Now that she knew, only half my plan was over. I still needed my money. I wasn’t worried about some snot nose brat finding out I was boffing daddy.
It’s the wife who he’d want to keep in the dark. From past experience, I know there are always ways around the offspring. But I have to move faster than expected now.
Couldn’t have her losing her damn mind and running to her weakling of a mother.
I finally calmed down enough to make the call I’d started to.
“Liz, tomorrow, before class, we need to have a little meeting just you and I. I think it’s time I took care of this little problem we’ve been having.”
“It’s about time, I’m getting tired of those fat freaks being thought of as the most popular girls.
All of a sudden everybody wants to be their friend, and that overgrown whale has the nerve to think she can have my Shane.”
I’m so not interested but can’t let her know that now can I? Liz is one of those things I picked up along the way in my travels.
I’ve been collecting people like her for a while now, ever since I realized the importance of having people to answer to me.
Liz’s family is like the typical middle child. Not quite as adorable as the baby and definitely not the heir.
They do okay, but nowhere near Howard’s level, in fact, none of the girls on my team come from families that are wealthier than Howard, or even in the same ballpark.
I think maybe that was a subconscious move on my part. I don’t like anything or anyone that challenges me, whether outright or implied.
That’s why me, and that Belle person never got along.
“Calm down. We all know this little farce is just a passing phase. Jace is just doing this to get back at me for some nonsense, but we both know Jace and I were meant for each other.”
“Uh Mandy, I know you told the others that but you do know that I know that’s not true, you’re not even Howard’s daughter and...”
My loud scream cut her off midstream.
“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean...”
“Shut, the fuck, up, I told you never to mention that, how dare you?” She thinks I don’t know that they all pity me, that their parents all look down on me and their mothers still talk about mine and how she stole another woman’s husband.
“Just be there tomorrow at our place, and don’t tell anyone, not even Kelly.”
I hung up the phone before she could ask any more questions. That last crack was gonna cost her too. Every time I think that enough time had passed so most people would forget that I wasn’t Howard’s biological daughter, some asshole has to go and remind me.
It probably didn’t help that the old son of a bitch refused to adopt me and now I’m almost too old.
It was still widely believed that I was at least in the will, and even a pittance from Howard Bellamy’s estate would still be a pretty penny.
So I knew that people wouldn’t outright snub me. Those who do are going to pay dearly once Jace and I take over this town.
I had one more call to make before it was bedtime. We had a big game tomorrow, and I wanted to be in tiptop shape.
“Hey what’s up? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you tonight.”
“Shut up and listen. You ready to get some of your own back?”
“You know I do.”
“Come over in half an hour, everyone should be asleep by then.”
“Am I coming up the window again?”
“No, I’ll let you in the backdoor this time. Bring a rubber.”
I hung up and rubbed myself between my legs. I was hot already and we hadn’t even started yet.
I know he would be perfect for what I had in mind. He’s a sick little puppy that one. Something else I’d found out through my little grapevine.
These days, I don’t even bother listening in at holes. I let my little spy-cams do all the work.
By the time he was through, all my problems would be over and no one would be the wiser.
Chapter 3
CASSANDRA
I can imagine why he didn’t show up to get me, but of course I couldn’t say anything to Sian about it. I can’t say anything to anyone.
I braced myself before entering the house. I know mom would be expecting him to come back with me, and I was running out of excuses to give her each time he pulled one of these stunts.
Pretty soon, she’s going to figure out that something’s going on; if she hasn’t already.
Sometimes I wonder; there’s no way she can be that blind, it’s obvious even to me, and I’m a novice at this relationship stuff.
I feel so torn lately, the father who I loved and adored my whole life, has become a stranger. Ever since mom gave birth to twins and one of them was a stillborn son.
It was subtle at first, the differences. First were the late nights when before he couldn’t wait to get home to us.
Then came the avoidance, where it got so I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen them both in the same room together.
Even their friends envied their closeness once. Then I noticed the secret phone calls late at night, but now they came at all hours, even at dinnertime.
I knew something was wrong when I started suffering from what the doctors call nervous stomach.
It was as if my body was warning me of the danger ahead, only when my dad left the house would I get these vicious attacks, so it didn’t take a scientist to figure out the cause.
Of course everyone blamed it on the loss of my little brother. That was sad as all hell, but I didn’t even have a chance to mourn him, because I was too busy trying to keep mom from finding out, trying to keep our world from unraveling even more than it already had.
I was nervous all the time and started to hover over mom and the baby as if my being there would make up for his absence somehow.
Mom seemed tired a lot lately, and she didn’t fix herself up as much, but that was to be expected with a new baby, though she had servants to help out.
But the worst of it, the absolute sign that my life was about to be disrupted in a most horrid way was the yelling and the fighting.
