Renewed (The Fractured Series Book 3)

by James, Holleigh

  Figures. I had to admit, it was pretty impressive. “Is that why you’re taking so many difficult science courses?”

  “Yeah. I have a 90 average.” She pushed her nose in the air to sniff her imagined superiority.

  “That’s great.”

  “What average did you graduate with from high school?” she asked, no doubt trying to trump me.

  “I had a 98, but when I took the entrance exam for Stony Brook, I scored 99. My SATs totaled 1590. I’m attending on a full academic scholarship.”

  Her mouth dropped and she became more focused on me. She didn’t expect that. “Looks and brains. Rob has his hands full keeping up with you.”

  Was that a compliment? I offered a smile in response.

  More silence filled the room. I decided I had had enough of her. I stood up. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to start dinner. Rob will be hungry when he gets home, and I’m sure he’ll want to eat quickly in order to get to dessert.” I let the thought linger as I walked back into the kitchen to prepare.

  Chelsea stayed on the couch. She examined her manicure and sat while I took out the pots and ingredients I’d need to prepare dinner. We didn’t exchange another word until Rob walked through the door from the garage.

  “Chelsea?” He was surprised to see her. That’s good. At least I know he wasn’t secretly expecting her.

  “Hey, Rob.” She sat up straight in her seat. All of her pearly whites were visible. “I came by to ask you a few questions.”

  Yeah, let’s hear them. I bet you never had any questions. And, I bet you were expecting to get rid of me so you could be with Rob all by yourself.

  “Sure. What can I help you with?” I could tell he was being courteous only because I was watching.

  “Well, I’m taking advanced biology in the fall, and I was wondering if I could borrow your dad’s book on genetics. Remember, the one he had on his shelf in the basement?”

  “I can check.” He walked to the door that led to the basement. She jumped off the couch and followed. I wanted to follow, too, but I thought it would just show Rob I was still insecure. It wasn’t Rob I didn’t trust; it was Chelsea. I did make sure the door stayed open when they went down the stairs leading to the basement though. And I stood by the opening, listening very, very carefully.

  At first, I didn’t hear any sound. Then Rob said, “Is this it?” I pictured him pulling a book from the expansive bookshelf that was against the wall at the far end of the basement.

  “No, it’s not the right one,” she said. She was toying with him, keeping him down in a confined space, away from me, for as long as she could. I bet she was inching her way closer and closer to him, with the false pretense of being interested in a book.

  “How about this one?”

  “No. I think it had a light blue cover. It was like a textbook.”

  “I don’t see one with a light blue cover.” I could tell he was scanning the titles on the shelves. It was not knowing what she was doing that had me worried.

  I ran across the house, to Rob’s father’s office, and pulled out a light blue covered textbook from the shelf behind the large wooden desk. I walked down the stairs and handed it to Chelsea.

  “Is this it? It was in your dad’s upstairs library.”

  Rob smiled.

  “Yes. That’s the one.” Chelsea had to accept defeat once again.

  Rob put his arms around me and gave me a lingering kiss. It made me feel warm and mushy inside. “You’re so great.” He looked me in the eyes when he said it.

  “Yeah, great,” Chelsea said unenthusiastically.

  We all traipsed up the stairs, back to the family room.

  “I promise to return this in a couple of weeks. I need something to read at night. I love Uncle John and Aunt Rachel, but their nightlife sucks.”

  Was that a hint she wanted to be included in ours? Too bad, honey. Rob’s nightlife is well taken care of. He’s booked, with me.

  I could tell the gears were turning again, searching for another reason to stay. “Well, I guess I’ll get started reading. Rob, could you give me a ride to Aunt Rachel’s?”

  “Sorry, Chelsea,” I said. “Rob’s just come home and his dinner is ready. I think he’s entitled to have something to eat, don’t you?”

  “Oh, right.”

  Nice try, tramp.

  Once he said goodbye and closed the door after Chelsea’s exit, he turned toward me. “You handled that nicely.”

