“So, how should we bring this to her attention?” I asked. “Call her up and tell her to check her Internet history?”
“How about a good, old-fashioned intervention?” my mom suggested. “Sit her down and tell her about your concerns. As a mother, I would understand that it’s coming from a place of love. Find a time where Terry isn’t around and talk to her. Then, if she doesn’t listen, you’ll have to expose him. Honesty is important, especially between family. Maybe you can arrange a lunch and have her meet my son. Have you been introduced yet?”
“Mom,” I said gently. “Technically, Ariana and I can’t be dating. We’re sort of stepsiblings.”
“Oh.” Her face fell. “I forgot about that detail. Well, I’d suggest the two of you talk to her soon. If the two of you are ever going to be related, I’d rather it be through your marriage, not theirs.”
Ariana and I both blushed.
“If you need to call me as a character reference for him, I’m happy to talk to your mom. But, it’s probably best if you don’t involve me—your mom might not be interested in talking to her husband’s ex.”
“Thank you for your help,” Ariana said, standing up to give my mom a hug. “I really appreciate it.”
“Stay strong, sweetie,” she told her. “You’ll get through this.”
After handing me an extra pan of cinnamon rolls, my mom escorted us to the front door. She gave both Ariana and me hugs before sending us on our way.
“Good luck, dear,” she whispered to me as Ariana walked toward the car. “She’s a keeper.”
“I know.”
I followed Ariana out to the car, with a little bit of hope. If my mom could escape my dad’s lies on her own, then we could help Barb end things with a little nudge.
Chapter Sixteen
Ariana
As I sat in my paper robe, I swung my feet back and forth over the examination table. I hated waiting for test results. I always got the feeling that they would not turn out the way I wanted.
After my last seizure, Daniel immediately found another specialist in the area. This new doctor wasn’t as close to the university as Daniel’s office, nor was it on the bus route. So, Daniel promised to drive me to my appointments. Of course, I refused his offer and took a cab instead.
Meeting new doctors made me nervous. I was never sure if they would understand my medical needs. But, Daniel made a point to send a very detailed history of my care under him. I think he even explained my need for a different doctor, though, for my sake, I hope he didn’t go into specifics with Dr. Kessel.
“Well, Ms. Colbert,” the doctor said, returning to the exam room, “everything looks fine. You’re lucky you didn’t do any more damage when you fell and hit your head.”
“That’s good,” I said, feeling a little relieved.
“I’m going to recommend you stay on your current medication. I might also suggest that you change your diet—maybe increase your protein and healthy fat intake. It certainly won’t hurt. Also, as Dr. Malone discussed with me, stress is one of your major triggers. Is there any way you can lower your stress? I recommend therapy or exercise to most of my patients.”
“I usually don’t encounter a lot of stressful situations,” I said, and it almost made me laugh to hear those words come out of my mouth. It was true, though. For the most part, my life was pretty easy. It was just the last month or so that was especially stressful.
“Anything you want to discuss?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m working on it.”
“Good. Do you have any questions for me?”
“Nope,” I said cheerfully, happy that I didn’t have a new brain injury to worry about.
“Then that’s all I need from you,” he said. “Since you’ve been having more episodes recently, I want you to come back in a month. Of course, if you have any problems, give the office a call. By the way, whoever did your stitches did a great job. They must have careful hands.”
“They do,” I said, suppressing a giggle. I had learned that Daniel could do a lot with his hands.
I called a cab as I left the office and coincidentally, the driver that dropped me off showed up.
“Hello, Miss,” he said. “Are you going back home now?”
“Not yet. I need to go to the Cheesecake Factory downtown.”
“Certainly.”
As we drove, I thought of what my opening line with my mom would be. Do I skate around the topic or do I dive right in? I had never been so nervous to see my mom in my life, and that was coming from the girl who got her ears pierced at the age of ten without her mother’s permission.
I paid the driver when I got out of the car, but I seriously thought about getting back in and having him circle the block until I was ready. I would never really be ready, though, so I walked straight in the restaurant door, ready to get the intervention over with.
“Ariana!” my mom exclaimed the second she saw me. She gave me the biggest hug and kiss. She was positively glowing with joy. It made my insides squirm.
“I’m so excited to see you. I’m sorry I haven’t been available much. You’ll figure out how that is when you get married. We have so much to catch up about.”
“Yeah,” I said, plastering a fake smile on my face. “Let’s order, then you can tell me what’s been going on.”
Once we perused the menu, my mom set it down on the table and rested her hands in front of her. She was clearly trying to get me to notice the ring on her finger.
“Two karats,” she gushed. “Can you believe it? I told him he spent way too much on me, but he said I was worth it.”
“Wow,” I said, feigning enthusiasm. Apparently, my mother didn’t know the difference between expensive jewelry and costume jewelry. The thing on her finger was most certainly a fake.
“I just want to tell you everything about him. Terry is just the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He surprised me by booking a vacation last week. It was so romantic. He really went all out to make me feel special. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
“I’ve been talking to Daniel—his son,” I interrupted. “And actually, I have met him.”