In all my life, I’d never heard my dad say a cross word to my mother. In fact, he seemed to worship her.
Now, it’s as if he can’t stand to be in the same room with her. I don’t remember the last time I saw him kiss her, not even in goodbye.
He still found time for the baby, and for me sometimes, but not as much as before.
When he was at home, he was always shut away in his office or downstairs in the game room.
It was there I had caught them in the early summer. I had built up my courage to confront dad about what he was doing to mom.
I’d found her crying in the greenhouse and instead of going to her, I’d left her there and ran back to my room to think.
I knew if something wasn’t done, that my family would be lost.
I’d waited until late at night, when I was sure that mom would be asleep. She was in the habit of taking sleep aids now, and the nanny was responsible for the baby during the night.
At first, I thought that the nanny might be the one he was with down there when I heard the noises.
I’m not a complete dweeb, I know the sounds of sex when I hear them, but still my feet kept moving.
In a small part of my mind, I knew that I would find my father there with someone other than my mom.
But another part of me couldn’t accept; so I kept moving until I was standing in the shadows looking down at the two bodies as they moved together.
I remember thinking how weirdly beautiful sex looked. I became frozen in place, a scream of horror trapped in my throat.
I couldn’t see her face his body covered her completely. All I saw were her feet and part of her legs as they wrapped around him, seeming to be pulling his body into the one beneath it.
I don’t remember how I got back up the stairs, but I do remember having the sense to hide so I could see who she was.
&
nbsp; Thinking that maybe if I knew who she was, I could talk to this person at a later time and tell her what she was doing to our family.
I sat there for a while before I heard them heading up the stairs. I got shakily to my feet and peered around the corner.
My gasp was so loud I was sure it would be heard, but they did not turn back to me.
I went to bed that night more afraid than I’d ever been before. The pain in my stomach intensified and a hate grew along with it.
I hated my father from that day until now. I wasn’t sure what hurt most. That he was cheating on my mother, or that he was doing it with someone who had made my life a living hell?
I didn’t know what to do; there was no way I was confronting that snake, I know her only too well. She’d get even more pleasure out of knowing that she’s hurting me.
She’d come to the house, what did that mean? That she didn’t care if mom found out? But then what? After she breaks up my family does she get to marry my dad?
The thought had sent me to the bathroom to throw up.
It’s been months now and I still haven’t figured out what to do. Mom seems to be coming back to herself, but dad hasn’t gone back to the way things were.
If I tell mom now it will only destroy her and all the progress she’s made will be for nothing.
Sian is the only one who’s picked up on something being wrong, then again, she’s the closest thing to a friend that I’ve ever had.
But I can’t tell even her. If anything is to be done, I’ll have to be the one to do it.
“Where’s your dad?” Just as I expected, that was mom’s first question. She looked so hopeful with her hair all done up and her nails done.
She hadn’t done stuff like that in a long time. I use to be mad at her for that, for letting her self go after the baby and everything. Use to think that it was her fault that dad did the things he did.
Now I feel ashamed of myself for having thought that. After all the research, I now knew that it was unfair of dad not to have been there for his family.
“Uh, I think he got hung up at the shoot or something, it’s no problem, Sian brought me home.”
“Well, did you girls have fun?” I could see the stark disappointment in her eyes and felt like I was contributing to her suffering.
How could I not tell her? What kind of daughter am I? I felt like I was bleeding inside and wanted to bash dad in his stupid face until he came to his senses.
I should just tell mom everything now and be done with it. I didn’t want to carry this filthy secret inside me any more.
Instead I kept my silence and told her all about our plans for the upcoming party and the big game the next day.
She had been a cheerleader in high school and college and I’d thought to try out for her. I had no real interest other than it was something that would make mom proud.
“I’m very glad you’re making friends hon, I can see a huge change in you, although I can’t help feeling there’s something bothering you. Won’t you tell me?”
She came over and brushed my hair with her hand. She hasn’t done that in a long time. “I know I haven’t been here for you in a while sweetie, I’m sorry, let me make it up to you, tell me what’s hurting you.”
I looked at her for a long minute as I bit back the tears. It was the first time in my life I realized that sometimes, you just don’t need to know everything.
I know I would give my eyeteeth not to know dad’s dirty little secret.
I guess I had made my decision after all. “Nothing’s bothering me mom. It’s just school stuff, you know.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to move past her.
Now, with the decision made, I needed to be away from her. Couldn’t bear to look in her face with that great lie between us.
In this too, my dad had betrayed me. He alone was responsible for the wedge that would forever be between my mother and I.
Whether she ever found out or not, I will always know that I knew, and because I’m such a coward, couldn’t tell.
My anger was blinding as I made my way up the stairs to my room. And that’s probably why I did what I did, why I made the call.
