“Oh, cards. Perfect I want to play.” Skeigh says as she heads to the kitchen, Dave right on her heals. Everyone else takes seats around the table. Skeigh comes back sitting a bottle of liquor on the table, then passes out shot glasses. She and Dave have to get the stools from the other side of the kitchen counter before they can take their seats.
“Let’s play screw your neighbor.” Says Rhett from the other end of the table. I look over at Ryder sitting next to me and mouth ‘if only’. He laughs and we go back to watching Rhett shuffling the cards. If you have never played screw your neighbor, then all you need to know is the name says it all. Every player gets one card. It starts with the first person dealt to, just like all cards games. If you have a low card then you want to pass is on to your left, but you have to wait for the person to your right to decide if they want to trade with you first. If they do you have to, unless you have a King which in that case you would turn it over as soon as you realize it. The dealer can trade with the deck. King is your high card, Ace your low card. At the end of the round the person with the lowest card, drinks.
I have a ten. I’m really happy with that, until Cole decides he wants it. When I look at my new card it’s a damn two. So, I immediately go to trade with Ryder and he has a freaking king flipped up on the table looking at me with those freaky little eyes. We wait for the round to finish and flip up our cards.
“Great, you and Cole both screwed me.” I shout as I take the shot Lexi poured for me. When I am done and place it back on the table everyone looks like they are about to bust.
“What?” I ask.
A small snicker makes it paste Lexi’s throat and they all lose it. “Oh, wow. Kat, you really need to think about what you say, before it just comes out.” Lexi tries to get herself under control before going on. “Never mind, that would take the fun out of it.”
I know I have broken out into a blush, but I stay quiet. We keep playing for what seems like hours. Other than Lexi and Skeigh, I really haven’t been able to be this comfortable around anyone else. Especially not of the man variety. The ones in this room are the exception, I may not know why but I’m going to go with it.
“Well ladies, I do believe we are going to call it a night.” Cole says. It is the most he has said all night, but he doesn’t seem to be in a bad mood. Just tired.
Ryder tells me not to make plans for tomorrow night and gives me a soft kiss on the lips. After they leave me and the girls pick up the mess, and take a seat on the couch. I may be tipsy, but as I sit here I begin thinking about Ms. Bran. The thought really hasn’t been that far away.
“I think I am going to call Victoria in the morning and have her meet me for lunch somewhere so we can talk about this in length.” I think out loud to the girls.
“Who is Victoria?” Lexi asks.
“That’s Ms. Bran’s first name isn’t it.” I nod to Skeigh, “I thought I heard her right when I first met her. Why are you calling her by her first name now?”
“She said me calling her Ms. Bran all the time made our interaction impersonal. I agree with her, surprisingly.” I tell them.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Lexi asks.
“I am going to talk to her. Never said I was going to actually tell her anything.” I say.
Chapter 12
The next morning I dig out the folder and find Victoria’s card. She was more than willing to drop her lunch plans and meet me. I have a few hours until I have to leave and I realize that I haven’t even read anything in the folder that I hold in my hand. As I read the memories come back to life. The first statement she has is from a girl I went to school with. She was nice, but never talked to me. I read through each of them, none of them are from people that were close to me or my family. Not a one of them knew everything. When I reach the last page I am plagued with more questions for Victoria. It’s dated three months ago with my mother’s name at the top.
All that is on it is what Victoria wrote down. When she met with her, and that she thought my mother was being eaten alive with guilt. Not one word that my mother had given her, and it makes me wonder if she even got anything from her. Again, questions just kept piling up in my head.
I’m late leaving the house. It took a lot longer to read through the statements than I thought. When I finally arrive at the little café Victoria is already seated and sipping on a latte. She has chosen a table at the back, and I am happy to notice that the place is pretty much empty. I take a seat across from her and place my bag next to the table.
“You came.” Victoria says surprisingly.
“I called you to meet, of course I was coming. I was looking over the stuff in the folder you handed me.” I tell her. “I figured it would help me understand what you know.”
“Ah, I see.” She sits her cup down and we order before another word is said.
I take the folder out and place it on the table. “There is a paper in here about your meeting with my mother, but there isn’t anything she said on it.”
“You want to know if she said anything.” She says more like a question. “Darla did talk. I got a good bit out of her.” Victoria reaches for her purse and pulls out a piece of paper. “This is what she gave me. When we finish here, I will let you have it.”
“Look, I’m not even sure I want to hear what she told you. I’ve probably heard it all before.” I say.
“I very seriously doubt you have. You need to be willing to let your past go, before you are ready to read this though.” She places it back into her purse when the food arrives.
I take a bite out of my penne while I contemplate what she could have told Victoria that she hasn’t already said to me. “From what I did get from the folder, you are missing most of it. All the people, besides my mother that you got to talk to you, well they were nothing but acquaintances.”
“I figured as much. That is where you come in. I need you to tell me what really happened. When people read this I want them to feel your pain. I want them having tears running down their face.” Victoria says in one breath.
