by Chloe Walsh
“Damn straight I’ll have my car.” I tightened my hold on the steering wheel. I had thrown a fit when Gabe tried to insist on us flying.
There was no way in hell I was leaving my car behind. I cherished my 1963 Mercury Comet convertible. She was my baby and the one thing on earth I loved above everything else.
It had been left to me by my mother’s father in his will. It was the only gift I remembered getting from him and I inherited it on my sixteenth birthday. It was an off-white color with a red interior and she drove like a dream, too. Really solid and sweet on the road…
“I need you to try and make this work,” Mom said then, breaking through my daydream. “Mercy, you’ll be eighteen in a few months. This time next year, you’ll be heading off to college somewhere, and where will that leave me?”
“You’re not supposed to ask me that,” I muttered. “It’s not my job to take care of you, Mom.” So stop making me feel so bad for wanting a better life than this.
“I love Gabe.”
I snorted. “You’ve known him for a grand total of four months.” I remembered it like it was yesterday; Mom bringing that fancy suited man into our one bed apartment last May. I’d been trying to study for finals. Of course, my plans had gone to shit the minute they slipped into Mom’s bedroom. I got my first ever C because of their unbearably loud sex noises. Inconsiderate assholes.
“Don’t you think two people can fall in love in that time span?”
“I think you can fall in lust,” I argued. “Love though?” I shook my head. “I hate to break it to you, Mom, but it doesn’t exist.”
“Always so cynical.”
“Real,” I corrected. “I’m sorry if I don’t buy into the whole hearts and flowers bullshit we’re all spoon-fed from birth, but I know damn well that if a knight in white armor’s gonna ride in and change my life then that knight will be me.”
“Mercedes,” Mom sighed.
“You put too much faith in the male species, mother,” I argued further. “You’ve got a brain in your head. Use it. Empower yourself.”
“I like who I am,” Mom countered. “I like being attended to.”
Attended to?
Was she for freaking real?
“Ugh. Whatever, fine. Go chase after that true love bullshit you’ve been telling yourself is real all your life. Maybe you’ll find it at the end of a rainbow with a pot of gold and fix all of our problems.”
“I told you. Money’s not an issue anymore.”
“For you, mom,” I glared. “It’s not an issue for you.”
“Gabe has offered to pay your education in whatever college you want to attend.”
“How generous.” My tone was laced with sarcasm. “Come on, Mom. You know better than that. A rich man doesn’t give something for nothing.”
“Gabe does.”
“We’ll see,” I muttered.
How anyone had let this woman-child be responsible for a baby was beyond me, but she’d managed to keep me alive this long, I figured what was another nine months?
My future was almost secured. I had one more year of high school, and if my Step-Daddy wanted to foot the bill for my college education, then I sure as hell wasn’t going to say no.
They could consider it a severance pay, because once I got finished with high school, I would not be coming back to Florida.
That was for sure.
Rourke
“HEY MOMMA,” I muttered as I hunched down beside the marble headstone that marked the final resting place of my mother. I didn’t come here as much as I used to. It hurt too fucking much. When I was younger, I would ride my bike out here most days, but now? Now, I came when shit was hitting the fan at home. “It’s that time of the year again.”
The cemetery was quiet and I was glad. I needed to vent and I wasn’t in the mood to wait around. It sucked major ass that the only person I felt I could truly confide in consisted of bones and ash and was six feet beneath me, but that’s how life went sometimes. “I hate him so much, Momma. I’m fucking burning inside. I feel like busting every wall in that house just to stop myself from busting his face.”
Brushing aside some leaves and mulch, I exhaled a heavy sigh and sank down on the grass beside her. “He’s at home waiting on Cassidy to arrive.” I picked at several shoots of green grass as I spoke. “This one’s got a kid, too – Mercedes.” Feeling the anger rise inside of my body, I forced myself to breathe deep and slow before continuing. “Doesn’t matter. They won’t ever mean a damn thing to me.” That, I was absolutely sure of. “She’s just another number to me, Momma.” I scrunched my nose up in disgust. “Her kid, too.”
