by Ivy Fox
“It’s your dime, sweetheart.”
“Why didn’t we take the car?” Holland asks, still trying to catch her breath from our run.
“Because it has a chauffeur with very loose lips that can tell my brothers exactly what we are up to. We are up to something, aren’t we?” I cock a brow, hoping we’re on the same page.
When she gives me a nod, I smile in relief.
“We are, but you’re not going to like it, though,” she warns.
“Ah, honey, I haven’t liked most of the shit that’s been happening in my life for quite some time. I swear, the minute I turned seventeen, it jinxed the whole year for me.” I try to joke but quickly backpedal when I see too many questions in Holland’s gray eyes that I don’t want to answer. “You know Ollie will call and check up on us in an hour or so, and Ash will be done tearing the Coens a new one by then, too. If you’ve got something brewing in that head of yours, we have to act fast.”
“Agreed.” She nods.
“So, where are we going?”
“To the Mannings. I’m going to see my mother,” she explains, her spine instantly stiffening.
“Awesome. Since that nurse lied through her teeth on the stand, I’ve been gunning to slap a bitch,” I retort, rubbing my hands together in delight.
“I’d really rather it didn’t come to that.”
“Sorry. No promises.” I shrug unapologetically, but when I see that my enthusiasm to take Vivienne down a peg is giving Holland cold feet to go through with this, I relent. “Fine! I’ll try my very best to avoid scratching Vivienne’s eyes out. I just hope this visit is worth it, considering that I can’t get my hands on her.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
I tap the partition to grab the cab driver’s attention and give him the Manning’s address. And in no time at all, we find ourselves in their living room waiting for the wicked witch of the Upper East Side.
“These visits are becoming highly annoying, Holland. It seems that I see you more here than I did back at home. It’s a tiresome way of getting my attention, don’t you think?” Vivienne says with an annoyed tone.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Vivienne. The manor was never your home,” I state evenly, crossing my legs with all the finesse in the world.
“Oh, come, Eleanor, I thought we were friends,” she singsongs, taking the seat on the armchair beside me.
“I don’t think you know the meaning of the word. Weren’t you also my mother’s friend at one point? I wonder how she would feel, knowing you are behind a deceitful scheme, putting her firstborn in jail?” I counter, curling my upper lip in disgust.
“I think she would be one hundred percent in my corner. I am defending her husband, after all. Protecting her other children from Roman’s influence.”
“My mother would spit in your face if she were here,” I shout, my cool facade starting to show some cracks.
“But she’s not, is she? I, however, am.” The bitch has the audacity to smirk. “Come to think of it, I’m glad you came to see me, Eleanor. You have been on my mind recently.”
“Really? And why is that?”
“Well, it occurred to me that with Rome in prison, it should fall on me to be your legal guardian. I know that Asher has been in contact with Social Services regarding this matter, but I hardly feel it’s in your best interest for your brother to take on such responsibility. A smart girl like you will agree that a barely legal teenage boy isn’t prepared to handle such a strong woman like yourself, Elle. No, I feel you need a stronger hand to guide you. As a matter of fact, I should contact my lawyers to remedy this at once. Don’t you think?”
I curl my hands into two fists, praying it’s enough to keep me grounded and not bitch-slap this skank to kingdom come. I promised Holland after all, but Vivienne sure knows which buttons to push. Not that I’m one bit unnerved by her threat. I’d petition for emancipation before I’d let Vivienne ever get her hands on me.
“Mother, enough!” Holland shouts, gaining both of our attention.
“Oh, you’re giving me orders now? That’s rich.” She laughs.
“For once in your life, act like a decent human being and do what’s right. Stop throwing around threats and just forget this twisted sense of vengeance that you have going.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” she huffs out, bored.
“Yes, you do, Mother. Just like I know you were the one who paid that nurse to lie for you on the stand today.”
“Me? I would never interfere with justice. I very much respect my late husband’s profession to go to such extents.”
“Good thing we didn’t eat before coming here, or I would hurl and ruin Mrs. Manning’s Persian rug,” I say, overtly sweet, batting my eyelashes at the currently scowling witch.
“Girls, if that is all you came here to say, then I’m sorry you wasted your time. I had nothing to do with Nurse Jenkins’ deposition today. The woman was merely doing what she felt was right, coming forward with her own description of events. Telling the truth shouldn’t be derided as you two are doing. It’s an admirable trait I wish more people would have. Especially the people in this very room.”
“Are you kidding me? Are you really going to give us a lecture on dignity and truth? Well, how about this truth bomb, Mother. I know you gave me to Malcolm. I know you were fully aware he never saw me as a stepdaughter but rather a prey to ruin and tarnish. I know, Mother. I know!!!” Holland shouts, her whole body trembling with rage.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Vivienne retorts with a firm, strict tone. She starts walking over to the Manning’s bar at the side of the room to pour herself a drink, but Holland stops her before she’s able to take another step by grabbing her arm and getting in her face.
“Enough games, Vivienne. I know what you did. Malcolm told me before he tried to defile me. How could you? How could you, Mother?! I’m your daughter! Your daughter! And you just threw me to the wolves and didn’t lose one ounce of sleep doing it. How do you live with yourself?” Holland roars so loudly that I, too, get up from my seat, ready to sling justice Vivienne’s way.
