"You are a disgusting human being," Lily said, but she turned and walked away from him, her eyes going down to the paper. She didn't even hear Andrew close the door behind her. The wheels in her head were turning. There had to be a way to get that video down.
13
Jack
"Mom." Jack took a step back, but kept his hands on the door in order to prevent her from pushing her way inside. "What are you doing here?"
"Is that any way to talk to your mother?" she asked.
There was something different about her, though Jack couldn't actually put his finger on what that was. He couldn't tell if she was sober, only because his mother had a way to make her look like she had her shit together even when she didn't. It was how Jack stayed in her custody until he was a legal adult, even though two people in his life had called Child Protective Services on her. His mother was able to at least have the appearance of being the warm, loving, sober mother he had always wanted.
It never lasted, though. And, looking at his mother now, Jack realized she was trying to do the same to him.
"What do you want?" Jack repeated.
He was already on edge because he hadn't slept well. He thought he’d heard the door open at six am and when he lifted his head to check, he saw Lily run out. She was in her running gear, so he knew it hadn't been a dream. He fell back asleep after that, but he wondered if she was back yet. It was after nine in the morning, and he hadn't heard her come back. Then again, he had been sleeping deeply until his mother's pounding on the door woke him.
Her smile faltered and Jack looked away. The last thing he needed right now was to feel guilty for upsetting his mother. She never felt guilty when she embarrassed him, when she didn't show up for games or forgot to pick him up from practices. Why should he feel guilty for being abrupt? She hadn't even told him she would be visiting him.
"Oh, I, well, I guess I just wanted to see you."
The nervous stutter was back. Goddamn, he hated that stutter. It always made him feel worse because he knew it was the one thing she couldn't actually control.
"I'll just, I'll just leave. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
His mother turned, clutching her oversized bag tighter to her and started to walk away. Jack clenched his jaw, but his mouth opened anyway.
"Wait."
She froze, lingering in place. He swore she did that on purpose.
"Just…just come in," he continued. "You can't stay long, though."
"I won't," she insisted. "Jackie, I won't. I just, I just want to see how you are. Talking on the phone isn't the same thing as seeing you, you know? And I just, oh, I'm just so proud of you."
When she reached the door again, she pulled him into a tight hug. Jack stiffened and didn't hug her back. He might have invited her in but anything more and that was too much to handle right now.
"Oh, yes, well." His mother pulled back and placed her hands flat on her stomach before fiddling with the hemline of her shirt. "I heard you played well last night, Jack."
"Yeah."
He wanted to ask her why she hadn't shown up, but he didn't at the same time. The majority of him didn't care that she hadn't been there for his first game. He had gotten used to it. She rarely took him to practice to any games or jamborees or tournaments. He’d relied heavily on Mrs. Sinclair. If it hadn't been for her, for that family, he wouldn't be where he was today. And yet, there was that small part of him that was still a naive boy who wanted nothing more than for his mother to love him. Every now and then, he would catch himself looking in the stands to see if she pulled herself out of her drug-inflected stupor in order to actually show up and make him a priority. It never happened. He expected it by the time he hit high school.
"I just, you know, I just thought you didn't want me there. I don't want to embarrass you. I'm trying to do better at respecting you, you know? I wasn't great at it before and I'm trying…I'm trying to be better." She paused so she could cough. She didn't even smoke cigarettes anymore but she was plagued by a chronic cough. Or maybe it was her long nose—an indicator of bullshit. "Anyway, I just, I wanted to make sure you were okay. I wanted to see you, spend time with you. I don't want to take up too much of your time. I know you're so busy, so successful, but I want you to know I'm proud of you."
"You already said that."
"Right." She forced a smile, covering the majority of her hands with the sleeve of her jacket. She headed into the living room and Jack wanted to call her back. He didn't want her to come any further in Lily's home. His eyes narrowed in on her feet, as though he wanted to ensure that she wasn't dragging in dirt or mud from the rain currently falling.