The sound of footsteps approaching caused me to clamp my mouth shut. Stiffening, I turned my head to one side and watched as a girl I had grown up with wandered down the path towards me. I instantly recognized her, and with that recognition came a huge swell of pity.
“Rourke,” she acknowledged quietly.
I nodded. “Molly.”
“Haven’t seen you here in a while.”
“Haven’t been here in a while,” I replied honestly.
“It’s always hard when you’ve been away for a while.” Molly stopped four plots down from where I was sitting, eyes locked on the two headstones laying side by side. “The guilt is the worst.” I watched as she knelt down on the grass and clasped her hands together. “Hey, Momma. Hey, Bobby.” Molly turned to face me and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve been taking care of her grave” She gestured towards my mother’s plot. “I pick out weeds anytime they sprout up and lay some fresh flowers down every time I bring some.”
“Thank you.” My voice was thick and gruff. Molly was the one person in this town who, when my own life went to shit, I could look at and think at least I don’t have it as bad as she does. That was her mother and little brother down there. I’d lost my mother, but I still had Amelia. Molly was alone.
“I heard about your Daddy getting remarried again,” she added with a small frown. “I’m not sure whether I should congratulate you or offer you my condolences.”
“The latter, Molly.” I smirked and climbed to my feet. “Always the latter.”
“See you at school, I guess,” she called out when I turned to leave.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I’ll see you.”
Mercedes
THE FIRST THING THAT hit me when I arrived in Ocean Bay was the heat. It was stifling and my ass cheeks had left their imprint on the leather interior of my car.
“Goddamn,” I muttered as I dragged my dehydrated carcass out of the car. Covering my eyes with my hand, I took in my surroundings in a state of semi-awe/semi-dismay. “This place is…intense.”
“It’s amazing, right?” Mom squealed as she got out and walked around to my side of the car. “This is it, Mercy,” she whispered in delight as she caught ahold of my hands and squeezed. “We’ve made it, baby.”
“God, Mom.” I shook my head in embarrassment. It was bad enough that I knew she thought of this place as her meal ticket, but hearing her say it out loud was too freaking much.
“There’s my girl!”
The sound of Gabe’s sickeningly smooth voice had my mother squealing like a little girl and dashing off in the direction of the huge mofo mansion/beach house in front of us.
Ugh.
“Gabe!” Wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck, Mom threw herself into his embrace.
Meanwhile, I attempted not to be sick.
This was beyond gross.
Placing my shades on my head, I’d needed them while driving in the goddamn sun, I reached into the backseat and retrieved my backpack.
Yeah, I wasn’t a purse kind of girl. Give me a backpack any day. Besides, I carried a lot of crap around with me. I had fair reason to. Most seventeen-year olds didn’t have a mother who could move them on a whim like I had.
Dragging my ass up the driveway, I slipped my backpack onto my shoulders and held onto the straps like they were a comfort blanket.
&nb
sp; I didn’t need this shit.
A new home.
A new town.
A new family.
Thoroughly revolted at the prospect of all three, I trailed after my mom and her new husband, with a someone pissed in my cornflakes expression molded to my face. I didn’t care if Gabe held the crown jewels inside that mansion of his. I was not going to be happy about it.
“Don’t touch me,” I warned him when he held the front door open for me.
Immediately he withdrew the hand he had been about to place on my shoulder. “Right…uh, no problem, Mercedes.” Good. We weren’t there yet and, if I had my way, we never would be.
Rolling my eyes, I ignored the formal way he said my name. A name I loathed to be called. Another mark on the shit list for you, Gabo!
“This is beautiful,” Mom squealed, clapping in delight when we stepped inside the ginormous foyer. Spinning around to face me, Mom beamed. “Isn’t this place beautiful, Mercy?”
She was right.
It was beautiful.