She tilted her head. “You did? Terry didn’t tell me that.”
“It was before you got together, I believe. He was staying at his son’s house.”
“Oh, he told me about that. He said that his ex-wife had taken all his money, so he was forced to sell his condo. His son lent him a spare room for a little while during his search for a new place. He sounds like a nice kid. Maybe Terry didn’t know who you were. If we weren’t together then, I suppose he wouldn’t make the connection. It’s a small world.”
I shook my head. “No, I think he knows exactly who I was and what our connection was when he met you.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” my mom said. “I think he would have brought it up. He keeps talking about how he wants to get you kids together.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course, he did. I’m sure he wanted to gloat in Daniel’s face.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m going to give it to you straight—when I met Terry, he was not very nice to me. He basically called me a slut for being with his son. He made fun of me for my epilepsy, too. When we were alone in the house together, he tried to trigger a seizure with flashing lights.”
My mom crinkled her face. “Sweetie, I think this is all a misunderstanding. Terry’s not like that. He would never do anything to hurt another person.”
“Then how do you explain that?” I asked. I wanted her to figure out that her husband wasn’t who he said he was.
“Maybe he was making a joke. You can be sensitive sometimes. I’m sure he didn’t know that the lights could trigger an episode. Believe me, he wouldn’t do something like that.”
I sighed. “I know it’s hard to hear this, but maybe you jumped into things too quickly.”
She smiled. “I see what this is about. You’re concerned about me making a hasty decision. I get it. You d
on’t need to try to scare me away from him. We’re married now. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’ve talked to his son about him. He’s not a very nice guy. I’m sure he’s put on an act for you. But, what kind of man treats his son like crap for no reason? He’s jealous of Daniel’s success and we think he specifically went after you to get back at him.”
This time, my mom scowled at me. “Ariana, is this a side effect of some new medication or something? You aren’t making any sense. You’re throwing out some wild accusations about someone you don’t even know.”
“And you do?” I retorted. “Technically, I’ve known Terry for longer than you have!”
My mom opened her mouth to argue, but she was speechless. Her round cheeks were flushed. The cheerful light in her eyes had vanished.
I felt terrible that she was upset, but there was nothing I could do but tell the truth. I knew she wouldn’t take it well, but I thought she would listen to what I had to say and be devastated by the truth. Instead, she didn’t believe a word and seemed to think that I was lying because I didn’t want her to remarry.
“We even talked to Daniel’s mom. She said the same thing—he didn’t treat her right. She doesn’t want you to end up the same way.”
“You can stop right there,” my mom hissed. “I know about that woman. She divorced Terry for no reason and turned his kids against him. Now, she’s still trying to take all his money. She’s left him with nothing. You shouldn’t believe anything she’s telling you. For that matter, you shouldn’t believe what Daniel’s telling you either. He’s clearly brainwashed.”
I wanted to scream. I was so frustrated with my mom for being so naïve and dense. There was nothing that I could tell her to get her to believe me.
“Mom, why would I lie to you about something so serious?”
“I don’t know. That’s what baffles me. I thought you wanted me to be happy.”
“I do!” I exclaimed, attracting the attention of other diners around us. I lowered my voice. “I do want you to be happy. That’s why I’m telling you everything I know about Terry Malone. Don’t you see how hard this is on me? I’ve been so stressed out ever since you told me that you got married to him. It’s doing terrible things to my health. I’ve been having seizures because of it. Please, Mom. Listen to me. Kick him to the curb. Get a divorce. You can’t be with him anymore. He doesn’t love you. He’s just doing this to get back at his son.”
At this remark, she stood up from the table and pushed in her chair.
“When you’ve come to your senses,” she said coldly, “give me a call. You owe Terry and me an apology.”
“Mom, wait!” I cried, but she promptly left the restaurant and got into her car. I sat at the table for a little while longer, trying to hold in my tears. Then, before the waiter could come back to ask if we still wanted our orders, I called a cab and made my way back to Daniel’s house.
In the cab, I tried so hard to keep a straight face. I didn’t want to make the driver uncomfortable with my sobbing. Even more importantly, I didn’t want to explain my predicament to a concerned stranger.
My first instinct was to be devastated. My mother had never treated me that way in my life. I thought for sure that she would appreciate my help. I knew she would be sad but ultimately relieved that I got her out of a bad situation before it was too late.
Then, I was enraged. It wasn’t necessarily my mom’s fault that he had brainwashed her. Her only fault was that she got carried away by the romance of it all. She was just a lonely woman looking for love. Terry was the one who saw this and exploited it.
I was not going to let my mom be a victim. If she couldn’t help herself, then I sure as hell would fight for her. In return, I’d also be fighting for a chance to be with the man I loved. I wanted my health and sanity back. I wanted my mom back. I wanted my boyfriend back. No longer would I be polite and courteous and wait for my mom to believe me or for Terry to stop his evil plan. I was going to fight dirty if I had to.
When I got back to the house, Daniel was standing at the kitchen counter, opening mail.