His gut twisted. She shouldn't be here.
"Is that it?" he asked.
She sighed and turned back to face him. She was just in front of the coffee table, shaking her head so her hair fell out of her face.
"What do you want me to say, Jack?" she asked.
"What you want."
She cleared her throat. "Okay," she said. "Okay. Jack, I just, I hate to even ask, but I'm in trouble and I, uh, I need your help."
Jack looked away, out the window. Of course. He knew it, and yet, he felt his blood boil at actually hearing the words. Of course she couldn't be here because she wanted to be here.
"And I think you need mine."
He snapped his eyes back at his mother. Well. This was a new one.
"Excuse me?" he asked, stepping closer to her. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I need your help? How so?"
The corner of her lips curled up and Jack felt himself freeze at the sight of them. She had something up her sleeve. Of course she had something up her sleeve. Calling him before, showing up now—it was all part of her plan.
"I need ten thousand dollars, preferably in cash," she said. The stutter was gone. Her eyes were sharp, focused. She might have been on drugs practically her whole life but she could be a shrewd business woman. Her only vice was her addiction. If she hadn't been a drug addict, she probably would have made an excellent entrepreneur.
Jack laughed. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked.
"I know your contract," she said. "I know you get ten grand for each game you play. You played a game last night—"
"A practice game," Jack said. He tried to mask the discomfort he felt at the fact that she knew his contract. "Maybe if you had bothered to show up to any of my games, you would understand how hockey works professionally. I get a small paycheck every month. Definitely not ten grand. And even if I did, there's no way in hell you would be getting any of it."
"I'm your mother," she said. "Without me, you—"
"Without you? I've been without you my whole life," jack said. "I had to take care of myself. If it wasn't for Mrs. Sinclair—"
"Mrs. Sinclair?" His mother rolled her eyes. "That woman with bags under her eyes and gray streaks in her hair in her thirties?"
"She was more of a mother than you were," Jack responded. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be where I am today."
"Is that so?" His mother stood and reached in her pocket to pull out her phone. It amazed him how she had the latest iPhone but she could never afford to get him a new pair of skates. "So you consider Alec your brother, then?"
"Yeah," he responded immediately.
"And Lily," his mother said. "You would consider that tart your sister?"
Sister? No, nowhere near a sister.
Jack clenched his teeth together and curled his fingers into tight fists. He didn't want to hear anyone say another demoralizing about Lily. He didn't care if it was a stranger, if it was Alec, or if it was Jack's own mother.
"Don't call her that," he said in a low voice.
His mother's eyes widened. "Well, now." She typed something into her phone. "What an interesting turn of events. You like her, don't you, Jackie? She's not really your type, though, is she?"
"My love life is none of your business," he growled.
"So you don't just like her," she said, looking up at Jack to smi
rk. "You love her."
Jack glanced around. The last thing he needed was Alec overhearing his mother's accusation. Just because it was coming out of his mother's mouth didn't make it a lie.
"Well, I'm even more glad I chose to see you," his mother continued. "You'll understand after I show you. One of my friends showed me because his daughter used to work for the Corwins. Apparently, she dated the youngest son, Alex or something like that."
"Andrew."
Jack remembered Andrew. Andrew had one of those faces he just wanted to punch. He couldn't really explain it other than that. Even hearing his name caused him to curl his fingers so tightly into fists his knuckles cracked. He had never gotten to kick his ass for breaking Lily's heart. Maybe his mother was doing him a favor by giving him one.
"Yes, Andrew." She nodded her head. "Well, they showed me because they recognized the girl. Your girl."
Lily.
"Well, his, at the time." She enlarged the screen and reached out her arm as though she was going to give him the phone but then pulled it back and paused it. "I'm not sure I should show you, Jack. You do have a notorious temper. Just like your father." She shook her head dismissively. "There's a reason why we aren't together, you know. Why you stayed with me."