  “What are you talking about?” I tried to use my innocent charm on him as I walked into the kitchen to serve him his dinner. He smiled and let it go.

  “So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Rob asked taking a bite of the hamburger I grilled on his barbecue.

  “Matt gave you the day off?”

  “Yup. I told him it was the most important day in the whole world.”

  I smiled. “No, it isn’t. Hundreds of people are turning eighteen tomorrow. I just happen to be one of them.”

  “But they aren’t special, like you.” His dimple showed.

  “I don’t know. Want to go to the creek?”

  “We can do that to start.”

  “To start?”

  “We have to do everything you want tomorrow. Those are the rules.”

  An interesting thought entered my head. “Anything I want?”

  His second dimple showed. “What are you thinking?”

  “Just about what I want.” If I had dimples, they’d be showing, too.

  I insisted on cleaning up on my own while Rob showered. I knew he wanted to get the sweat from work off his body. Since we ate off paper plates, it was easy to clean up. Then I ran upstairs to wash Rob’s back.

  The magnetism of his kisses made it difficult to say goodnight before I drove home.

  I pulled onto the side of the road, and waited for the hitchhiker to climb into the passenger side.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Chelsea said, tossing her small bag onto the backseat.

  I pulled back onto the road and the car climbed to the speed limit. “Sure. Where are you headed?”

  “To Rob’s house.”

  “Why are you going there?”

  “I’m going to seduce him.”

  I turned off at the next exit and told her to get out of the car. I left her on a deserted road and floored it away from her.

  This was a good dream.

  ***

  The sun barely broke through the clouds. My clock read 6:45. The knock at my door didn’t wait for me to answer. My mother barged into the room, followed by my father and little brother. They sang the traditional ‘Happy Birthday’ song and placed a tray with breakfast on my lap. At the end of their tribute to me, Rob pushed his way between my parents and knelt at the side of my bed. I could barely get one eye open.

  Afraid to speak in order not to offend anyone with my morning breath, I held up a hand as thanks. Then my family left Rob and me in the room alone.

  “Happy birthday,” he said coming close.

  My hand went up to stop him. I placed it between us and spoke one word, “Bathroom.” He backed off the bed and waited until I came back.

  I took care of the necessities, which included a good scrubbing of my teeth and ten minutes of trying to control my hair; it was quite a sight when I first looked in the mirror. Nice. That’s what he’s going to have to live with from now on. I went back into my room. Rob was sprawled out on my bed with the breakfast tray next to him. At that moment, I didn’t need the food to satisfy my hunger. I moved the tray to my desk.

  “Is that my birthday present?” I looked him up and down with a sultry stare. I laid down next to him. “Okay, now you can kiss me.” And it was the best birthday kiss I’d ever had.

  “Eat your breakfast,” he ordered. “You have a busy day.”

  “I do?”

  “That sounds nice when you say it.” His smile was big. He kissed me softly. “Yes, we have to squeeze all of the birthday things in.”

  I scooped up
some egg and shoveled it into my mouth. “What are we doing today?”

  “Everything,” Rob smiled. “When you wouldn’t tell me what you wanted to do, I asked your mother what she thought would be on your list.”

  I brushed my teeth again, and then got dressed. After calling my brother to wish him a happy birthday, too, Rob and I spent an hour at the creek. Then Rob drove to an art museum in the city. It was wonderful to see the works of so many of the artists I admired, and to share the experience with Rob. He even knew a few things I didn’t about one or two of them.

  “You can thank my mom and my Aunt Rachel for infusing me with all of these useless facts,” he said. “We used to go on intellectual field trips all of the time.”

  We had a beautiful lunch in a park adjacent to the museum. It was from a hot dog vender. It reminded me of the first meal we technically shared together: the hot dogs he bought for Dillon and me in the park. But it wasn’t the food that made it so wonderful – I would have eaten dirt – it was that I was with Rob that made it great. We sat on a bench that overlooked a path. Several people walked, skated, and rode bicycles past us. Mothers pushed baby carriages, and sunbathers worshipped their god. Children played ball, and bums slept on benches and under trees. The air was warm enough to be comfortable, but not humid as the end of June sometimes is.

