Bad Girl Blues

by Brenda Barrett

  She was prepared for awkward but when she got to class she was greeted by a faint, distant smile from him and she was handed a sheet of paper. He looked handsome as usual, and very businesslike.

  "Surprise test," Nick said when most of the class was seated. "I couldn't sleep on Monday night and I decided to write a test to check if you are reading ahead or even if you are reading at all."

  "What got into him?" Kenzy groaned beside her. "He was so nice on Monday. Dr. Handsome is turning into a monster."

  Brigid looked at the paper and her heart sank. She had not even gotten the chance to open the textbook. She had been so preoccupied with thinking about Nick and her lie to him that she didn't feel the chemistry between them, and she had exercised a few of her brain cells over Thomas and his offer for her to live with him. He had been texting her even more frequently now, begging her to come and live with him.

  She also spent a big chunk of her time thinking about her barren spiritual life and the bind that she had gotten herself into with the whole escort thing. She had even given Sonia's family secret a thought or two, wondering what it could be. Their little heart-to-heart had not been repeated nor was any mention of it welcomed.

  So much was going on in her life. She hadn't even given her new textbook a look over. She couldn't even remember what was on the cover, or the color of the thing.

  She looked up to the front of the class and her eyes connected with Nick’s. He had a sneer in them, as if he was reading her mind and anticipating that she would fail the test.

  She hurriedly looked back down at her desk and the back of the paper. She reasoned that he hated her now and she was probably the reason for this test, because she had turned him down on Monday.

  "Your test begins now. Only write your ID numbers on the papers, no names. These are simple multiple-choice questions covering three chapters," Nick declared. "You have half an hour. Testing conditions apply."

  Brigid picked up the paper gingerly. She was going to fail this test. She imagined Nick marking the paper and then having a good laugh when he saw her grade.

  She gritted her teeth, determined to at least get an average grade. Her heart sank when she saw the first question. The whole thing seemed like it was written in a different language. It was going to be hard.

  "When in doubt I circled B," Kenzy whispered when they passed the papers to the front. Nick collected the papers and redistributed them for the class to mark.

  Brigid looked around and wondered who had her paper. She was sure that she had circled more B's than she should have. She had been so clueless about some of the answers she had resorted to that little quirky college rule.

  She could feel it in her bones, though, that she failed the test. Her first test in med school, and she had flunked it. She was sure that this was the harbinger of things to come. She would flunk all of her other tests. And all of her efforts to get in to med school would be for naught. Naught. Zero. Fail.

  She marked the paper that she had in front of her. The person got eighty percent. Good for them.

  She looked over at Kenzy. Her person got a high grade too. They handed the papers to Nick and waited for him to record the grades while they did a group assignment.

  Brigid was relieved when class was dismissed. The whole class swarmed Nick's desk as they collected their papers.

  Brigid hung back and Kenzy sat with her.

  "It's just one test." Kenzy laughed at her downcast expression. "Just five percent of the grade. Why do you look like the world is about to crumple in on itself?"

  Brigid looked at her. "I don't want to fail anything in med school. I can't afford to, unlike you, Miss Trust Fund Rich Daddy Kid. I need a scholarship."

  "Lighten up." Kenzy grinned. "Failure is a good thing. It motivates you to want to succeed next time."

  Brigid swallowed back her rude reply. She was not in the mood for Kenzy's little witticisms.

  When the crowd around Nick thinned out, Kenzy got up. "Coming?"

  Brigid shook her head. "Maybe I shouldn't collect mine."

  "You are such a drama queen." Kenzy grinned. She collected her paper and came back to where Brigid sat.

  "I passed," She said waved the paper in front of Brigid. "If I can pass a Biochemistry test, I am sure you aced it. Stop being so melodramatic." She whispered. "I know you want all of us to leave so that you can get Dr. Hunk to himself. Okay, see you Friday."

  Brigid groaned as she watched Kenzy walk away. Was she subconsciously lingering because she wanted to be alone with Nick? To tell him that she had been a liar on Monday and that she felt attracted to him too?