Of course, I would rather die than compliment this man’s house.
“Peachy,” I replied in a bored drawl, flicking my glasses back down on my nose. I was a master at concealing my true thoughts and feelings. I knew I looked bored, but the truth was I was impressed with the interior of this house. Big time.
As I stood on the cool, black marble tiles and looked around, I was immediately transported to an Italian villa in Europe. That’s what this place reminded me of. The cream painted walls were in stark contrast to the enormous circular, black, cast iron staircase leading up the second level of the house. And the oversized paintings and mirrors hung cleverly to absorb light? Yeah, they screamed pretentious – and filthy rich. Hell, the ceiling was at least twenty feet above us. I was in some deep shit, that was for sure.
With my fingers still curled around the straps of my backpack, I looked at my new Daddy and asked, “Where’s my room?”
“Mercy!” Mom hissed, clearly embarrassed. “Don’t be rude.”
I opened my mouth to give my mother an explicit example on just how rude I could be when Gabe interjected.
“It’s fine, sweetheart.” Walking over to my mother, Gabe wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled down at her. “I’m sure you’re both exhausted from the drive down here.” He frowned then. “I’ve organized a family dinner in the dining room, but if you’d rather lie down first, we can postpone?”
I said “yes” at the same time my mom said “no.”
Seeing as Gabe had a higher probability of getting laid tonight if he agreed with my mother, he followed his dick and led her through the house and into the dining room.
Miserable, I followed after them.
“Mercedes, you met my son Rourke at the wedding, didn’t you?” Gabe announced when we walked into the overly jazzed up dining room.
Instinctively, my gaze honed in on Gabe’s son who was already seated at the table and my heart sank into my ass. Rourke sat at the far side of the huge oak table, glaring daggers at my face with hard, blue eyes.
The guy had some fierce eyes. The color was a deep ocean blue and they were pretty. His dark brown hair was sexily disheveled. He looked too good to be sitting across from me. Too built to be going into his senior year of high school. He looked more like a senior in college.
“Yeah,” I ground out through clenched teeth as I took the seat opposite him. “I remember.” He didn’t offer me a hello, so I didn’t bother to offer him one either.
Steeling myself, I folded my arms across my chest, and glared back at the beautiful bastard with a look my mother had labeled my ‘resting bitch face’.
Rourke was snarling at me, so I returned the gesture.
I had no intentions of entertaining his bullshit; I’d endured more than enough of it the last time we met…
This is the biggest croc of shit ever. Getting married in a church for the fifth time? Was that even allowed? Honestly, I had no idea. I wasn’t religious myself, had never chosen a particular man in the sky to pitch my flag to. I mean sure, my mom had been brought up in the Baptist faith, and I, in turn, had learned to pray to the man upstairs when shit hit the fan and I was in need of some divine intervention. However, the fact that I was standing beside my mother as she pledged herself to Gabe, made it perfectly clear the big guy wasn’t taking pagan pleas.
“If anyone objects to this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”
Biting back the urge to scream I object, I decided to focus my attention on Gabe’s son who was standing slightly behind his father and directly opposite me. He looked miserable…and hot. Tall and muscular, Rourke Owens filled that suit in all the right places. Maybe this marriage crap wouldn’t be so bad; at least I got to drool over Rourke – in secrecy of course.
Rourke’s blue eyes landed on mine then, startling me, and I smiled, offering him my best ’I know how you feel, this sucks’ gesture. He didn’t return the smile. He didn’t even blink. He just stood a few feet away, staring at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle and the answer was in my eyes.
When the pastor pronounced them husband and wife, and their guests cheered and clapped, Mom and Gabe led the way out of the church, followed by his daughter and the other groomsman, and then finally me and Rourke; the reluctant best man and even more reluctant maid of honor.
We linked arms, but I had to take a moment to steady my nerves before I could walk. God, he was so tall and he smelled delicious; like soap and cologne and man.
