shuddered, but just shook my head. “She won’t come.”
Of that much, I was certain.
She also didn’t know about the emancipation.
Chances were she hadn’t been served. Jake opened my window, and Coop leaned in when I glanced to him and pressed a kiss to my lips. It was soft and swift.
“It’s going to be okay.”
I nodded.
Maybe.
“See you at home?”
“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”
Then we were pulling away, and Jake closed the window. When he covered my left hand with his right, I held on tight.
“He’s right, Baby Girl. It’s going to be okay.”
“You guys are going to get busted for skipping class.”
“That is really not important right now,” he assured me.
But it kind of was. They’d all been getting into trouble lately because of me.
“I worry.”
“I know you do,” he answered. “We worry about you. No way we were letting you have to take on that fight alone, but you know what?”
He waited so long at the end of that question, I dragged my tired eyes open to meet his gaze. “What?”
“You were fucking awesome, and you didn’t need us.”
I smiled a little. “That’s not true.”
“Yeah it is,” he said, stroking my hand. “You really do look after yourself. You’ve had to do it on your own a lot, but we’ve got your back.”
They did.
“I know,” I whispered. “And I’m really glad you were there.”
“Nowhere else I’d rather be…” He gave it a beat. “Well…I can think of a few places to be, not that I don’t like having your back, but your front is pretty damn sweet.”
That did it.
I laughed.
“Idiot.”
“Hmm-hmm,” he said, lifting my hand and kissing it. “I like your ass. Your back. Your tits. But I gotta say, I think your mouth is my favorite.”
I flushed and shook my head. “You cannot seduce me into a better mood.” Even if I wanted him to.
“Oh, Frankie,” Jake drawled slowly. “I like a challenge.”
“You know, I knew that about you.”
He grinned and some of the bricks on my chest eased up. The more distance he put between me and Maddy, the better.
Chapter Ten
Well He’s a Rolling Stone
Archie
Edward’s behavior shouldn’t shock me. It really shouldn’t. In nearly eighteen years, I’d never seen him at a single school function or darken the door of any school I attended until today.
The hell of it was, he wasn’t there for me.
Go figure.
Frankie’s pallor worried the fuck out of me, but she didn’t back down from her mother once. I never got that phrase ‘so proud I could spit’ until I’d seen her shut her mother down not once, not just twice, but three times.
That last comment though, about not being a doll she just got to pick up and play with when she felt like it, deflated all of my pride and left a hollow place for rage. What the hell was wrong with her mother? No one deserved to be treated that way.
Especially not Frankie.
For a spare second, our gazes had locked as Coop hustled her to Jake’s car. Edward’s car door swung open, and I cut behind them so I could block any approach. Jake was ready to run interference, but I needed him to move.
“Keep going, get her out of here.”
I half-expected Bubba to go with them, but he didn’t. Instead, he faced Frankie’s mom as if he had every intention of bodily blocking her from following. Worked for me.
Expression cool, Edward flicked a look from me, to Frankie’s mom, to Jake’s SUV as he backed out of the slip he’d parked in and then accelerated to leave the park. “Are you proud of yourself, Archie?”
I shrugged. “Most days. Not that you care. Must suck that not everything is going the way you want it to.”
“Do you really want to wage this war with me?” The question almost made me smile.
“Pretty sure my actions speak for myself, Edward. I want you to leave Frankie alone. Period. End of story.”
In an ideal world, he’d leave her mother alone, but that bridge had already been breached, it had been burned, and there was no putting it back up. At least not easily, and after everything we’d learned in the last few weeks, I didn’t want to reconstruct it. I wanted both of them as far from Frankie as I could possibly get them.
That woman didn’t deserve a daughter like Frankie.
“Did you forget who controls your accounts?”
“Nope. Grandpa has a very firm grip on my trust fund. You might control the family accounts, so knock yourself out.” It wouldn’t be the first time he threatened to cut me off.
Probably wouldn’t be the last.
Bringing up Grandpa, however, penetrated his veneer of control. “You are treading on thin ice, son.”
I snorted. What was Edward going to do? Take on his father? He hadn’t managed it in all the years we’d been here. I doubted very much he’d take the fight now. It had taken me a while to figure it out, but I had it now.
He’d moved here to wait for Grandpa to die. In an ideal world, for Edward anyway, that death would occur before I turned eighteen. Then Edward would be the one in charge of everything.
That advantage vanished in about ten more days.
“Cut me off,” I said, sliding my hands into my pockets. “I dare you.”
Because bring it on.
I was done playing nice or political. Muriel was off at her retreat or spa or whatever the hell it was she’d checked herself into, in order to cater to her mental and emotional breakdown, or pills and alcohol addiction, I’d lost track. At this point, I’d also lost the effort to care.
Muriel Standish remained in miserable marriage because she could. Maybe it was to punish Edward. Maybe it was because she refused to lose. Or maybe, just maybe, she couldn’t be bothered to separate herself from the Standish fortune. Not that she didn’t have her own money.
I no longer had it in me to give a damn.
The pair was a sperm and egg donor only. Beyond that, I needed to have nothing else to do with them.
“Hell, kick me out. That could be fun.” I half-lived at Frankie’s right now, anyway. I somehow didn’t think Jeremy would go along with his plans, regardless of the circumstances. “Oh wait, you really can’t. The house belongs to Muriel.”
His jaw tightened, and his eyes went flat. “That’s enough, Archie.”
“Oh, I’m just getting started, Eddie.” I hated that nickname and all it implied. I locked gazes with my father and raised my brows. “Stay away from Frankie. She doesn’t want anything to do with this farce you and your mistress are putting on, and neither do I.”
He actually took a threatening step toward me, but I didn’t flinch. Unlike Frankie’s piece of work for a mother, Edward had never raised a fist to me. He threatened. He bullied. He yanked credits cards and privileges. But a guy who was never around didn’t have a lot to work with. For the most part, he got ugly, then he left.
Like that was a burden.
If it weren’t for the way he’d looked at Frankie or that damn dress he bought her, I’d ignore him in this game. Now he’d shown up at the fucking high school to get her. I didn’t care that her mother was with him. Edward edged too close to the line, and it wasn’t ever happening.
“Don’t push me,” Edward warned. “You’re putting ideas in her head and making this far more difficult than it needs to be.”