  She went over to his desk after counting to ten in her head. Two girls were standing there chatting. They didn't look as if they wanted to leave.

  Nick looked up before she could speak.

  "Brigid Manderson." He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her the paper. "Maybe your personal life is interfering with your school life."

  He said it with such disdain that Brigid reluctantly looked down at the paper and then her heart sank. She had gotten forty percent. One of the girls looked at her paper and grinned.

  Brigid nodded shakily. Maybe it was. She felt so embarrassed.

  Forty-two! She had a Biochemistry degree and she got forty-two in an intro class.

  Kenzy, ditzy Kenzy, who was going to med school because her Daddy insisted on it, had passed and yet she had gotten forty-two percent.

  "Brigid!" Nick called to her as she was about to step through the door. Brigid didn't even pause. She couldn't. She had tears in her eyes and she didn't want him to see her crying.

  She stepped through the door without acknowledging him. She was such a doofus. He probably thought that she was an airhead, an idiot, a dunce…mentally challenged. Maybe he thought that she had bought her first degree in Biochemistry, or slept her way through undergraduate school.

  Right now he was probably laughing with the girls standing at his desk and saying, That girl Brigid is something else. How on earth did she get into med school?

  She headed to her car and sat at the wheel and stared through the windshield with a burning feeling in her chest.

  Chapter Ten

  Brigid drove slowly toward Sonia's apartment. Her eyes were red and felt gritty after she had succumbed to a bout of crying before driving from the school’s parking lot. She would not give into that sort of weakness again. From here on out she would not let anything come between her and her schoolwork. She had gradually worked out her anger toward Nick when she turned into the townhouse entrance. He wasn't to blame for her flunking the test. His little warning that maybe her personal life was affecting her school life had found its mark.

  She got out of the car. She needed to talk to somebody. Even Sonia would be a welcome listening ear although she would be unsympathetic to her plight.

  She opened the front door and was greeted by chaos. There were three men standing in the living room area while Sonia flitted about packing clothes in a suitcase and stuffing empty boxes with what looked like random stuff.

  "What's going on?" Brigid asked. Alarm shot through her body and her heart started pounding in fear. One of the men, a fierce-looking guy with a bulldog-looking face and unruly plaits, swung around and looked at her.

  "Is this the kid, Sonia?"

  "Yes." Sonia's voice was muffled. Her whole body was twanging with tension.

  Brigid braced herself on the door. "Sonia?"

  She could sense the danger in the air. The other two men were dressed all in black and looked just as fierce as the bulldog one. They had swung around and were staring at her too. One of them licked his lips.

  Brigid shuddered in distaste.

  "It’s all right, Brigid," Sonia said tremulously. "We just have to leave."

  "Leave? Why?" Brigid looked from Sonia to the guy and back again. Were they being robbed? Who was this thug-looking guy that looked like he could snap her in two if she came closer?

  "Yes. Leave." He growled. "Your mother h
ere is not the rightful owner of this apartment. I am. My name is Ed Turner. My friends..." he stretched the friends, making Brigid know that she would never be one, "call me Big Ed."

  "But..." Brigid was confused. Sonia had told her that she had been with a drug dealer and he had left all his money to her. She struggled to remember the story that Sonia had given her when she had moved in here with her.

  Big Ed relaxed his aggressive stance marginally when he saw how confused she was. "Your mother and I were in a relationship. I went to prison because I was falsely accused of a crime that I did not commit and I left Sonia here to hold the fort until I got out. Only to find that she has completely flipped my escort business to some fluffy dating thing and she is using my money like it's hers. And all of this without a single visit while I was in prison."

  Big Ed smiled at her, showing a gold tooth at the front of his mouth. The smile didn't reach his eyes.

  "I am guessing that Sonia didn't tell you about me?"