We finish up our lunch and she answers my questions about how much she wants from me and where I need to start at. Victoria, doesn’t want me to hold back on anything. She wants everything from me. Everything.
“Look, I am going to try to do this. Not for you or anyone else, but for me and only me. I think I need to get this off of my chest to move on completely.” I take a huge breath before I continue, “But I seriously think it’s going to take some time to get it all out.”
She sits back in her chair and replies, “That’s fine. I am here no matter how long it takes. As long as I can show I am making progress with my editor.”
I tell Victoria my schedule and she takes it all down and lets me know she will be in touch for our first session. When we say our farewells she hands me the piece of paper from her and my moms’ session. I look at it apprehensively, and when I look back up she is already walking down the street. I head back to the house to tell the girls everything that I learned and that I actually agreed to tell her my story.
“You know we are here if you need us.” Skeigh says.
“Do you want us to go with you on your sessions?” Lexi ask.
They bombard me with question after question and before I can answer any of them they start telling me that I shouldn’t do this. “Ok, I get that you are both worried about me going over all this will be like for me, or what it will do to me. It isn’t going to be pretty, I know that.”
“Then why are you doing it, hun?” Lexi asks.
“To be honest, it feels almost like I have to. And not because of Victoria. I can’t explain it, but it feels right.” I try and explain, but I know I can’t. I have tried to talk to therapist when I was younger. My mom thought it would help me get better. Thought I would eventually admit that what I had said was all a lie. The therapist couldn’t get anything from me. I was scared if I told the story again, that I would be a liar yet again. So I bottled it up. At this point I just need to g
et it out and Victoria is just enough of a stranger for me not to care what she thinks of me.
I jump in the shower to get ready for whatever Ryder has planned tonight. I know I need to let Ryder know the mess he is getting into by being with me. It’s not really fair to him not to know. I pin my hair up on my head about the time I hear Skeigh yell down the hall letting me know he is here.
Once in the car Ryder looks over to me and says, “I hope you don’t mind, but I need to run by the bowling alley real quick. Ol’ Beth has never been away from it this long and she doesn’t think Mark can have everything ready for tonight.”
I learnt by talking to Ryder all week over the phone that Mark is Bethany’s maintenance/helper of all things at the bowling alley, and that Saturday night is the busiest night of the week.
“Of course. I’m along for the ride and if there is anything I can do to help, I’m your girl.” I point to myself with my thumb as we make our way through the busy streets.
He gives me a sidelong glance, a grin lighting up those green eyes, “I love the sound of that.”
“Me too.” I say just loud enough for his ears to catch. Then I wonder if he will still like the idea of me being his after he hears about what I am keeping from him. Ryder is different than most men. He is the epitome of the nice guy. Which makes me think he will take the information ok and not look at me any different. But a small part of me still wants to keep that part of me away from him, just in case.
We arrive at the bowling alley and Ryder heads off to see what all Mark needs. I look around at what people are already here at the bowling alley. Only one lane is being as used everyone else is playing in the arcade room or sitting around talking. Ryder talks about this place like it’s his safe haven. I guess even though he loves his dad, it was nice to get away every now and then.
Ryder breaks me out of my thought by wrapping his arms around my waist from behind me then speaking into my ear, “So would my girl like to help me wax the lanes?”
My eyes nearly roll into the back of my skull at him calling me his girl. I place my hands over his before I look back at him, “Sure.”
I expected when he said waxing the lanes, we would be pulling out the mops and buckets. Not this huge machine the size of one of those smart cars.
“It pretty much does all the work, we just have to move it from one lane to another.” Ryder explains. “Mark said that he has already put the oil in it.”
I watch as Ryder lines it up and sets it on the lane. It drops down to the floor when he presses something and then it’s slowly off down the lane. We take a seat and watch as the machine does its work.
“How is Bethany doing today?” I ask, breaking Ryder out of his trance.
He shakes his head as if to clear the thoughts that were in his head and turned to me. “She sounded good over the phone, but she has gotten good at throwing on her brave voice. Seeing her in person she still has that voice, but you can see it in her eyes that she isn’t good.”
“I hate you are having to go through this. I couldn’t imagine watching someone I love suffering.” I reach over and lace our fingers together.
“Katrina, you once told me that you had no family. That it’s just you.” I can tell by how Ryder is squeezing my hand as he ask about my family that he is worried I am going to get angry or run.
“And you reminded me that I wasn’t alone.” I smile up at him and bump my shoulder into his.
I can tell Ryder is nervous and that just makes me worried about having to tell him things earlier than I want to. “What did you mean by that? Were you in the system and just not know who your family was?”
“I wasn’t in the system. I am aware who my family is, as they are of me. I just didn’t know them as I should have.” I wasn’t aware of the tears that had developed in my eyes until one trails down my face. Ryder’s thumb swipes it away as his hand catch my face. “Please, I’m just not ready to tell you about some things. I’m just not sure what I would do if you couldn’t handle knowing and turned your back to me too.”
His forehead comes to mine. His hands are still cradling my face gently when he speaks, “From the second I saw you I could tell that you fake your way through almost everything. But I can tell you, that no matter what it is you are afraid to tell me, I will still be here. I don’t think I can leave you, even if I tried.”
