“That was completely different, and you know it,” Paris said. “You had a legitimate reason to hate them. They tried to hurt you and the people you love. Sami has no reason to hate you.”
“Unless I failed her and somehow don’t realize it.” The words were already out of my mouth before I realized I meant to think instead of speak them.
“What?” Paris’ eyes clouded. “How do you think you failed her?”
I decided to go for broke. “What is her life going to be if people start coming after her?”
“Is your life so terrible even though people came after you?”
“No, but I have Aric … and you … and Sami.”
“And Sami has you … and Aric … and his parents … and your parents … and cool Aunt Paris. She’s living a wonderful life.”
“She made us sleep outside last night because we embarrass her,” I countered. “I was supposed to be the cool parent. I don’t want to be the embarrassing parent. My mother was the embarrassing parent. I am the coolest person alive.”
Paris snickered, delighted by my fretting. “You are cool. It doesn’t matter, though. It’s the age. Every kid is pre-disposed to view their parents as big dorks. Other people’s parents are cool and hip. Those kids think the same parents are geeks. It’s just what happens. If it’s any consolation, my child will think I’m a geek but love you.”
It was very mild consolation. I had every intention of spoiling her kid rotten. “You know someone can’t be considered cool if they use the word ‘hip,’ right?”
Paris shrugged. “I’ll bet Sami doesn’t think that.”
“I hate you sometimes,” I grumbled, lifting my head and scanning the store when I realized Sami was no longer by the shoes. “Where is she?”
“I’m sure she didn’t go far,” Paris said, moving toward the dressing rooms. “She’s probably trying on that blouse.”
“The color was all wrong for her,” I muttered.
“I think she’ll look darling in it.”
“Tell her she’ll look hip,” I suggested. “She won’t buy it then.”
“You have a delightful way of looking at the world sometimes,” Paris said. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
“You just did.”
“Excuse me.” Paris approached the sales clerk with a polite smile. “My friend’s daughter was with us but we can’t seem to find her. Did you let a young girl into one of the dressing rooms?”
The clerk, who had those ridiculous plugs in her ears that stretch the lobes to monstrous proportions, fixed us with a blank look. “There’s no one in the dressing rooms.”
For some reason I couldn’t identify, my heart rate increased. “Where did she go? She was here two minutes ago.”
“Are you talking about the girl with the dark hair?” The clerk must have sensed I wasn’t messing around because she took an involuntary step away from me. “She went out the door like a minute ago.”
“I’m going to kill her,” I hissed, my long blond hair flying as I swiveled. “I am going to wring her neck.” I hurried through the open door, paying no heed to Paris as she struggled to catch up. My eyes were busy as they scanned the area outside. It was a crossroads – four sections of the mall meeting around a big fountain – and the sheer number of teens and younger kids was frightening. “Why aren’t these kids at home?”
“Calm down,” Paris instructed, resting her hand on my shoulder. “She couldn’t have gone far. She’s probably right out here. If we can’t find her we’ll get Aric and let him track her down. She won’t be happy when he freaks out.”
“I can freak out enough for the both of us.”
“Look!” Paris extended her right hand and pointed to a spot on the other side of the fountain. “She’s right there.”
I followed her finger with my gaze and scowled when I saw Sami talking to Katie Dolloway. “Of course.”
“Who is that girl? Do you know her?”
“She’s the one who said her mother told her Aric and I had to get married because I was pregnant.”
“Oh, well, let’s hope the mother is around,” Paris said. “I’d love to run into her.”
“That makes two of us,” I said, moving toward the fountain with a purpose. I knew Paris was behind me, but I didn’t slow my pace. It wasn’t until I was almost on the other side of the fountain that I noticed a dark figure, a hoodie shrouding the individual’s face, moving in behind Sami. Whoever it was, Sami didn’t sense the new arrival and I did the only thing I could to protect her. I launched myself into the air and tackled the shady interloper from behind, wrestling the figure to the ground and using my leverage to pin the struggling body there.