“How’d it go?” he asked as he made a pile of bills.
“I don’t think it could have gone any worse. She doesn’t believe Terry would ever do anything wrong. She’s not speaking to me until I apologize to the both of them.”
“Oh, Ariana,” he said, dropping the envelopes on the counter. “I’m so sorry.”
He looked at me like I was a porcelain doll, about to break. I knew he was worried that I was going to have another episode.
I held up my hands. “I’m fine. If she’s not going to listen, then I’ll make her listen.”
“How?” he asked, looking defeated.
“I’ve got a plan and I’m going to need your help.”
Chapter Seventeen
Daniel
The mischievous little twinkle in her eye told me everything I needed to know. She had a brilliant idea brewing and I couldn’t wait to hear it.
“Like I said the other day, my mom is a bit of a prude. She’s easily manipulated by romance, but she hates smut of any kind. Your dad’s dirty little secret would shock and disgust her so much that she would have to leave him.”
“I like it,” I said. “What do I need to do?”
“I think we have to go all out. We can’t let my mom ignore our signals. I think that we should sign your dad up for as many pornography subscriptions as we can. We’ll send them to my mom’s place. She can’t overlook it then.”
I grinned. “You’re an evil genius. This is so brilliant.”
“Thanks,” she replied, giving me a bashful smile. “I think we should send magazines and online subscriptions. Like, we should find the weirdest, grossest stuff we can legally obtain and send it to him. Send some things to his email, too.”
“Not a bad idea. We might as well go all out and ship some weird sex toys, too. Your mom wouldn’t be pleased to open a box and find a massive dildo.”
She laughed harder than she had in weeks. I was so glad her old self was shining through all the crap she had endured.
“This is going to be fun,” she said. “I can put some of the stuff on my credit card. I think it’s worth it for the cause.”
“Don’t bother,” I responded. “My dad is an idiot and gambles online using my computer. I have all his credit card information. This is really going to get him where it hurts.”
Ariana was so pleased with this plan and so relieved we were going to destroy him that she ambushed me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“I love you!” she exclaimed, before blushing.
We had never said those words to each other before. But, that didn’t mean that I didn’t feel that way about her. I was just so surprised that she had gotten carried away in the heat of the moment like that.
“I’m sorry,” she said, getting flustered. “I didn’t mean— “
“Well, I mean it. I love you, Ariana.”
She froze. “Really?”
I laughed. “Yes, really. I’d like to keep you around for a while so let’s get to work.”
She had such a cute smile on her face when I left the room to get my laptop. When I returned to sit on the couch with her, it hadn’t faded.
It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It’s so hard to tell someone that you love them, especially for me. I wasn’t one to wear my emotions on my sleeve, so when I said those words, I truly meant it. They had been floating around my mind for a few weeks, and it just felt so right to let them out.
“Where should we start?” I asked. “I feel weird looking up porn with you sitting right here.”
“It is pretty weird, isn’t it?” she giggled. “I don’t mind—as long as you don’t like any of them more than you like me,” she teased.
“Never,” I said. “And I mean that. I don’t know if you know this, but you’re dynamite in bed.”
“You’re not so bad yourself. We’re getting distracted. What are you going
to order to the house?”
“Let’s try a nice little mix. We’ll do some Busty Blondes, Tantalizing Tentacles, and I Can’t Believe They’re Legal.”
“That’s a good start,” she said. “Can we also throw in Kinky Cartoons and Dudes on Dudes for good measure?”
“Why not? I’m not paying for it.”
We looked through a few more titles, laughing and making jokes about the subject matter. This stuff was fairly tame, but apparently the stuff my dad was into wasn’t. But, I was afraid to go searching for that stuff, just in case I got put on a government watch list.
“I can’t wait to hear what he says to my mom when she catches him with this stuff,” she said, typing her mom’s address into the order.
“He’ll probably say, ‘I buy them for the articles’ or something like that.”
“My mom is going to lose her mind. What’s next?”
“Do you think she would ever check his email?”
Ariana scoffed. “She hardly checks her email. But, it’s worth a shot. If anything, it will just piss Terry off. That’s worth it enough for me.”
“Then let’s order a few video subscriptions. The videos are much raunchier than the print stuff, anyway.”
“Should we order a few things from a sex shop too?” Ariana asked. “It’s kind of hard to ignore a bunch of boxes piling up. Plus, if they’re left by the front door, the neighbors are going to see. I hate to say it, but maybe she just needs to be a little embarrassed to get it through her head.”
“Tough love,” I agreed. “Okay, we’ll start with the alien dildo. Should we do a costume?”
“You better,” she said, leaning over me. “How about the French Maid in a size men’s extra-large?”
“I like it. Do you know what? Maybe we should order a few things for ourselves while we’re at it,” I suggested, testing the waters.
She thought about it for a second before cracking up. “How about we wait until we’re no longer stepsiblings. We’ve got enough scandal in our sex life as it is.”
Forbidden Prescription 4: A Stepbrother Fake Marriage Medical Romance (Forbidden Medicine) Page 10