"I stayed with you because I didn't have a choice," Jack snapped.
"Oh, come, now," she said. "That's mean. You stayed because all boys love their mamas. Even you. You can pretend you hate me, but I'm going to ask you for help and you're going to give it to me. It's why you still answer my phone calls. You avoid me but you don't cut me out of your life, because deep down, you know you still love me. You may not want to, but you do."
"I'm not giving you ten grand," Jack said.
"Well maybe Mrs. Sinclair will after I show her this video," she said, looking down at her phone. "It hasn't gone viral—yet—but I do have a knack for spreading good news."
"What video are you talking about?" Jack asked and before she could stop him, he grabbed the phone from her hand and pressed the play button.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," his mother sing-songed. "Tart."
Jack's eyes narrowed at the screen. At first, there was darkness. He couldn't see anything at all.
And then he heard her. The same breathiness.
There was light, and then—
Andrew Corwin on top of her. Lily was still in high school. She had to be underage. There was no way this should have been allowed to be posted.
And suddenly, it was clear to him why she had been withdrawn, why she was running with no direction in mind.
"Well?" his mother asked. "What do you think?"
Jack threw the phone against the closest wall. His mother yelped out a curse and shot out of her seat to retrieve it.
"I'm not giving you the money," he said. "Stay the hell away from me."
He headed straight for the door, not bothering to see if she would leave. His mother had, indeed, given him a reason to kick Corwin's ass. And he was going to cash it in.
14
Lily
Lily decided the only other thing she could do was make an appointment with a detective from Irvine PD and ask about what her rights were and what she could do about it. Instead of running to the department, which was south and probably a thirty-minute run, she figured she should head home and take another shower. Somehow, being around Andrew made her feel disgusting and she wanted to get any remnants off of her before she looked at her current situation with clear eyes.
By the time she got to her apartment, she was already filled with sweat. She probably reeked, and her hair was now matted with sweat and frizzy. This was a morning completely opposite the cool rain and the clouds. This morning, there was humidity lingering in the atmosphere and she hadn't even noticed it because she was so focused on Andrew.
You can't let him constantly get to you like this, she thought to herself, pulling her keys out of her pocket. Her jogging pants had a tight pocket located on the side of her thighs. In one, she had her phone. In the other, she had her keys. If he's still controlling how you feel and your emotions, then he wins. You've already confronted him. You need to figure out some way to get that video down.
When Lily walked in, her eyes rested on a familiar older woman, sitting on her couch, her ankles kicked up and resting on her coffee table, one of Lily's textbooks in her hand.
"What the actual fuck?" Lily asked out loud. She hadn't realized she had said anything until Alec popped in from the kitchen.
"Was that you?" he asked. "You never swear."
"Hi." The sickening-sweet voice of Ronnie Ruby, Jack's mother, filled her ears and sounded like the cry of a banshee mixed with nails on a chalkboard mixed with a car alarm that couldn't be shut off no matter how many times the button for the alarm was pressed. "So good to see you again, Lil."
"What is she doing in my house?" Despite the fact that Lily was focused on Ronnie, she was addressing her brother. Lily noticed he had yet to step out of the kitchen, almost like he was trying to keep as much distance as he could while simultaneously making sure to keep an eye on her.
"Oh, honey, I was invited here." Ronnie placed her feet on the floor and stood up. Her eyes—the same ones Jack had, so it was difficult for her to look away—still danced with amusement but her face was stoic. "I suppose I should be asking the same thing about my son. Why is it that he's here with the likes of you?"
"I'm sorry?" Lily tilted her head to the side. She had not just insinuated something about Lily, had she? "Do I even know you? The only way Jack has described you was deadbeat and addict, usually at the same time."
Ronnie smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.
Good.
Lily didn't like mocking someone for their vices. Despite the fact that she believed people chose their destiny and subsequently chose both the good and the bad that happened to them, she could feel sympathy even if she didn't quite understand being addicted to something destructive and life-threatening.
