I heard my Dad yelling at Cole, “You are a lying, cheating scumbag just like your useless fuck up of a father…”
I don’t know how long it went on, because I reached my bedroom and slammed the door shut.
Chapter 28
Three months later…
COLE
Who the fuck kept ringing my doorbell? I cracked open an eye and peeked at my alarm clock. It was after noon, but I still felt so damned tired, I didn’t want to get up.
When a pounding at the door joined in with the constant ringing, I reluctantly got out of bed. I ran my hand through my hair as I headed to the door.
“Hold on a second.” I thought about putting on a shirt, but it seemed like a waste of energy. I was only going to get rid of whoever was at the door and head back to bed for a couple of hours.
I opened the door. It was my Mom. I was mildly surprised to see her and vaguely embarrassed about my disheveled appearance. “Mom, what are you doing here?”
She walked in and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Were you sleeping? Cole, this place is a pigsty!”
“Hi, Mom. Nice to see you, too.” I picked up a t-shirt off the ground and pulled it over my head. I was getting dressed and cleaning my apartment at the same time – bonus.
My mother walked around the apartment, poking into empty pizza boxes and tripping over my filth. “Look at all these beer bottles. Oh my God, Cole. I was worried about you when you weren’t returning my calls, but this is crazy. How much have you been drinking?”
I flopped down on the couch. “You came all the way out here to lecture me about drinking?”
“No.” Marissa looked inside my empty refrigerator. “I came out here to make sure you were okay. And it’s a good thing that I did. How about you go get cleaned up and then I’ll take you out to lunch.”
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to argue with her and I hadn’t had anything but cheap take-out for weeks. “Alright.”
I showered and shaved, and then found the cleanest looking clothes off my floor. I hadn’t done laundry in about a month. By the time I was finished, my Mom had cleaned up all the beer bottles and trash in the main rooms.
“Mom, you didn’t have to clean up…” My protests were half-hearted and we both knew it.
“It smells like stale beer and stinky feet in here. It’s disgusting. Let’s get out of here. I need some fresh air.”
I didn’t know anything about restaurants in the area, so I directed her to a local bar and grill that I passed most everyday.
She waited until we were seated and served before the inquisition began. “Are you working?”
“I’m bartending.”
Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “You quit your job to come out here and bartend?”
I shrugged casually, “It’s not easy to find a job out here.”
She put down her fork, pinning me with her eyes. “So what are you doing out here, Cole?”
“Mom…” I felt uneasy under her fierce scrutiny. “I just had to get out of there.”
She took a sip of her diet soda, quietly regarding me. “Does this have anything to do with Ava?”
I couldn’t keep the flicker of sadness off my face, but I remained silent. I didn’t want to get into it with my Mom.
She leaned forward. “Frank didn’t tell me what happened, but I’m not blind, Cole. And I’m not stupid. You got caught fooling around with Ava. Not your finest hour, for sure, but-”
I tried to cut her off, “Mom-”
She didn’t back down. “But, I’m beginning to suspect it was something more than just fooling around.”
I shook my head, denying her words. “It was all a stupid mistake. She didn’t deserve any of this. I’m just too much of a fuckup.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like Frank.” She was pissed. “Stop talking like that about yourself.”
I didn’t say anything, but my head was beginning to pound. I needed a beer.
We didn’t speak for a few minutes. When my mom spoke again, she sounded calm. “Frank and I aren’t doing too well. I’m thinking about leaving him.”
I blinked. That was something I would never have suspected. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Cole, I have to know,” she pleaded for the truth, “did Frank have anything to do with you leaving?”
I didn’t know what to say. Frank had me by the balls and one little fuck up and he could mail that bogus letter.
My mom looked at me sadly. “Your non-answer says it all. Cole, this is my husband we’re talking about. I have to know. What did he do?”
I was tired and my head was pounding. I had gotten into the habit of doing a few shots after my 2am bar shift was over, just to help me fall asleep. Then I’d wake up and have a few beers to stave off any shitty reminders of my shitty life. I only stopped drinking while I was working, and luckily I was far too busy at that time to have to worry about any thoughts crowding in.
“Mom, I can handle Frank. And I can handle my own problems. You shouldn’t worry about me.”
She scoffed at the notion. “Right. Seems like you’re doing just fine. Just like Ava is, too.”
“How is Ava doing?” I was reluctant to ask.
My mother sighed. “I’m worried about her. She hardly eats, she never goes out anymore, she never smiles… Just about as good as you’re doing - except she’s not wallowing in her own filth, thank God.”
I pushed aside my plate. I couldn’t eat anymore. “What a fucking mess I made. I never meant to hurt her.”
“I know you didn’t.” Mom patted my hand. “Honey, tell me why you left. I know Frank did something. He was always very hard on you growing up. I always hated the way he spoke to you - comparing you to your father. I just thought he was trying to scare you onto the right path. He was tough with his rigid military ways, and I thought the discipline would be good for you.”
Fuck, I so did not want to get into this right now. “It’s okay, Mom. I was a tough kid to raise. I was always getting into trouble - getting terrible grades and stuff.”