“You’re going to be sorry you ever met me. I promise you that!”
SIX
“ O migod!”
Sami’s wail could’ve woken the dead – which is a scary thought because I know vampires and they are technically dead. I ignored her outburst and rolled the guy over, making a face when I shoved the hoodie back and realized I was looking at a teenaged boy. Uh-oh. “Who are you?”
“Get off him,” Sami screeched, mortified.
I pretended I’d been rendered temporarily deaf and focused on my prey. “Who are you?”
“J-Joey Sanders.” The boy looked petrified, which made me think I’d made a terrible mistake. That didn’t cause me to change my chosen form of response, though.
“And why were you approaching my daughter, Joey Sanders?”
“W-what? I wasn’t.”
“I saw you!”
“What’s going on?” Aric appeared at the edge of the fountain, Heath close on his heels. I saw Paris watching the spectacle with a mixture of amusement and worry as she crossed over to her husband.
“Sami snuck out of the store and we couldn’t find her,” Paris explained. “When we came out here we saw her talking to that girl, and then the kid in the hoodie came up behind her and … um … Zoe tackled him.”
“Oh.” Aric rested his hand on his cheek as he met my gaze. I had no idea what he was thinking but I had a feeling it wasn’t good. My surprise was all encompassing when he flashed me an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “Good job, killer!”
“Oh, my … get off of him!” Sami was close to a full-on meltdown, but Aric didn’t look sympathetic in the least.
“Hey, if a guy was coming up behind you in the mall and he looked as if he was going to hurt you I would’ve done the same thing,” Aric snapped. “You’re lucky you got my wife, kid. I weigh thirty pounds more than her and I growl.”
Thirty pounds? “Hey!”
“Fifty pounds,” Aric automatically corrected. “Chill out. I misspoke.”
“I think you should get off of him, Zoe,” Paris said. “You’re starting to draw a crowd.”
Paris was right, although I was reluctant to release my catch. Ultimately I blew out a sigh and climbed to my feet, watching with unhidden mirth as Joey Sanders scrambled away from me. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing when he slammed into the marble fountain wall, banging his shin hard and cursing under his breath. What? It’s funny. Of course, one look at my daughter told me she didn’t feel the same way.
“What were you doing approaching my daughter?” Aric asked, hunkering down so he was at eye-level with Joey. “Think really hard before you answer the question.”
“I wasn’t approaching your daughter,” Joey snapped. “I was approaching my best friend’s sister because we all rode together.” He jerked his thumb in Katie’s direction for emphasis. “I was late and wanted to make sure they didn’t leave without me.”
“Oh.” Aric pursed his lips as he shifted his eyes to me. “It was an honest mistake, baby. Don’t worry about it.”
“Honest mistake?” Sami widened her eyes until they looked like saucers. “How can you even say that?”
“Because you’re my daughter and your mother acted out of concern for you,” Aric replied, not missing a beat. “I’ll never fault her for that.”
&n
bsp; “You always take her side!” Sami stomped her foot for emphasis. “Why don’t you ever take my side?”
“What’s your side in this?” Aric challenged. “You left the store even though I told you not to wander and you made your mother panic. When she found you a weird guy was coming up behind you and she reacted. He’s not hurt – er, at least he’s not physically hurt. I’m sure his ego will take a beating when the guys at school hear about this, but whatever. It will teach him to pull his hood down and his pants up.”
Oh, wow. Now we were both talking like our parents. That was just … horrifying. I was going to have to get drunk to forget this day. There was no getting around it.
“I can’t believe you.” Sami’s voice was high-pitched yet quiet enough to cause me to strain to hear her. “Do you care that you’re embarrassing me?”
“No.” Aric jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Move your ass to the parking lot. We’re going to talk about a few things out there.”