He pulls back just a bit, his eyes dancing all over my face. Then he brings his mouth to mine. Gently, and oh so sweet. I melt into the kiss as one of his hands comes to the nape of my neck and his fingers thread into my hair. He holds me there kissing me deeply. We finish up oiling all the lanes at the bowling alley. Ryder ask Mark if there is anything else that needs to be done before everyone starts pouring in, but Mark tells us to scoot. So we do, right on out the door.
We stop at a Greek restaurant about a mile from the bowling alley to eat. The food was otherworldly. I am sure I made a spectacle of myself with all the happy dancing I was doing in my chair with every bite. But there is no controlling it when my belly is happy. Food is my guilty pleasure. Finishing up, Ryder pays for our meals and we climb into the car.
“You want to head to TJ’s? Skeigh and Lexi texted a minute ago and said they would be there with the guys.” I tell him.
“Yea, I think a few drinks will be good anyways.” Ryder answers.
I really think Bethany’s situation is really playing hard on him. It isn’t good for him to keep playing strong. A contradiction, I know, considering that’s what I have been doing practically my whole life. As soon as I get the chance I am going to talk to Dave about it, or maybe have Skeigh do it for me. They have been getting really close here recently.
When we get to TJ’s it is busy. Ryder and I look around for any sign of our group when we hear a crowd of people chanting the famous ‘Chug’ over and over again. We head in that direction to find Skeigh and Dave shot gunning a beer.
Skeigh slams her beer down and hollers. “I told you that you can’t win!”
“How the hell did you do that?” He ask with amazement.
“It’s all about the throat. Maybe, if you’re good, I’ll show you how tonight.” Skeigh replies seductively.
We are sitting around just like last night, having an amazing time. Until, Jake arrives. He has this amazingly stunning woman on his arm. Her jet black hair is almost to her waist in spiral ringlets, and even bounces when she moves. Blue eyes that are so bright they even stand out against Jakes, but I can tell by looking at her she is a bitch in sheep’s clothing. Ryder finally looks up to see what has my attention, when he does I can feel his whole body tighten, almost like he is on high alert. They place two chairs on the other side of Ryder, the goddess like woman might as well have sat in Ryder’s lap the way she rubs her body down him as she takes her seat.
Jake orders them drinks from a passing waitress then turns back to us. “Ryder you remember, Lyla, right?”
“How could I forget? Anytime the two of you are near each other it means trouble. It has ever since we were kids.” Ryder admits.
Lyla pushes her boobs, which are nearly falling out considering the low cut dress she is wearing, into Ryder. She brings those long manicured nails up to trail down his arm and says “If I remember correctly, we made a lot of trouble ourselves, Ry Ry.”
Skeigh laughs so hard she has to cover her mouth to keep from her drink spewing everywhere. “Ry Ry? You’re fucking kidding me right? What are you, two years old?” I swear Skeigh would be dying slowly and painfully right now if looks could kill.
The goddess then ignores Skeigh completely and turns back to Ryder. “What do you think? You want to cause some really good trouble together?” Her hand has nearly made it to his chest when he grabs her wrist and throws it off him.
“I’ve already told you, I don’t want anything to do with your shit anymore.” He takes my hand in his, “We were just heading out.” He finishes as he begins to pull me up.
“You can’t leave you just got here, Kat.” Lexi says.
I open my mouth to finally say something when she cuts in, “Oh how cute, a kitten. But we all know Ryder, you will get bored with cute fast. When you do, I will be here. Like always.”
Jake leans forward on the table and looks at me, but talks loud enough for everyone to hear, “It is true. When things get to tough or serious, Ryder always bails and comes back to Lyla for some fun.”
Ryder jumps out of his chair and has Jake by the shirt collar before I see it happen. “What the hell are you trying to do Jake? I haven’t even talked to Lyla since all that shit went down last time. You know you shouldn’t have brought her back. If you bring her near me or Katrina again, our next chat,” He takes his free hand and motions between them two, “WILL NOT be as friendly.”
This time when Ryder grabs my hand and pulls me up no one says a word. A few minutes later we are driving around the town. Ryder is speeding and grabbing the stirring wheel so hard I can see his knuckles turn white in the dark of the car. When I think he has calmed down I ask, “What was all that back there?”
“Jake and Lyla feed off of seeing how far they can push people.” He takes a deep breath as we turn down a gravel road. “Promise me that if I am not with you and you see them that you’ll turn and go in the opposite direction.”
His face is stern as he takes his time looking at me, then looking back at the road and back again. “Ok.”
“Promise me.” He almost growls at me.
He knows how I feel about promises, but I give into him anyways, “Fine, I promise.”
He takes in a breath, “What do you promise, Katrina?”
“I promise that if they come up to me and you aren’t around, I will leave.” I confirm.
About that time we pull up to a house at the end of the gravel road. It’s absolutely amazing. It looks a little old fashioned, with its rustic wrap around porch and rocking chairs. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
From Lies to Promises Page 9