“And I always thought Frank was just frustrated with you. You definitely were a pain in the neck growing up. Frank constantly told me that he didn’t want you to end up like your father. And, I didn’t either.” My mother shook her head. “But, I’m starting to think there was more to it and that I just had my head in the sand all along.”
Frank’s reaction did seem a little extreme, but I always knew that he hated me. “What do you mean? What more could there be?”
My mother’s eyes saddened. “I’m not sure you know all this history. Frank and I were dating when I met your father. I made a terrible mistake and had an affair. Frank was devastated when I became pregnant.”
I never knew that my mother and Frank had that history. “Okay.”
My mother took a sip of water. “I married your father, but it was awful. The only good thing your father ever did was give me you. I left him about a year after you were born. I couldn’t risk your safety.”
From the scraps of information I had heard growing up, I had always suspected that my father had been abusive. My mother had never let me have anything to do with him and it turned out that my father hadn’t really cared too much. I only ever recalled seeing him twice in my life.
My mom continued, “I struggled trying to make ends meet for a long time. Then a few years later, after his wife died, Frank and I started dating again. After the hell I went through with your father, Frank seemed so stable and decent. But, he always hated your father with a passion. And now I believe that he transferred some of that anger to you.”
I laughed bitterly. “Well, I know he doesn’t like me. I’m pretty sure he fucking hates me. Messing around with his daughter probably didn’t help.”
“No,” she agreed. “That didn’t help. But if he did something to drive you away, I need to know about it.”
How could I get her to back down? “Mom, if Frank wants to, he can really fuck me over. It’s bett
er if you just drop this.”
Well, that was the last thing I should have said. After that, my mother was like a dog with a bone, she wasn’t going to back down no matter what I said. In the end, I ordered a beer, and spilled my guts.
It felt good to get it out in the open and to have my mom on my side, but she was furious and I was worried that she might unintentionally fuck things up for me.
My mom was thinking. “Frank had told me about the police station. He never mentioned anything about rape though. He just said it was some kind of drunken mishap at a bar.”
“He probably didn’t want to worry you.” I suggested.
My mother’s brow creased. “And he told you that he’s been paying off this Sammy guy for four years not to turn you in?”
I thought for a moment. “He didn’t say that exactly. But he made it seem like he had paid the guy off.”
“Something doesn’t make sense. Why would this guy point the finger at you when you had nothing to do with it?” My mother looked worried.
I finished my beer, looking around for our waitress. “I don’t know. Probably just to extort money out of Frank. Maybe he’s doing it to other people who were at the bar that night, too. Who knows?”
We sat silently for a few minutes before she spoke again. “Well, I suspected something was going on. But to find out that my own husband is threatening to send my son off to jail on bogus charges is unbelievable. I’m done with him, Cole.”
“Mom, please don’t let on that you know about this. I shouldn’t have told you.”
My mom hugged me. “Don’t worry, Cole. I know how to take care of this. And I would never let anything happen to you. Or to Ava.”
Ava had been through so much. This was just one more blow to her. “She’ll be devastated that you’re divorcing her dad.”
My mom smiled sadly at me. “Don’t worry about Ava either. She’s like a daughter to me. I’d never just walk away from her.”
Chapter 29
AVA
I left my retail job at the mall early, claiming I wasn’t feeling well. I did have a slight headache but the truth was that I couldn’t find the energy to force one more fake smile. My dad wouldn’t be home till late and Marissa had gone away somewhere for a couple of days. I would have the house to myself.
Maybe I would even take a nap in Cole’s bed. Sometimes, it would make me feel better, but sometimes it would make everything much, much worse. And I was so done with all the endless crying.
I unlocked the back door, entering the house directly into the kitchen. I was about to head straight upstairs when I heard a noise. It sounded like it was coming from my father’s makeshift office – the tiny room across from Marissa and Dad’s bedroom.
I listened carefully and heard it again. Instead of being nervous, I was curious. I hadn’t seen any cars out front, but maybe Dad or Marissa had gotten home early. I went to investigate.
I stood outside the door of the office, watching Marissa tear through the drawers on my father’s desk. When she saw me standing there, she jumped in surprise. “Oh. Ava. I thought you were at work.”
“I was, but I came home early. What are you looking for?” I asked.
Her cheeks flushed. “Oh. Do you know where your father keeps his old checkbooks?”
I thought for a moment, remembering times long ago when he had written me checks for school activities and such. “I know he used to keep the new ones in a box in the small filing cabinet. Bottom drawer. In the back. Maybe the used ones are in there.”
Marissa bent down and opened up the small file cabinet. It was already unlocked. She located the small box with the bank logo on it and pulled it out.
She uncovered the box and said, “Bingo! This is it.”
She immediately began thumbing through the old imprints of the checks. She looked like she was on a mission.
“Oh my God. Here it is.” She looked up at me. “Do you remember what dates we went on the ski trip?”
My stomach ached just hearing the ski trip mentioned. “February 27th to March 3rd. Well, we left March 2nd.” I felt my face burn beet red.