Vivienne snatches her wrist away from Holland’s grip to point a menacing finger in her daughter’s face.
“Stupid girl! If you say anything like this to anyone else, I will lock you up in a loony bin so fast it will make your head spin. You hear me?!”
“Are you suggesting Holland is making this up?” I holler, already at Holland’s side.
“Of course, she is! Malcolm was a good, honest man. He would never do anything my daughter is accusing him of. Listen to your heart, Eleanor. Do you really believe him capable of such a vile thing? Your father adored you. You were always his favorite. Would a man that gushed nonstop about his daughter ever hurt mine?”
“You’re right. I was his favorite. And because I knew my father as well as I did, I also know what a monster he was. And something tells me that Holland knows exactly what type of monster you are too, Vivienne. If I were you, I’d be very careful with what you do next. Karma is a bitch, one that’s itching to slap you with everything you’ve got coming. Be careful, Vivienne,” I warn with the same arctic tone that would make even my asshole of a father proud. “We’re done here. Come on, Holland.”
I pull my stepsister away from the monster that is her mother and rush us both out of there as fast as I can. It’s only when I’m about to reach the door that I see a sinister smile taking pleasure in my pain. Trevor leans against a doorframe, arms crossed at his chest, taking in Holland’s perturbed state and my enraged one.
At this time of day, he should be in class, not here. But I guess what Holland told the twins and me a few weeks ago is true. He must have ditched school to spend some alone time with his cougar sidepiece. Without his mommy and daddy home, I’m sure they get into all sorts of vomit-inducing activities. I wouldn’t put it past him to have eavesdropped on our whole conversation, biding his time until he could go and console h
is girlfriend after our impromptu visit. So, like the perfect polished lady of society that I was brought up to be, I throw him the bird and mouth ‘fuck you’, accompanied by my sweetest sarcastic smile, before slamming the door behind us.
When we both get downstairs, Holland and I know that there is only one thing left to do to get Rome out of this mess—and that’s going to the cops.
Chapter 20
Elle
I fucked up.
I fucked up big time.
Instead of freeing my brother with the truth, I’ve only managed to make our lives worse. The police didn’t believe a word Holland told them about what really happened that night with my father. Instead, they threatened to lock us both up for trying to provide false testimony and obstruction of justice. The stress of no one believing us was so extreme that Holland passed out right there in the middle of the precinct. And now my brothers will have to bear the news that the woman they love only has five more years to punch in her time card.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Ash growls when he sees me, his nostrils flaring in anger.
Ollie consolingly squeezes my shoulder, trying to take the sting out of Asher’s greeting as we both follow him into Holland’s hospital room. Unfortunately, the minute Asher’s gaze falls on Holland’s frail form, he freezes at the foot of her bed in utter panic and fear.
Seeing as his twin is too overwhelmed by the loud machines and tubes sticking out of their girlfriend, Ollie quickly leaves my side and sits on the edge of her bed, planting a soft kiss on her dry, chapped lips. He whispers something in her ear that makes her smile before he draws his attention back to the panicked brother who remains frozen. As if Ollie’s stare is enough to slap Asher out of his stupor, he walks to the other side of the bed, picks up Holland’s hand, and gently begins to stroke her fingers.
“You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met,” he says softly, carefully placing a kiss to her open palm close to where the IV is inserted.
“Sorry.”
“Not as sorry as you’ll be when I punish that ass of yours until my handprint is branded on it—nice and red—after you get better,” Ash jokes with a gentle smile.
“Geez, Ash, do you have to be such a Neanderthal right now?” I interject, feigning that I’m outraged by his light teasing of spanking his girlfriend.
“Don’t you dare start with me, Elle. You deserve a good spanking, too. Maybe I should ask Chad to do it for me. Or would you rather I get his sidekick to do it instead? Saint seems like he’d be up to marking you. Actually, I bet ‘choir boy’ Chad would, too. Maybe they would like to take turns in swatting some sense into you because it’s damn fucking obvious you can’t take an order for shit.”
“Oh, bite me, Asher!” I yell, cheeks blazing.
“Eat me, Eleanor!”
“Guys, shut it, will you?” Ollie patiently intervenes. “We’ve got more important things to talk about. What did the doctor say?”
We all stare at Holland, waiting for her to explain what is going on, but she just bows her head, her fingers tugging at the hem of her bedsheet.
She doesn’t want to tell them.
Because once she does, she won’t be able to take it back.
“Snow? What did he say?” Ash repeats the question, his own voice trembling with caution as he softly brushes her white cheek with his knuckles.
Damn it all to hell!
“Her kidney’s shot. She’s on dialysis. That’s what that machine is right there,” I blurt out hoarsely, pointing at a loud, ugly machine before biting my thumbnail with worry.
“Dialysis? Why? What are you girls hiding from us? Out with it!” Ash demands, his menacing stare bouncing from his mute girlfriend and then back to me, his gaze requiring I give him answers.