  “So, have you decided on what kind of wedding we should have?” Rob asked.

  “Finals have had me occupied. Not to mention this incredible guy I’m engaged to.” I looked at him with a seductive smile.

  “Oh, I bet he’s a real tyrant?” Rob asked in a playful tone.

  I continued in his teasing manner. “Oh yes. He makes me take road tests, and pose for pictures for him, and he won’t let me keep any clothes on.” I crawled across the bench toward him. He welcomed my advances and wrapped his arms around me. We made quite a public display, although I doubt any of the other people noticed or cared.

  During the drive back home, I fell asleep. I woke when Rob pulled into his garage.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, stretching my arms out.

  “I guess the museum wore you out,” he said, turning off the ignition. “I’ll bring you upstairs and you can continue your nap.”

  I had another thing in mind. Pretending to still be sleepy, I followed Rob up the stairs to his room – the one he used to stay in before he renovated the master suite. The shades were already drawn, but a small hint of sunlight filtered through the crack where the heavy curtains met.

  Rob walked over to the bed and pulled the comforter back, while I stood at the foot.

  With one hand, I unbuttoned my blouse; with the other, I pulled the clip out of my hair. Rob turned to me and stood motionless, his eyes fixed on me. I walked over to him, wearing just my underwear.

  His mouth moved, but no sound came out. I pressed my lips to his, and he returned the favor. His strong arms circled my waist and pulled me close.

  “I guess you aren’t sleepy anymore.”

  “Guess not,” I said, then pulled him onto the bed.

  “Are you sure you want to spend your birthday like this?” he asked.

  Is he kidding? “This is how I want to spend every day.” I kissed him so he couldn’t ask any more questions.

  Chapter Fifteen

  While I was blow-drying my hair, Rob knocked on the bathroom door. “Can I do it for you?”

  Handing him the brush and blow dryer, I adjusted the towel around my body. “What is it about my hair that you find so attractive?”

  “It’s just beautiful – the color, the texture, the smell of your shampoo floating in the strands, the way it falls around your shoulders when it’s down.” He always knew what to say to make me feel pretty.

  Gently, he ran the brush through my hair. His light strokes caused my skin to pimple. When he was done, I stood up and thanked him. Reaching to remove my towel, he stopped my hands before I could reveal anything.

  “I would love to be distracted again, but we’ll be late.”

  “Late?”

  “Yes, we’re going for dinner.”

  Again, my hands started to undo the towel. “I don’t care about dinner.”

  He stopped me a second time. “But what will we tell our families?”

  My mouth opened. “Our families?”

  He nodded. ‘They’re meeting us at that Italian restaurant we went to on our first date.”

  My mind flashed back to that wonderful night, when he kissed me for the first time under the star-filled sky. With a hint of disappointment in my voice, I said, “Oh, all right. I’ll get dressed. But you owe me.”

  He smiled.

  ***

  With a final glance in the mirror, I decided I was ready to go for dinner. As I walked down the stairs, I heard voices coming from the kitchen. I strained to recognize the voice. It was Chelsea. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and hid behind the wall adjacent to the kitchen. Their reflection bounced off the screen of the television across the family room giving me a clear picture of where they both were in the room. Chelsea was sitting at the breakfast nook, while Rob poured her a glass of soda.

  As she looked at Rob, she flipped her beautiful auburn hair behind her shoulder. It bounced, almost in slow motion, like in a shampoo commercial.

  “I thumbed through the book, but I don’t think this one is the right one. I wanted to return it so I wouldn’t forget.”

  Yeah, right.

  She looked out the window. “Remember when we used to hang out in the clubhouse in your yard?”

  A small cloud of anger formed around me. He had told me it was only his dad, Eric, and him who played in there. Then I found out Chelsea delivered Rob’s first kiss in the clubhouse.

  “Well, we didn’t really hang out. It was really only for the guys.”