  "Well...no." Brigid swallowed. "I thought that this was Sonia's place... and that you were dead." She looked at Sonia accusingly. Sonia was always a bag of surprises.

  "No," Ed said abruptly, as if he was tired of explaining. "This is my house. Sonia was my main woman until she decided to forget that I was still alive. You know what..." He swung around and looked at Sonia. "I am giving you the opportunity to drive out of here in the Toyota. It is in your name. Everything else—the business... the money—touch it anymore and I kill you. You are lucky that you didn't take another man while I was in jail or you'd be dead now too."

  Brigid felt her insides quivering. Ed looked around at her. "Go pack and get the hell out of here with her."

  Brigid ran upstairs to the second floor, feeling a sense of confusion and disillusionment.

  Sonia had lied to her? She had not even listened closely to Sonia's explanation about her finances and her former boyfriend. She had just leapt at the chance to live with her, not remembering that she had a bag of secrets.

  Why hadn't she closely examined Sonia's history? She should have known better. Wealth like Sonia's didn't come without strings attached, and more fool her. She hadn't wanted to look too closely at the strings attached.

  She took down her suitcases, the ones she carried with her to the house nearly two years ago, and emptied her clothes drawers in them willy-nilly. She had no time to pack anything neatly. She didn't trust the unleashed violence she sensed in Big Ed. She grabbed her school material and hoped that she hadn't left anything behind; she had a sneaky suspicion that she wouldn't get the chance to retrieve anything once she left. She looked around the room frantically and then finally closed the suitcases, sitting on them to get them to close the latch.

  She hauled one bag at a time outside and stood in the driveway. All the while Big Ed and his men watched her balefully.

  Sonia joined her a few minutes later with several bags of her own.

  "Well, that's it," Sonia sighed when they were standing outside with ten bags and suitcases between them. "It was a good run."

  Brigid looked at her, bewildered. "What do you mean a good run? A good run! For the love of all that's holy, Sonia. You have plenty of explaining to do."

  Sonia nodded. "Yes, I guess I do. Big Ed and I had a thing going for years, maybe about six or so. He went to prison for a while; now he is out. Help me load the car."

  "The car can't hold everything," Brigid said, a sharp shivery feeling encompassing her. "I can't believe this. I have nowhere to live. What about my school fee for the summer, for the year as you promised? You were supposed to give me the check by the end of the week!"

  "Sorry kiddo," Sonia said, a slant to her mouth. "I can't manage that now. We have got to think about our survival. The business is really Big Ed's too. So I guess I am going to have to start all over again. Why did they have to let him out of prison? I am telling you, the justice system is a joke."

  "What on earth am I going to do?" Brigid sat down on one of her bulging suitcases. Her whole life was literally being torn apart. So much for Caitlin telling her to pray about her situation. She had, and look what it had brought her!

  "Don't worry. We can start something up in no time," Sonia said, heading to the car while looking back at the house fearfully. "With you as my star escort."

  Brigid didn't even respond. She couldn't think. She couldn't move. "Where are we going?" She could barely squeeze the question out.

  Sonia contemplated the question, and then smiled. "Thomas Kellier's, of course. He called today, said he wanted to see you. You left your cell phone, I answered. Luckily, I packed it in my handbag."

  "No!" Brigid shook her head vigorously. "No way!"

  "We can at least leave our suitcases at his place," Sonia said calmly. "It will give us a chance to regroup and plan. After all, you are his girlfriend."

  "Paid girlfriend," Brigid said through gritted teeth. "I can't show up at his place with my bags and my whole life crashing around me!"

  "Yes, you can. Come on." Sonia inclined her head. "Before Big Ed gets impatient and decides to do away with me once and for all."

  *****

  "I am so sorry about this," Brigid apologized to Thomas for the tenth time since they drove up to his house in their overloaded car. The trunk of the vehicle couldn't even close. She had driven slowly up into the hills where he lived, hoping that one of the bags did not fall out.