“I hate you!” The words were out of Sami’s mouth so quickly I knew she didn’t mean to say them. They were directed at me, her eyes flashing, and it was too late to take them back when the realization of what she’d said hit her. “I … .”
“That did it.” Aric grabbed the back of Sami’s shirt and physically pulled her away from her friends, leaving Katie gaping and giggling and Joey dumbfounded.
“I didn’t mean to get her in trouble,” Joey lamely offered.
“She did that on her own,” I said. “I’m sorry I tackled you.”
“That’s okay.” Joey’s grin was almost charming. “It’s the most action I’ve had all week. You’re kind of hot. Old, but hot.”
“Thanks. Sadly, that’s the highlight of my day.”
BY THE TIME we got home Sami was in tears and Heath and Paris excused themselves to hide in their bedroom while Aric raged at our terrible tween. I didn’t blame Heath and Paris for fleeing. I didn’t want to hear the fight either, but I was stuck in the center of it and had no choice.
“Why do you hate me so much?” Now that we really had embarrassed Sami in front of her friends she was on the warpath. “Do you have any idea what you did to me today? Katie is going to tell everyone what happened and they’re all going to laugh at me.”
I sat in the chair at the edge of the room and rested my feet on the coffee table. I figured I should get comfortable because Aric wasn’t going to calm down in the next few minutes.
“Who cares if they laugh at you?” Aric barked. “Those people are not your friends. That Katie girl is a complete and total … what’s the word I’m looking for?” He glanced at me for help.
“I’m going to go with bitch.”
“Mother!” Sami scorched me with a murderous look.
“I think that’s a good word,” Aric said. “She gets that from her mother, who also happens to be a … .”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I warned, wagging a finger. “You’ll regret it if you do. It makes us just as bad as her.”
“What is your deal with Mrs. Dolloway?” Sami asked. “She’s always nice to me. She even offered to help with my hair.”
“What’s wrong with your hair?” It was long, luscious and black. People would kill for her hair.
“It’s so boring,” Sami said. “I want to add some color to it … maybe purple.”
“Over my dead body,” Aric roared.
“We’ll talk about getting some Manic Panic when you’re not being punished,” I said, taking Aric by surprise.
“Excuse me? I am not walking around with a purple-haired daughter.”
He clearly didn’t get girls. “Manic Panic is temporary and her hair is so dark it’ll barely show,” I said. “I dyed my hair with it when I was a teenager. It’s not a big deal.”
“And you say I’m the one who always caves.” Aric paced the spot behind the couch, dragging a restless hand through his hair as he worked overtime to tamp down his anger. “I can’t believe you’re giving in to her after the way she treated you.”
“I’m not giving in to her,” I said. “Hair is not worth a fight. It’s normal for girls to want to change their hair.”
Sami was dumbfounded. “But … what?”
“You could’ve asked me to change your hair and I would’ve allowed it,” I replied. “There was no reason to go to Barbie Dolloway and act as if I’m the meanest mother in the world.”
“Isn’t her name Cissy?” Aric asked.
“You’d better not know. She is the town whore,” I warned.
“Oh, nice,” Sami said, rolling her eyes. “You just told Dad not to say anything mean.”
“That’s because he’s a nicer person than I am. He would’ve felt guilty for saying it. I don’t have that problem.”
“I still can’t believe you did that,” Sami hissed. “Joey is the hottest guy in school. Now he’s going to think I’m a spaz and never talk to me.”
“He’d better never talk to you,” Aric growled. “He’s like … twenty.”
That was a gross exaggeration. “I’m guessing he’s fourteen,” I countered. “That’s still too old for you, Sami.”
She jutted out her lower lip and crossed her arms over her chest. “You just want to ruin my life every chance you get, don’t you?”
“It does hold some appeal.”
“You … suck!”
“Don’t talk to your mother like that,” Aric raged. “I can’t stand that. Why do you put up with that, Zoe? She’s disrespectful, and I’m not going to stand for it.”