  “That’s because you and my cousin wouldn’t let me in. You said no girls were allowed, but we hid in there for hide-and-seek. Remember?” Her voice was flirtatious.

  “Yeah, I remember.”

  “That’s where we had our first kiss.”

  Rob was quiet. I felt like dragging her out of the house by her hair and beating her until she was purple, but I stayed where I was.

  “You said you liked my cherry lip-gloss. Remember?”

  Still, Rob was quiet. I could feel the bubbles boiling larger in my blood.

  The reflection in the television screen was a bit distorted, but I saw her reach into her pocket. She lifted something out of it. Was that cherry lip-gloss? “I still have it, see? We could go out to the clubhouse right now, Rob.”

  My fists clenched and I drew in my breath.

  Rob smiled and looked down at the counter. “There are no girls allowed.” He looked down at Chelsea. “Except Mandy. Mandy’s allowed any time.”

  That made me happy. I walked into the room, over to Rob and gave him a big, passionate kiss on the lips, minus lip-gloss. He returned the favor.

  Chelsea sat back in her seat. Strike three. You’re out. Don’t try to lure my fiancé away again.

  “Well, you might as well ride with us, Chelsea,” Rob said. “We’re meeting everyone at the restaurant.”

  I spent the next fifteen minutes gloating in the car over how I was allowed in Rob’s clubhouse.

  Both the Bowmans and the Stewarts were already seated at the restaurant when we walked in. Silver Mylar balloons, with ‘Happy Birthday’ written on them in both pink and blue were anchored on the table by a wrapped weight. Rob and I made the rounds and said hello to everyone. Chelsea sat next to Eric. She didn’t look too happy about striking out with Rob again.

  The Suttons arrived shortly after we did. Although Mrs. Sutton was now my brother’s mother-in-law, I still couldn’t like her. Not while she continued to have sex with my father behind my mother’s and Mr. Sutton’s backs.

  Bryan and I were each seated at the ends of the long table that accommodated our growing family. Jennifer looked a bit bigger than I expected. Was it possible she was further along than
I thought?

  Several conversations were going on at one time when our meals were served. Everything was going well until a woman with blonde stringy hair and green eyes tapped my mother on the shoulder. Mom turned. “Joyce, how are you?”

  Every muscle in my body tightened, including my lungs. My stomach lurched, and my head filled with memories of Jimmy attacking me. It sickened me to think his second attempt almost succeeded.

  On either side of her, Joyce Dalton’s daughters and wimp-of-a-husband stood. “I’m fine, Dina. I see you’re doing better.” Joyce’s attempt at embarrassing Mom in front of our entire family didn’t work. Mom held her head high. Mrs. Dalton’s daughters were stoic and quiet, supporting their mother’s demeanor.

  Mom sat upright in her chair and pushed her long wavy brown locks behind her ears. “Yes. I’ve been in recovery for ten months now. Dr. Hoffman has been wonderful.”

  A light film of sweat covered me.

  “I understand congratulations are in order.” The Daltons shifted their gaze to Bryan and Jennifer.

  “Yes. This is my new daughter-in-law, Jennifer.” Mom said it proudly. “But you’ve known Jennifer since the kids were in the first grade.”

  “Yes.” Joyce looked down her nose. Then she turned to look at me. “And I hear there’s another wedding in your future.”

  Rob grabbed my hand under the table. It helped me to feel more secure.

  Mom shifted in her seat toward me. “Yes. Mandy and Rob have recently gotten engaged. We’re aiming for an August wedding so it won’t interfere with their college plans.”

  If death could be administered by looking at someone, then Joyce Dalton’s glare would be killing me a thousand times over. Icicles hung off of her next comment. “Well, you enjoy all the wonderful things that are happening to your family. I’ll make sure to send Jimmy your best at my next visit to see him in jail.” Poison filled her sentiment.

  Everyone at the table held their breath.

  “Good luck to you, Mandy,” Joyce Dalton said with a cutting edge, before she motioned to her daughters to follow her. Mr. Dalton trailed behind all of them.