  She had called her sisters. None of them had answered. She hadn't expected anything less at this time of the day, though. Caitlin was working at Lux, probably had her phone off. Hazel was away for a week to the Cayman Islands for some honorary dinner that they were having for her husband and Casey had gone to the airport to pick up a cousin and a friend of hers who were spending the summer in Jamaica.

  The apartment was going to be off limits anyway, and that had been her first choice of accommodation. Her other option was a long shot: Patricia Benedict. But she wouldn't call Patricia—too many explanations and recriminations and lectures and she didn't want any pity. She had had a life full of pity. Besides, she was a tad bit fearful of Patricia's husband, Simeon.

  "Hey," Thomas snapped his fingers "You zoned out there on me."

  "Sorry," Brigid sighed. "I just can't believe that this is happening."

  "It's no trouble for you to stay here," Thomas said, a satisfied tinge to his voice. "It's my pleasure. I invited you to stay before, remember?"

  "As your live-in girlfriend," Brigid whispered, looking around for Sonia. She didn't want her to overhear the conversation. Sonia was already exploring the house with a proprietary air that was causing Brigid discomfort. She could hear her heels click-clicking thorough the spacious hallways as she looked around.

  "Yes," Thomas nodded, "but we can take it slow. I understand that you are not like other girls and you are shy and skittish. I am looking forward to wooing you, Brigid. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since Monday night. No, scratch that... since I met you."

  Brigid jumped up from the seat as if prodded by a stick. "Thomas, please stop. I can't register all of that right now; I had a hell of a day. Emphasis on hell."

  "Okay," Thomas said, "slow is how you want it, slow is what you'll get."

  He got up and stood beside her. They were almost the same height when she wasn't wearing heels.

  "There are six bedrooms in this place. Sonia can choose from five. You can choose any one of the six. I'll get Maisie to help you to settle in."

  Brigid shot him a look of consternation and he smiled apologetically, "Sorry. I will be a gentleman, I promise. That is, I will be a gentleman until you don't want me to be. After all, we have all summer and beyond."

  Brigid shuddered. What was she doing? She should just get her bags now and run down the hill, go somewhere—anywhere. Maybe even find a bed at Magnolia House. She was playing with fire. Thomas promised to go slow and to be hands-off but he was looking at her like he was a starving man. She wasn't so naive that she didn't know what his looks meant
. He made it very obvious that he was sexually attracted to her.

  Neither was she oblivious to the self-satisfied looks he had been bestowing on her. She had shown up at his place, ripe for the picking; he had won. His wealth had won. She was just like every other girl, unable to resist. A pushover.

  Brigid closed her eyes in sheer exhaustion when she thought about what coming here must say about her, but she didn't want to think right now. She was already here.

  "So Sonia's your mother, huh?" Thomas asked, intruding on her thoughts. "You guys don't resemble much."

  Brigid nodded and walked to the end of the patio and looked over Thomas' back lawn. She had this insane urge to cry but she had already cried today about her stupid grade and the fact that Nick seemed to despise her.

  Nick. What would he think of me now? Not much.

  Thomas followed her. "Look, there is no need to feel so burdened, Brigid. I am happy to help you solve your problems, and I am happy that you thought of me as your shelter in the time of your storm."

  "Sonia thought of you," Brigid said, looking out at his manicured lawn and farther on the view of the hills. The day was just placidly going along as if it hadn't dealt her blow after blow. "I just followed along with Sonia. I need to stop doing that."

  She slumped her shoulders. "My sisters told me not to trust her but I did. She is my mother. That's what I reasoned. Now here I am. Homeless. Jobless. Medical school-less. That's what I get for aligning myself with Sonia. My sister Caitlin calls her the devil in female form."

  Thomas put his hand over hers on the rail. "Technically, you still have a job with me."

  "There is that." Brigid glanced at him. "Hooray."

  Thomas chuckled. "That's the saddest hooray I have ever heard. Seriously, Brigid, you can stay here for as long as you want. That takes care of the homeless part, and if you really want I can pay for med school as well."