by Nora Cobb
I shake my head.
Her hands fly to her hips. Her red nails stand out against her black dress. “Fine, you want to play games with the grown-ups? Then let’s do what the big people do and talk deals. Break up with Natalie, and Vicki won’t have to marry that repulsively stupid Connor Bouchard. I’ll call it off, and your father will gladly pay the penalty for breaking the contract.”
“Is that the best deal that you have?” I snarl, stepping forward. “What happens when you pick the next rich loser to marry Vicki off to?”
Flouncing off into the living room, my mother holds out her arms, shrugs her shoulders, and then smiles.
I scoff as I shake my head at her gullibility. “You weren’t born wealthy, Mother, but I was. I’ve known the code since I was in the crib. So, let me educate you on how to make a deal.”
She purses her lips together and watches me as I step into the room.
“I’ve spoken to my lawyer,” I continue, “Not your lawyer. Not Dad’s lawyer but my own lawyer, who is on retainer. And I’m filing papers to become Vicki’s legal guardian. And when I become her legal guardian, that marriage contract will be null and void because my signature isn’t on it. The day I move out of this house, she’s coming with me and not being sold off to the highest bidder.”
My mother is speechless. She blinks her eyes as my words seep into her brain. But the quiet only lasts a minute before she lashes out. “You think you’re the big man?” she shouts. “I whip big men. Look at your father. You’re not doing this for your sister.” She chuckles, twisting her lips into a scowl. “You’re doing this for that girl, for that pregnant whore!”
My face drops. She knows? “What did you say?”
My mother laughs cruelly. “It was on the same website where the little whore’s nudes were posted. So, you would raise another man’s baby?”
“How do you know it’s another man’s baby?”
She sits down on a wing-back armchair, crossing her legs and stretching out her arms as if she’s on a throne. “Because it’s insinuated that the baby could have one of three last names—Saunders, Fleming, or Bellman. She’s using you, Troy. This is the only reason why you would turn on me, because that little whore has given you a sob story and turned you away from your family.”
Of course, I know Natalie isn’t using me. If she is, then why say yes to Jacob? The four of us know the baby’s mine.
My mother sits there with an insincere smile on her face, her expression morphing into a taunting leer. I can’t look at her. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Without a word, I turn and walk upstairs toward my bedroom. Looking up the staircase, I see Vicki standing almost concealed by the wall on the second floor.
I give her a hard look, but don’t say anything as I go into my room and slam the door.
A moment later, there’s a knock. It’s too soft to be my father’s and not frantic enough to be my mother’s. I go to the door and open it.
“Can I talk to you?” asks Vicki. Her moist eyes are red, and she chews on the cuff of her flannel shirt.
“Sure, come in.”
Vicki comes in and immediately falls onto my bed. She lies there, and I watch her stomach rise and fall as she takes in deep breaths.
“You heard everything?” I ask.
Eyes wide and looking away from me, she nods. “I didn’t know you were doing all those things.”
I sit beside her and place my hand gently on her knee. “Vicki, I couldn’t leave you here alone with a clear conscience, knowing what you were headed towards.”
Sitting up, Vicki leans into me and hugs me around the waist. For a moment, she cannot speak, but I can feel the tears falling from her eyes. She’s sobbing so hard that all I can do is rub her back to calm her down.
“I knew,” she starts, “that you would do something, that you wouldn’t just abandon me. I knew that you would come through.”
“How did you know?” I ask quietly. I wasn’t sure myself.
“Because you will always be the big brother that I remember—the one who always cared about me.”
I hold onto Vicki as she dries her tears on her sleeve.
“I guess you heard about the baby?” I ask.
Her face reddens, but I think nothing of it. “Yes,” she pauses, “I heard Mother yelling at you.”
Of course she did, and I wonder if Dad heard too. I wonder where he is.
“What are you going to do?” she asks. “Are you going to marry her?”
I don’t know how to answer. I want to marry Natalie, but I don’t want to tell Vicki that, not right now. Not after her close call. Let the moment be about Vicki. I decide not to say anything about my relationship with Natalie. Let Vicki concentrate on finding peace in her muddled mind that our family has caused.
“I haven’t decided anything yet,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to her tangled hair, “but I’m pretty certain that the baby is mine.”
CHAPTER 14
Lucas
The day Arielle moves out, she ignores us as if we’re furniture she’s leaving behind. That’s fine because no one is speaking to her either. A handyman shows up to move her things out, and Taylor watches from the front door, making sure that Arielle doesn’t leave with any of the family possessions. Danish modern was never Arielle’s taste, but Taylor wants to have the last say without speaking a word. When everything is cleared out, Arielle looks at Taylor, gives her the finger, and speeds off in her BMW.
Taylor sighs deeply and says that she’s glad Arielle is gone. But just because Taylor is happy to have Arielle leave doesn’t mean that she’ll be glad to see Natalie take her place.