She was just as vile as I imagined her to be when the mask was off. With each word from her mouth, my hate grew stronger and I lost a little more of my youthful innocence.
I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be after, but I hung up with a new purpose. Mom must never find out, no matter what.
I could see clearly now that something like this would kill her. Mandy didn’t care about anyone else but herself; it would mean nothing to her to destroy a whole family. She’d just pick the pieces up and move onto the next victim.
I felt the betrayal in my gut like a sharp hot poker and longed for the days of just a year ago, when my life was perfect and I had no cares in the world except my next music recital.
I finally crawled into bed a little later after I heard my father come home and the obligatory squabble between he and mom.
My last thought before falling asleep was how to make them pay.
Chapter 4
JACE
Today is the day. We’ve got the big game tonight and I just had a very promising talk with my girl’s parents.
I was on top of the world as I followed her to school in my car. I wasn’t driving her today because there will be too much going on tonight after the game, and I didn’t want her waiting around a darkened parking lot for me after we came back.
I pulled in beside her and went to help her out of her car. I kissed her hungrily right there in her opened car door, not caring too much about who was around.
“I missed your mouth, feels like I haven’t kissed you in forever.” I bit into her bottom lip before sucking her tongue into my mouth.
She was just as hungry for my mouth as I was hers and we ate at each other’s tongues until the nosy ass kids around us started their shit.
My hands were buried in her hair, which was now a mess, when I lifted my head.
“He said yes.” She grinned wide before her face changed again.
“That means he’s gonna know what we’re doing when we...”
“Calm down baby, don’t panic. I’m pretty sure he already knew we were making love. He said he was proud of us for coming to them like this, and he appreciates it. So you see, nothing to be embarrassed about, we’re doing okay on the parent front.”
She still buried her face in my chest. “Thanks for handling it alone, I couldn’t...”
I knew that, and that’s why I had spoken to her mom and dad on my own and told her only afterwards. My baby’s nerves can get the best of her sometimes.
“Let’s head over to the field.” I wanted to get some throws in with my boys, plus I needed to keep an eye on her.
She thought she was fooling me with her shit but I know her, something’s fucking with her. If she won’t talk I’m just gonna have to make an end run around her ass and I know just how to do it too.
Jared was going to work on Belle and Shane on Tammy. Between the three of us I figured we could out maneuver three little females.
Yep, it wasn’t long after she was out of my arms that she was back to biting her nails and looking around nervously. That shit made my guts hurt, but I held my tongue.
No sense in asking her again if she wasn’t ready to talk, but we were gonna have to do something about this shit. I wasn’t too jazzed about the not knowing what was going on with her.
I threw a few with my guys but my heart wasn’t in it, which was fucked. Why is it that women can have that much control over us men? She’s going through some shit, so of course it fucks with my life.
When she smiled at me as I jogged my way over to her, I forgot all about the vagaries of being in love though.
Her smile always have this way of touching something deep inside me, making everything else seem so not worth it.
I snatched her up and twirled her around before planting another one on her. “Hi baby.”
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bsp; “Hi silly.” She grinned down at me and tugged on my hair.
“You sure you’re okay, nothing’s hurting you?” So I couldn’t help it, sue me.
She took her time answering and I guess she had given more thought to whatever she was dealing with since last night, enough to give me a little more than she had been.
“I promise you that it has nothing to do with me.” That made me squint at her questioningly.
“Come again.” She sighed and pushed at my shoulders to be let down, which I ignored, but I did walk over and sat with her on my lap.
“Tell me what you mean.”
“I mean that what’s bothering me isn’t really my issue, it’s more about a friend and what it might do to them.”
“And this thing, is something you feel you have to keep from me.”
“Well for now anyway, just until I know what I’m going to do with what I know.” She fidgeted after saying that like she’d said too much already, when in reality she hadn’t told me shit.
“Babe, that’s not how we work, no secrets. I’m giving you one more day to get your mind straight and then you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on.
We’re not starting this shit, next thing you know we’ll both be married to fucking strangers because none of us are talking and you’re keeping secrets and shit. That make sense to you?”
“Must you always be so dramatic? It’s just one thing...”
“Every fucking thing starts with just one little thing, we’re not doing that shit so you better make up your mind to tell me the truth.
And remember, this is your husband to be, the man you’re going to spend the rest of your life with, you decide here and now if you want to have that kind of fucked up relationship.”
I got one of her long drawn out sighs like I was annoying her ass, whatever.
“Jace I promise you it’s nothing to get all hot and bothered about.”
“Not the point babe, you have one day to tell me what the fuck is up and if I hear one word about you being involved in anything it’s going to be your ass.”
Eden High Series One: The Eden High Series Boxed Set, Books 1-6 Page 23