However, Ronnie was on a whole other level. Neglecting her child in favor of her friends, not showing up to any game or practice. Lily was never told directly, but there were times Jack showed up in the middle of the night because his mom was with a guy. A couple of times, Jack had to call an ambulance because his mother overdosed. How child services weren't called to take Jack away, Lily never knew. Maybe they had been called and somehow, Ronnie managed to put on a good face, clean up for a couple of days, and dote on her only child before it would all go away again and she resumed being the bitch she was.
No wonder Jack had anger problems.
"She's saying Jack invited her over," Lily said, furrowing her brow. She completely ignored Ronnie. Her focus was on her brother. Even if Ronnie opened her mouth to speak, Lily would pretend it was an annoying burst of wind.
"Well," Alec said, making a face.
"He did," Ronnie said. "Do you think I would be here if he didn't?"
"Technically speaking, he invited her inside," Alec said. He pushed away from the kitchen door frame and headed for the fridge. Lily hated that Alec could distract himself from life's stress with eating and look as though he hadn't gained a pound. "But I don't think he expected her here."
"There's a lot you don't know, sweetie," Ronnie said.
From the corner of Lily's eye, she saw Ronnie flicker her eyes up and down at her brother, and a shudder ripped through Lily's body.
"Are you checking out my brother?" Lily demanded to know. So much for ignoring her.
Lily all but stomped into the kitchen, not waiting for a response. She walked over to Alec, currently in the process of pulling down a bag of digestive health cereal she had grabbed at Costco after eating a sample.
"What the hell is this?" Alec asked, though it sounded as though he was talking to himself. "Digestive—are those actual strawberries in this? How is that even possible if you don't refrigerate the cereal?"
"Can we focus for, like, five seconds?" Lily asked, leaning against the fridge and crossing he
r arms over her chest. She watched as Alec shrugged his shoulders and poured himself a bowl. "What the hell is that woman doing in my house? Does Jack know she's here? Well, I guess he does, if he invited her in. But then, where the hell is Jack?"
"You're asking me questions like you think I know the answers," Alec said, gently pushing his sister aside so he could open the fridge door. "I saw she was here. I disappeared. Want to know why? Because it's none of my goddamn business."
"She's in my house," Lily pointed out. "It is my business." Her eyes narrowed on the organic whole milk he was pulling out and she smacked his hand. "Drink it with the almond milk. It's healthier and it tastes better."
Alec nearly gagged. "How do they get milk from almonds, Lily?" he demanded to know. "There's no way in hell you could even pay me to drink nut milk."
Lily rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Ronnie. "Get out of my house," she said again.
"I think I'll wait for my son," she said. "You do what you have to do. Shower. Wash the dirt off your body, between your legs, wherever you think you need to."
"Hey," Alec said, grabbing his cereal from the kitchen. "I don't care whose mom you are, you don't get to talk to my sister like that. Now." He glanced over at Lily. "If you'll excuse me. I'll be minding my fucking business in my room with my cereal."
"You can't stay there forever," Lily called after him. "You'll get hungry in, like, fifteen minutes!" She pushed air out of her nose and crossed her arms over her chest.
Coward.
Lily had wanted the satisfaction of stomping into her room, slamming the door, and showering until Ronnie finally left. The woman brought out the absolute worst in her and Lily hadn't even interacted with Ronnie much. There was one time she actually showed up for a Back to School Night. Alec and Jack had run off and played on the playground but Lily chose to stay with her mom, even though kids were asked to stay with a babysitter or at the free childcare service the school provided. Ronnie ignored Lily's mother the whole time, even though her mother reached out and tried to talk to her. Lily couldn't remember much, save for the fact that Ronnie had yellow teeth, dry lips, and reeked of alcohol.
Rookies Do It Better: Book 1 in The Minor League Mayhem Series Page 8