The smell of bacon drifts into my bedroom, and it’s time for breakfast on a Saturday morning. I fling the sheets off me and go downstairs to get breakfast dressed in my sweats and T-shirt. Taylor is in the enclosed patio, drinking black coffee while the cook sets a plate for Dad. I’m not sure if he’s joining us, but I figure I’ll test the waters first. Jacob has a point: unless my parents are willing to accept Natalie as my future wife, we won’t ever marry.
“Would you like something to eat?” asks Taylor.
“The bacon smells good,” I reply.
Taylor sighs. “Yes, but I can’t eat anything until after one p.m.”
“New diet?” I ask, reaching for a strip off my dad’s plate.
“It’s more like a health regime.” She leans toward me and places a warm hand on my forearm. “Lucas, you look tired. We’ve all been through a lot. Why don’t you come with me upstate to the spa? It will freshen you up a bit.”
I’m almost tempted to say yes. I would like to see what exactly goes on at that spa. But that’s not the reason why I look tired. I’m worried about losing Natalie to Jacob or Troy. They both have staked a claim to her while I have nothing to offer her yet.
The cook places a plate of bacon and toast in front of me, but I push it aside. “We need to talk, Taylor.”
“Certainly. What do you wish to talk about?”
I hate that. I say “Us,” but she flips it back on to me. “We need to talk about the future.”
It’s not something that Taylor wants to address, and she starts to fidget in her seat, looking towards the door for Dad to enter. She and Dad have been relying on each other more than ever since this meltdown starring Arielle. It’s ironic that my biggest problem brought them back together … almost. Arielle’s presence curtailed Taylor’s excessive drinking. Dad has been so stressed out over the Blackwaters that he’s spent more time at home in his office, hiding our assets with Taylor’s help.
And as if she’s summoned him, Dad appears at the table, carrying a bowl of oatmeal.
“Good, your father is here,” Taylor smiles with relief. “We can all have a talk together.”
I eye Taylor openly. I wonder if she’s anxious because she senses what I want to talk about.
Dad pats my shoulder as he sits down with his large bowl of steel-cut oatmeal. He pushes his bacon and toast toward my plate. H
e looks at me when I sigh, and gestures towards the plate piled high with strips of crisp bacon and toast saturated with butter.
“You don’t want it?” he asks, grinning. “You have a young body. You’ll burn that off on the ice.”
I shake my head. Once we start talking, I’m not going to have much of an appetite.
With bright blue eyes, Taylor speaks to Dad. She doesn’t conceal her joy that he’s home more. “Lucas would like to talk to us about something.”
The guarded glance they share between themselves is hard to miss, and I know without a doubt that something has happened, and I was the topic of conversation.
“What’s on your mind, son?” Dad eats a spoonful of his oatmeal while staring at the French doors. He’d rather be anywhere than here right now.
“I want to choose who I marry,” I state simply.
Dad’s hand tightens around the handle of his spoon as he stops eating and just stares out the French doors. “That’s not a good idea,” he replies, “but you can have some input. Do you have anyone in mind?”
I take a deep breath. “I want to marry Natalie Page.”
Like a flash of lightning, Dad throws his spoon across the room. It hits the window, leaving a smear of oatmeal on the clean glass, but the glass doesn’t break. It looks like no one will be eating breakfast this morning.
“Lucas,” he says. “We have talked about this in the past, and I am dead set against you marrying that girl.”
“Since day one, you’ve been against her,” I reply. “Is there a legit reason why you’re so against us marrying?”
Dad looks me straight in the eye. “That girl is only fit for a fling and not marriage. Her family is trash, and she’s not the type of woman you should marry.”
My face heats up, and an argument is definitely brewing. “That’s not a good reason. It’s your opinion.” My voice is calm, but my hands shake. “And so far, the choices you’ve made have not gone well … for any of us.”
He scoffs. “Your marriage to Arielle might have worked if Natalie Page hadn’t interfered.”
“How can you even say that with a straight face?” I ask. “When you saw what it was like to live here with that banshee?”
“Lucas, I’m not going to allow you to marry Natalie Page.” My father is on the verge of shouting. “Her gay uncle may have made a couple of dollars, but she is only one zip code away from being trailer trash.”
I knew my father wasn’t the most evolved person, but since my marriage to Arielle, he’s proven that he is less than tolerant of others. It embarrasses me worse than having been married to Arielle.
“Lucas,” says Taylor, grasping for calm, “Unfortunately, your father is right. Natalie Page is already involved in another scandal.”
I hold myself still. “And what scandal is that?”
Taylor looks to Dad, and Dad allows her to answer. She swallows, then replies, “She’s pregnant, and the gossip mill has suggested that it could be your baby.”
