Covet
Page 19
“Get out, now.” Annette’s lips mashed together.
Charlene’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re on Raven’s side?”
“I’m not on nobody’s side. Listen here, don’t you ever come in my house acting all foolish, got the devil in ya. Well, he does not belong here!”
“Mama?” Charlene tried to take her hand, but Annette moved away. “The devil isn’t in me, it’s in Raven. Those fucking murderous blue eyes.” She couldn’t move for sobbing. Damien touched her shoulder, saying something in her ear while rubbing her back. She wiggled away. “I get it. I never even had a chance! You two are always together. Raven’s the child that you wished I had been. Just because she sings in the choir doesn’t make her Christian. You’re still mad at me for running away and not coming home, even after I was raped.”
“I’m not mad at you but disappointed that you’d come into my house and terrorize your first born. Did you see your granddaughter crying a minute ago?” Annette pursed her lips. They mirrored each other’s bewilderment.
“You don’t have to be disappointed in me again.” Charlene stood tall, shoulders squared.
“Char, don’t say something regrettable. We’ll figure out who did this,” Damien promised.
“I already know who.” She turned to her daughter. “Raven, I don’t ever want to see you again. You’re jaded; you don’t know how to truly forgive people. That depression will eat you up one day.” Glancing at Annette, she added, “I don’t want to see you, either.”
The entire scene had been a shock to Raven, almost like an out-of-body experience. In her own way, this had once been exactly what she wanted when hocking over those celebrity wedding photos to Scandalous magazine. Lashing out like a kid, yeah. It was low, but one of the only ways to prove her mother would do what she did best—shun her.
But that was before they’d start to connect. Those were only a few stolen wedding photos. Not something so important and as intimate as a newborn baby.
“Oh, ReRe.” Annette shuffled down the stairs. “Don’t listen to that foolishness. You did nothing wrong, the world has always revolved around that selfish daughter of mine.”
Chatter and drunken cackling echoed across the bar. Empty shot glasses scattered the scuffed counter. Raven laughed with her new friend, Jose. He gave a chipped-toothed grin, and they tossed back another round of double shots. She cringed when hearing Sharon’s authoritative voice as her friend came alongside her.
Though Sharon was a gossip reporter, the very one who Raven gave the wedding photos to, they'd met years ago when Raven began her college endeavors. Creative writing had held a degree of interest. While Raven was creative through imagery, Sharon had a gift. She needed to be on The New York Times bestseller list, but settled for a pretty penny at Scandalous magazine.
“Raven, you’ve had enough.” Sharon was dressed in her signature red—a ruby wrap dress and shiny, red, knee-high boots which almost matched her hair color.
She tapped the guy Raven leaned on. “Excuse me. I suggest you stop buying her drinks. You’re not getting any ass from this general direction tonight.”
“Jose, don’t listen to her. She’s trying fill this Mommy void that I have.” She leaned closer to him and waved her empty glass.
“You don’t need a mama, chica, you need a daddy,” Jose responded.
Sharon rolled her eyes away from the lustful, burly man. “Give me your phone. I can’t carry you by myself. I’m calling William.”
“Ya can’t. Bill’s phone is off. He’s got a paper due tomorrow. Last week, it was a big project. Every week it’s something new.” She signaled for the bartender and turned to Jose who nodded his head, happy to pick up the tab.
Sharon grabbed Raven’s purse.
“What’re you doing, Sharon? You know I don’t have any damn money!” Trying to get up, she fell into Jose’s lap. Brain on a merry-go-round, she stayed put. If he didn’t mind, she didn’t mind.
“I’m looking for your phone.” Sharon jiggled the orange case in her hand. “I’m calling Stephen. I hope he remembers me from that one get-together. It’s loud, I’ll be back.”
“Bye!” Raven waved from Jose’s lap. She turned back to the bartender, who had just placed three shots on the table, and tossed one after another back. “Bottoms up, Jose!”
Warm breath tickled her ear. Jose put his arm around her, whispering all the things he’d like to do once they left. His Spanglish was funny. His imagination was hilarious!
It took a while to notice her giddiness had spurred him on as he mentioned more outrageous, acrobatic sexual activities she had no intention of performing. Then she felt her body being lifted out of his lap.
“What the—” Raven said, having been planted down on her own two boots. Earth ceased spinning as she looked up into warm honey eyes. His full lips were teasing her to kiss him. “Liam …” Putting her hands over her mouth in disbelief, she gawked at the only love she’d ever known. There, standing so close. If she could have gotten on her tippy toes to plant a big, fat kiss on his lips, she would have. And then slap the shit out of him.
“I know you’re not that drunk to have forgotten my name!”
Soberness slammed into her. Her intact heart crumpled back into pieces again. No, it wasn’t Liam, but Stephen.
Jose stood up, looked Stephen up and down. “Get lost, cabrón.”