Why did I put up with it? Because I was exactly the same way at her age – sans the desperate need to be popular, mind you – and it seemed hypocritical to call her on her crap when I said even worse things to my own mother. I should probably call her and apologize, by the way.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “She didn’t mean what she said.” I hoped that was true. “She speaks before she thinks. I have the same problem.”
“I don’t remember you being this hateful to your mother,” Aric argued. “You may have been angry at times, but you didn’t treat her like dirt.”
“I do not treat Mom like dirt,” Sami said, her eyes filling with tears. “Don’t say that.”
“That’s exactly how you treated your mother today,” Aric said. “She’s hurt and she doesn’t want to admit it. Look at her.” He pointed at me as I focused on keeping my breathing calm. “You are so mean to her you hurt her feelings every single day. I’m sick of it.”
“I don’t mean to.”
“It doesn’t matter, Sami,” Aric said. “You do it and it’s time you became aware that your actions have consequences.”
“What does that mean?” Sami was bewildered. I was usually the one who doled out punishment. Aric was the one who begged me to lift it early.
“It means you’re grounded for a month,” Aric replied. “Four the next four weeks you can spend Sundays with your grandparents, but other than that you’re staying here. How do you like that?”
Sami’s mouth dropped open as her gaze bounced between us, almost as if she expected me to overrule Aric and save her. When she realized no reprieve was coming she stomped out of the living room. “How do I like that? I hate you, too!”
I waited until I heard the unmistakable sound of her bedroom door slamming shut to lock gazes with Aric. “That went well.”
“I’m not happy with you right now, so I wouldn’t push things,” Aric warned, although he lifted my legs and scooped me up so he could settle me on his lap and share the chair. “You were right. We should’ve given her back that day at the hospital.”
I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling. “She doesn’t mean to be the way she is. She has all of these hormones and feelings that she can’t put a name to. She’s young, but tipping over into a new area of maturity. It happens to all girls.”
“I think you’re making excuses for her.”
“I think I understand what it’s like to have feelings and fears – especially fears �
�� that you don’t know how to control,” I said. “I still have them.”
Aric pushed my hair from my face so he could study my profile. “What are you afraid of?”
“When I couldn’t find her in the store I thought for sure someone took her because I was distracted while talking to Paris and not watching her,” I admitted. “I thought … I failed her. I thought I didn’t keep the promise we made the day she was born.”
“And what promise was that?” Aric asked, genuinely curious. “I don’t remember making a promise. I remember thinking we were going to screw her up because we had no idea what we were doing. We’ve done great on that one, by the way. I also remember letting you talk me into making her middle name Gertrude just because we wanted to be dicks. I don’t remember making a promise, though.”
“The promise was unspoken, but still made the moment we brought her into this world,” I explained. “We promised to protect her, to keep her safe. All I could think about was your face and having to tell you that I lost her.”
Aric tightened his arms around my waist. “You didn’t lose her. She walked away from you. That is not allowed, and we have to drill that into her head because the older she gets the harder it’s going to be to make her understand.”
His words warmed me, even as I knew they wouldn’t assuage my guilt. “It still felt as if I failed her.”
“Zoe, you’ve got to stop thinking things like that,” Aric chided. “We have not failed that child. She’s doing a good job of failing us right now, but the roles are not reversed. I cannot stand it that she makes you feel this way.”
“She’ll grow out of it.”
“She’d better,” Aric said. “We had to cut our naked days down to once a week because of her. If that was for nothing … .”
I didn’t want to laugh, but couldn’t help myself. “I really love you.” I buried my face in the hollow of his neck as he hugged me. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” Aric said, kissing my cheek. “I love you … and I love that kid … but the estrogen in this house is overwhelming.”
“Maybe you need a man cave.”
Haunted Covenant (Dying Covenant Trilogy Book 1) Page 6