“Fine. Just give me a minute, asshole!” I huff, my own anxiety doing a number on me. “Okay. So, from what I’ve been able to gather when that shitshow went down during the Christmas fashion show back at school, the doctor told Holland that this was going to happen. The exams showed she needed to start dialysis as soon as possible since her kidney can no longer do its job without it. With all the crap our family has been dealing with lately, I think Snow pushed it to the back burner, and her kidney paid the price.”
“I don’t understand. What does that mean?” Ash croaks out, his frightened gaze bouncing off of Holland and me.
I shift from one foot to the other, hating that I’m going to be the one to deliver this heartbreaking bombshell.
“How long does she have before we find a suitable donor?” Ollie asks me, getting straight to the heart of the problem.
“Five years,” I reply anxiously. “At least that’s what I heard the doctor tell her before he pumped her full of drugs.” When my sweet, sensitive brother pales at the deadline given to his love, my chest tightens. “Ollie, please don’t go there,” I beg, walking over to him and hugging him.
“I’m not,” he lies, squeezing my hand with his.
But while Ollie’s heart is breaking in front of me, Asher’s agony makes him lash out.
Nothing new there.
“Where’s this fucking doctor?!” he yells, running out the door, ready to bring this whole hospital down with his rage and suffering.
“Go to him. He needs you,” Holland whispers, looking utterly exhausted. “I’m just going to rest here for a while. I’ll be okay. Go, Ollie.”
“Stay with her,” Ollie commands as he runs out of the room to go after our unhinged brother.
As if he needs to tell me twice.
Ollie races after Ash while I take his place beside Holland’s bedside.
“Thank you,” she whispers hoarsely to me, her eyelids struggling to remain open. “For telling them, I mean. I just… just couldn’t do it.”
“I know. It’s okay. Besides, what are sisters for?” I smile meekly, trying my damn best to be brave for her.
“I haven’t exactly been the best sister to you, have I? I know you’re still upset with me for not telling you the whole truth right from the beginning.” The trace of a frown on her lips as she tries to squeeze my hand brings a pang to my chest.
“We’re good, Snow. Right now, my only concern is for you to get better.”
She turns her head upwards on her pillow, her chest heaving to take in air.
“Why didn’t they believe us, Elle? Why?” she mumbles in pain, her mind not focusing on her current failing health but on the absent brother that she loves.
“We’ll make them believe us, Snow. Somehow we’ll find a way.”
“Viam inveniam aut faciam,” she whispers to herself before closing her eyes.
My heart swells with both hope and sadness as she utters the words Rome has tattooed on his skin like they are the prayer she needs to keep repeating in order for them to come true.
We will find a way.
Somehow, we will get my brother out of this mess.
We have to. My father’s death will not be the thing that will steal my brother’s happiness.
I won’t let it.
“Elle,” Holland gruffly calls out, bringing me out of my pensive reverie.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I reply, my forehead wrinkling in confusion as to what brought this on.
“I just wanted to say that in case I get worse and don’t get around to telling the people I care about how much they mean to me.”
“Shush, Snow. You’ll have plenty of time for that. This is just a hiccup in your long happy life of putting up with my brothers. I promise you,” I reply, trying desperately to keep my tears at bay.
Me crying in front of her right now won’t help her in any way. What she needs is to keep the faith that she’ll get through this. She just has to.
“Getting a donor that matches my blood type won’t be easy. I’ve done my research, Elle. It’s not that cut and dry.”
“I don’t want you to
worry about that now,” I repeat lovingly. “Just rest and focus on getting better. The rest will fall into place.”
“You’re very optimistic today, considering the day we had.” She manages to smile.
“Am I?”
“Hmm.” She nods. “I think maybe spending so much time with Pembroke High’s notorious bad boy has rubbed off on you. Surprisingly, I always assumed if there was anyone who could get you to see the bright side of things, it would be Chad. Never in a million years would I have thought Saint, of all people, to be such a good influence on you.”
I worry my bottom lip, feeling the blush coating my cheeks.
“So, you know, huh? Do the twins?”
She shakes her head, her smile still in place.
“No. They’re so busy taking care of me and helping Rome that they haven’t caught on that you’re dating him. I’ve had my suspicions for a while now, and when I saw Santiago sneak out of the manor early this morning, they were all confirmed.”
“Are you going to tell them? My brothers?”
“Not if you don’t want me to. It’s your life, Elle. You should live it the way you want, without anyone’s opinion or judgment to influence it. I am curious, though. Does he make you happy?”
“Yes. Very much,” I reply instantly, unable to hide just how much.
“Good. I want to see you happy.”
“And I am. Very much.”
Even though it must take a tremendous amount of effort on her part, she squeezes my hand and opens her eyes wider to look me straight in the eye.
“How does Chad fit in all this, though?”
“He doesn’t,” I deadpan.
“Ah, I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Why?” I arch an inquisitive brow at her somber expression.
“Because it’s clear he adores the ground you walk on.”
“Not anymore.”
“Are you sure? A love like that doesn’t just go away. Trust me, I know from experience. After my fall out with Ash and Ollie, I tried very hard not to keep loving them, but in the end, I just couldn’t. Love doesn’t die like that.”