Stephen stepped closer and glared at the shorter, weaker guy. Jose glowered, chin held high, chest puffed out. He was living proof that drunken people had no clue of their limitations. Stephen’s hands balled into fists at his sides. “You better sit your ass back down.”
Jose sat. Stephen turned to Raven, swooping her into his arms like she was his to take. He passed a fake Christmas tree on his way out the door. She shaded her eyes as he strode into the cool night. Through long eyelashes, she saw Sharon leaning against her BMW.
“Thanks for calling me. Raven was acting like a fool. I’ll just take her home. You won’t be able to take her up the stairs anyway.”
“Fine by me.” Sharon hesitated, then backed toward her car. “Thanks.”
“No thanks needed,” he replied over his shoulder. He opened the passenger door and placed Raven in the seat then leaned over her to latch the seatbelt.
When he pulled in front of her home, Stephen said, “Raven ... I’m going in your purse to get your keys.” She didn’t reply. Just let him think you’re smashed. He left the car, opened the front door, and came back. Taking care in getting her out of the car, he carried her into the house and to her room. Stephen laid her on the bed.
“Raven.” He tried to stir her awake. “C’mon, ReRe. You don’t want to sleep in tight jeans.”
Sighing after a moment of waiting for a reply, Stephen pulled the sheet over her and put his shaking hands underneath, unlatching the button on her jeans. Raven let her body go limp and be pushed and pulled with every move. He was even more bashful than Calum had been while she was fully sober. She peeked at him through her curled lashes, but when he finished, she closed her eyes. Warm and snuggly was how she felt when his eyes roamed over her body.
“ReRe, you’re gonna to tell me about Liam, bright and early tomorrow,” he finally said.
Raven’s chest rose and fell gently. She pretended to snore. His knuckles tenderly caressed her cheek. “I love you,” he said, before walking out.
Head pounding, Raven’s first thought upon awakening was her financial situation. It was never about the money for her, and despite her mom’s beliefs, Raven had leaked the wedding photos just to be an asshole. She wouldn’t dream of sharing Trinity’s pictures.
Steel rods for legs, she got up to start her morning process. All while brushing her teeth, Raven concentrated on not slinking back to bed and hiding beneath her feather duvet. After washing her face, Raven was moisturizing when she realized there were no cartoons blaring from downstairs. The faint scent of brown sugar pancakes meant that Annette must have taken Royael to the park across the street.
The doorbell chimed.
She grumbled, stepped back into the bedroom for fuzzy slippers, and then descended the steps.
“Open up, Raven. I spoke with Annette across the street. I know you in there.”
Back leaning against the door, Raven imagined the night before. Stephen had reminded her of what Liam used to be. My rock … She wished he hadn’t saved her.
The doorbell rang again. Biting her lip, Raven turned around, unlocked the bolt, and turned the knob. Stephen and rays of December sunlight entered the dark living room. Her eyes closed momentarily.
“Nice to see you, too.” He brushed past her and took a seat on the couch. “And you’re so very welcome. I was driving home from a twelve-hour shift when your friend called me yesterday. Now, who is he?”
“Hey, Steve. And if you gave me a damn chance, saying thank you would’ve been the next step.” She sank down into Grandpa Otis’s lazy boy.
“Don’t play with me, ReRe. Who is Liam?” When she rolled her eyes, he added, “I’m your friend. I thought we were going to sidestep our issues?”
We don’t have any issues. We’re BFFs. “Nobody important,” she said drily.
“Liam is Royael’s father, isn’t he? The man who made you empty inside. He’s the reason you think you can’t be loved. Then you go wasting time with William. Man, I still can’t wrap my head around y’all’s relationship.” He shook his head
“Stephen, please.” I don’t need the drama today. Her finger traced the cracks in Grandpa Otis’s leather chair, and she glanced at Stephen as he nodded his apology. Placing his hands behind his head, he leaned back and waited. She sighed, hoping she could trust the man.
Raven tugged her plump bottom lip through her teeth as she felt Stephen’s gaze piercing into her soul. Hands on the armrest, Grandpa’s chair gave her the comfort to tell him the truth. The whole truth.
Sitting on the side of Royael’s bed, Raven sang their special song. Her daughter’s eyes drooped, ready for a nap. She slowly stood and couldn’t stop herself from leaving a soft kiss on Royael’s forehead before tiptoeing toward the door. The soft voice calling her name made Raven turn back around. Lips pursed, she knelt back on the floor.
“Are you still sad?” Royael yawned.
“No, beautiful. How could I ever be sad? I am the luckiest woman in the world to be your mom,” Raven said, and she meant it. Knowing that Royael was a cranky little diva without her nap, she offered, “If you go to sleep now, I’ll take your picture later.”
“Okay, Mommy.” Royael yawned, amber eyes beginning to shade. “I have to do my job and make Mommy happy.”
Her daughter’s words moved her heart as Raven descended the stairs. She closed her eyes to quell the tears beginning to form. She stepped into the tiny kitchen where Annette was marinating pork chops.