I sit there, dumbfounded. I can’t figure out how anyone else knows. Natalie doesn’t even know if she’s pregnant or not, but the rumors have her pregnant, and possibly, with my child.
A cold chill rolls down my back. I realize that the Blackwaters might try to drag us back into court. I’m starting to understand why my parents are so dead set against me marrying Natalie.
But I can wait if she will.
“How do you even know this?” I ask flatly.
Dad screws up his face in a distressing grimace. Obviously, I should have denied it first. “I read it online,” he says, “among other lurid details about her and her gay uncle. He’s about to lose his business because he can’t keep his dick in his pants. I’m sure the senator doesn’t want his son marrying a Page either.”
The room is silent. My father is criticizing someone else for their sex drive. It dawns on me that he’s not even upset about the baby. I push my plate away, wondering how many half siblings I have and never met.
“Natalie would have been my choice from the start,” I reply stiffly. “This is vicious gossip because Arielle is jealous of her. I’m sure she has something to do with it.
“The Blackwaters need to watch their step.” Dad grabs the spoon off Taylor’s saucer for his oatmeal. “Or I’ll drag them into court for libel. We need a stable girl for your wife, not someone with so much baggage.”
“Natalie and I could wait a year to actually marry.” I offer. “Things will calm down.”
Dad rubs his face as if it pains him to speak. He leans his elbow on the table and tosses the spoon into the oatmeal. When he speaks again, his voice is weary but resistant.
“Lucas, you don’t understand. If Natalie Page were some random girl at Montlake who had a good reputation, I would not care. But she’s who she is, and you’ve already risked the family wealth by sneaking around with her. You’re not only risking your status but, by extension, my reputation. And this rumor of being pregnant with an unknown father’s baby is a scandal that I will not allow.”
“Even if I might be the father?” I ask.
“Especially if you’re the father.” He sighs. “The Blackwaters would find some way to take us back to court. Right now, we have the upper hand because their daughter is sloppy and careless. But I will not have my son marrying another slut.”
I stand up from the table so quickly it sends my chair to the ground. My forehead is covered in sweat, and my face burns with anger. My father has the nerve to call Natalie a slut when he’s the biggest slut I know.
“You knew I didn’t want to marry Arielle!” I shout. “Do you think it was because I was picky? I told you the girl was a vindictive mess, but you chucked me at her anyway. I don’t understand your reasoning when you lived the facts. You’ve met Natalie. You know she’s decent and smart. Arielle is jealous of her. How can I take your decisions seriously in light of your own behavior?”
Taylor jumps up and grabs my arm to prevent Dad from grabbing me. But he remains seated, glaring at me the same way he did when he told me I was a disappointment.
“Lucas,” she says, “This isn’t just about us. It’s also about you. We’re protecting you.”
I shake my head. “Don’t give me that old tired bullshit, Taylor.” I look at Dad. “Don’t you remember the crap he said to me in his office? How I disappointed him. Well, I’m about to disappoint him again because I have no intention of marrying any woman that he chooses. I know who I’m going to marry, and that’s Natalie Page.”
Before Dad can blow up, I storm out of the room and go upstairs to dress. I need to get out of this house.
When I come back downstairs, Dad and Taylor are standing in the hallway. Her face is splotchy, and his face is creased into heavy lines from shouting. They look at me, but I glare at the door as I walk out.
“Lucas, don’t make a mistake!” Dad shouts. “Because I would hate to see you make another one.”
CHAPTER 15
Natalie
It’s the weekend, and I badly need it. Classes are officially over, and final exams start Monday morning. The physics study group I signed up for will meet later at the town library. It’s too early to get up, so I lie in bed, looking around the stuff in my room. I have a mental list of what I’m taking to college, and what I’ll toss. I want a dorm room filled with adult stuff, so my unicorn collection will be packed away in a box in the attic. My Montlake clothing is going to Goodwill.
I breathe in deeply, stretching my limbs as I shut my eyes and smile. My period started late last night, and I was glad to see it.
There’s a sharp knock on my bedroom door, and my relief is short-lived. Uncle Phil comes into my room without waiting for an invite. He grips his tablet in his hand, and his face is flushed as he points at the screen.
“Have you seen this?”
Without waiting for a reply, he tosses the tablet onto the bed. It almost lands on me, but he doesn’t apologize. I pick up the tablet and gasp when I see a picture of me with Lucas, Troy, an
d Jacob from prom. It was taken after we were named queen and kings of the prom. Jacob stands behind me, and Lucas stands in front of me on the stage. I’m smiling while Troy places the crown on my head. The title under the picture reads, “Pregnant student crowned slut, but who’s the daddy?”
“Are you pregnant?” demands Uncle Phil.
My mouth opens, but I’m speechless. If he asked me yesterday, I would have burst into tears, but today, with a clear conscience, I can shake my head and deny it.
“No, I swear I’m not pregnant.”