“So, this sucks,” I whispered, as we trailed after our parents.
“Does it?” he replied, his voice barely more than a whisper, as he stared straight ahead.
“Um…yeah?” Even in heels, I barely reached his shoulder in height, and had to crane my neck up to look at him. “Don’t you agree?”
“Cut the shit. I know what you want,” he said after a moment, voice still seductively soft. “You and her.”
I stiffened. “And what’s that?”
“Money,” Rourke replied softly. “It’s written all over her face – and yours.”
“You’re wrong about me,” I bit out, voice shaking a little, as we reached the entrance and stepped into the sunshine. He didn’t let go of me and I didn’t move away from him. I knew I should but I…couldn’t. I was determined to defend myself to this boy. “I don’t want this.”
Stopping several feet away from the bridal party, Rourke released my hand and took a step back from me. “My father might be stupid enough to fall for your mother’s shit, but I’m not him.” Folding his arms across his chest, he glared down at me. “Don’t think I’ll make the same mistake with you…”
I KNEW FULL WELL that Rourke Owens thought my mother was a gold-digger – he’d said as much on their wedding day. So did I, but I wasn’t about to voice that opinion to a guy who had obviously decided he hated my guts before getting to know me. He prejudged me and my intentions. He didn’t know shit.
Rourke’s eyes were filled with pure, unadulterated hatred for me as he leveled me with a look that said everything he was feeling in the moment.
Disgust, loathing, disappointment, mild boredom, and pure hatred.
He wasn’t going to accept me, I realized.
Well, fuck him.
People had tried to break me before.
He would fail, just like the others.
Bring it, asshole, I thought to myself. Let him hate me. Saved me the trouble of feigning any plausible amount of politeness around him. I wasn’t much of a talker anyway. I preferred to use my energy on other things, and if Rourke Owens expected me to swan in here and kiss his ass, then he had another thing coming. I was nobody’s bitch and he was about to learn that.
“And Amelia,” Gabe added, taking his seat at the head of the table. “My daughter?”
Reluctantly, I tore my gaze away from the horrible, beautiful bastard and focused on the meek blonde sitting beside him.
“Hello, Mercedes,” Amelia acknowledg
ed with a warm smile. “It’s good to see you again.” She looked younger than fifteen, and fragile to boot.
And even though I really did not want to like these people, there was something about the sadness in this girl’s eyes that caused the ice around my heart to thaw just a little bit.
“Hey,” I replied, inclining my head in her direction. It was the best I could do under the circumstances. Surprisingly, it seemed to be enough for Amelia because she beamed back at me.
Thankfully, the cook arrived then with our starters and, bringing with her, my excuse not to speak.
With my head down, I ignored the chattering coming from my mother and Gabe, choosing to focus on the snot-colored soup in my bowl. Christ, what the hell was that? Pea soup?
Braving the unknown, I dipped my spoon into the bowl and shoved it into my mouth, determined to get on with this damn dinner.
Not bad.
Feeling more at ease now that I knew the soup didn’t taste like a certain body part, I allowed my thoughts to wander as I ate it up…
It felt like my life had been thrown into the fast lane. Four months ago, I was wrapping up junior year with a 4.0 GPA and a full college scholarship in close sight.
Now, I was a little more than a month away from starting my senior year of high school in a snobby private school on the east coast, hundreds of miles from home, all because my mother couldn’t keep track of contraceptive jabs.
You would have thought having me in her sophomore year of high school would have made the woman more proactive and careful, but no, Cassidy James at thirty-three was as reckless and irresponsible as she had been at sixteen.
Even now, I wanted to reach forward and smack her silly. The only thing that stopped me from doing so was the tiny swell on her stomach she was proudly rubbing.
My mother was in love with all things love, but she wasn’t exactly a nurturer. She’d been more like an older sister to me growing up. When I reached the age of nine or ten, the roles reversed and I became the older sister. I was seventeen years old and exhausted from parenting a reckless mother.