“Thanks so much, Granny … for today.”
Placing the seasoning on the counter, Annette glanced into her glossed eyes. “Raven, this too shall pass.”
Raven nodded with a weak smile. They weren’t rather touchy-feely people. Usually working alongside each other in the kitchen was her granny’s favorite kind of quality time, but it seemed Annette had more to say.
“You check in with Dr. Stanton?”
Raven’s eyes brightened. If a person hadn’t known Annette when they crossed paths with her, they saw God in her. Regardless of how quickly they were introduced. Annette was one of those Southern Christians, where therapy clashed with their beliefs. When Raven began to see Dr. Stanton, Annette had gotten out the Bible.
Raven slowly nodded. “Yeah …”
“Go rest, ReRe,” Annette said, aware that her granddaughter needed a moment. Raven’s suffering from PTSD was still a touchy subject. Annette gave a wry smile and wagged a finger. “And don’t you be leaving any more of your coffee shop tips in the cookie jar. I went to sneak my weekly Madeleine cookie a little while ago, and only thing there was the little bit of money you have after those darn pageants. So, no need wasting it on a fat old bitty like me. If I was going to take those diabetes pills …”
“Then you’d buy them yourself,” Raven huffed. But you can’t afford to pay for the prescription. “All right, Granny, I won’t do it anymore.”
Before Raven could cuddle into the worn lazy boy, the doorbell rang again. She went to answer it. Composed, she opened the door to Sharon. Is this be-truthful-to-a-friend-day?
“You look like a hot mess.” Sharon sat on the same spot Stephen had claimed a few hours ago.
Raven looked down at her comfy slippers. She also had on her hoodie and sweat pants. “Well, thanks, Sharon. You’re killing it as always.”
“Damn straight.” Sharon grinned. Not necessarily a looker, she accessorized to a T. Sharon rummaged through her snakeskin purse and smacked a business magazine down on the coffee table.
Raven legs went momentarily weak as she took a seat next to her friend. Magazines were scary, horrid monsters. Familiar hazel eyes stared at her. Liam Lemaître was on the cover. Her gaze traveled over a royal-blue, tailored suit, cufflinks twinkling with diamonds. Handsome. Muscular arms folded. Confident. Blond hair tousled in a manner which made him him. Charismatic. Chin high, perfect lips curved into a smile. Arrogant.
“Read it,” Sharon said. When Raven didn’t make a move to take the magazine, Sharon snatched opened it to a page that already had an ear-fold. “Jonathan Liam Delacroix Lemaître Junior—Good God, how many names does this asshole need! Anyway, and I quote, ‘Legacy to the golden umbrella, Delacroix Corporation … Opens Delacroix Hotel USA corporate branch … new sky-rise in Dallas … multibillion dollar mogul, his grandfather Pierre Delacroix has handed him the key to the Delacroix Hotel kingdom!’” Sharon paused. “Must I continue?”
“Sharon, just go home and take that with you.” Raven stood up. “We can get together some other time. But don’t come back with that.”
“Girl, sit! You ruined our usual Thursday happy hour with that foolishness. We’re gonna get his slimy ass.”
“Do you not recall how I just got accused by my own mother of ‘pimping’ out my baby half-sister? Selling baby photos for a fucking paycheck. How low should I feel for some foul crap I would never do?”
“I’m not even going to get on the subject of Char. Taking the wedding pictures was … Well, we just knew each other from college. I never would have really spoken to you if you hadn’t taken those pictures, because your too fucking introverted, so oh well. Now back to you, when is the last time you smiled? And I don’t mean because you forced me to tag along to one of those damn Kevin Hart movies.”
Raven willed herself to smirk at the joke, to come alive as far as a facial expression, but it was no use.
“The reason you smile isn’t even five feet tall.”
Raven thought about her baby girl.
“Yeah, The Diva makes you smile.”
It was all true. There were only two reasons for Raven to smile. One involved a wide, stiff, exaggerated grin when Royael was on a pageant stage. Raven always modeled a hard grin as a reminder for her daughter. The other times were the real deal, when her child won Natural or Glitz, or anytime Royael smiled.
“You’re going to tell Liam that you know somebody who works for Scandalous. Liam can confirm it’s me.” Sharon pointed to herself. “However, he won’t know that I already know about his family secrets. He’ll give you enough money to pay for your school, Royael’s school—hell, enough for her to attend college, Annette’s bills. Whatever you need, and honey, y’all do need.”
“What if he doesn’t give in?” Raven’s eyes flitted to their scrawny Christmas tree and the few gifts underneath. And despite promising not to help Annette pay for any more medication, that was a request Raven had no intention of keeping.
“What if, what if, what if! He’s rich. The affluent only recognize reputation. If it gets out that Liam Lemaître had a baby with his half-sister, it would be the talk of the town. I mean, all the way from the US of A to France. So it
would behoove him to act like he got sense!
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