“So, March 4th. Two days later,” she muttered to herself.
“Is everything okay?”
Marissa looked determined. “Not yet, but everything is going to be okay. Would you sit down a moment, honey? I wanted to talk to you.”
I immediately regretted not going straight up to my room. All I wanted to do was lay down and rest. “Sure…”
She waited until I sat. “I’ve been worried about you. You’re not eating well, you’re moping around, never going out anymore.”
Crap. What was I supposed to say?
She looked at me kindly. “I know about you and Cole. Well, not the details, but enough.”
I cringed. This talk was going worse than I expected. “Marissa, it was a big mistake. You heard Cole.”
She acted like she didn’t even hear me. “I just saw Cole. I went to visit him.”
“You went to Idaho?”
She nodded. “Yep, I was worried about him, so I went to check on him.” She was dangling all these little tidbits of information at me. Frustratingly, I was falling for it.
“How is he doing?” I couldn’t help myself.
She was eyeing me cautiously, I guess, gauging my reaction. “About the same as you are. Not great.”
My chin lifted stubbornly. “I’m fine.”
She continued on, “Uh huh. He was a mess. Drinking all day, unshaven, living like a pig. He seems pretty heartbroken.”
I felt a spark of something deep in my gut, but I squashed it down. No way was I going to open up my heart to be stomped on by Cole Hunter again. “He was the one who walked away.”
Marissa nodded but didn’t speak.
My heart had been broken twice. First, by Master Royce. Then, I had given my heart foolishly away to Cole - only to have it broken again. It was insane that I had naively let the same man crush me twice.
Chapter 30
COLE
My Mom had visited less than a week ago. She had swooped into the pitiful train wreck of my life like a dynamo and had cleaned up my messes. And now, everything was different.
She had found the letter that falsely incriminated me and the check that Frank had used to pay Sammy Walters off. She confronted him with it. I had never suspected, but he admitted to paying Sammy five grand to falsely accuse me and write the letter to the DA.
My mother was appalled and horrified when she learned the truth. They were in the process of splitting up. Somehow, there was an agreement between them that Frank would give up his vendetta against me. I didn’t know what kind of leverage my mom had on him, and I didn’t really want to know.
I was more concerned with repairing the damage that I had caused Ava. I wasn’t sure if she’d ever be interested in pursuing a relationship with me. She had trusted me and I blew it. Badly… twice. Sure, there were extenuating circumstances, really strange circumstances each time, but I was always unsure about how she truly felt about me.
One thing that I had learned in our time apart was that I loved her. I had no doubt whatsoever about that. That love was really empowering. I felt like I could hurdle any obstacle to prove my love to her. And I was sure I was going to need all the help I could get, because that girl was pretty darn stubborn.
Chapter 31
AVA
“What are you doing tonight, dear?” Marissa was in the kitchen putting away groceries.
I munched on a cracker. “No plans. Just going to watch a movie and maybe get to bed early.”
Marissa leaned against the counter. “Well, I have reservations at this lovely restaurant and my girlfriend just backed out on me. She can’t go and I’ve been dying to try this place for ages. Would you like to come with me?”
I groaned. “I wouldn’t really be great company. Why can’t Dad take you?”
I felt guilty as soon as I said it. Dad and Marissa had not been getting along. I had heard them fighti
ng a lot. I even wondered if I had anything to do with their problems – I heard Cole’s name mentioned often.
Marissa frowned. “No problem. I just thought it might be nice for us to go out. I’ll go cancel the reservation.”
“No, wait.” I felt guilty for not wanting to go. “I’ll go. I just hope that I don’t have to wear anything fancy.”
Marissa smiled, a mischievous look in her eye. “Nothing too fancy. How about that cute little black strapless dress? And fix up your hair a little bit.”
There was nothing cute about that dress. It was one of the only ‘sexy’ dresses that I owned, but if Marissa thought it was appropriate for the restaurant, I wouldn’t argue. I wondered just how fancy this restaurant was. “What time do we have to leave?”
She was folding up a brown grocery bag. “In an hour, take your time getting ready.”
If I was going to wear that dress, I had to put on some makeup and fix up my hair. The only shoes that I had that would work with it were black high-heeled sandals. It was much more trouble than I wanted to go through.
When I went down to find Marissa, I noticed that she had changed, too- into a floral blazer and black dress pants. I suddenly felt like a hooker going out to dinner with her mother.
“Are you sure this dress is appropriate? I don’t remember it riding so high up my leg before.” I tugged at the black material.
Marissa smiled. “You look lovely. I wish I could still wear that kind of stuff.”
We left in Marissa’s car. I peered out the window. “Where is this place? Somewhere in the city?”
“Nope.” She turned on the radio. “It’s not too far, just about twenty minutes from here.”
Thank God. I didn’t feel like going into the city. A nice local place fit my mood better. It wasn’t until we were turning into the bed and breakfast that I took any notice. “Is this the place?”
My Stepbrother the Dom (Stepbrother Romance) Page 14
