Invisible Crown

by T. A. Hardenbrook

  “Earth to Molly, hello?” Danielle’s sharp voice broke me away from my dinosaur nightmares, causing me to shake my head quickly to rid the images of small fleshy pieces and lots of blood spurting everywhere.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, instantly shuddering at the thought of the blood river flooding under the SUV.

  “Here, go try this on.” Shoving the black number in my arms, I nodded my head accordingly, and just like a lemming following the creature in front of it, I shadowed Danielle’s jaunt to the dressing area.

  My entire body was riddled with anxiety as the hours counting down to Reid’s arrival were drawing near. Pulling the fabric curtain closed, I dropped my bag on the floor and slowly started to peel of the clothing. This dress wasn’t anything like I normally wore. Sure, I managed to stuff myself into some pretty tight sparkly numbers for things with Reid, but just spending an evening picking up my fiancé from the airport while looking like that wasn’t exactly the normal look I went for.

  Tossing the light black fabric over my head, I shimmied it down my body and adjusted the clingy threads in all the right places. Letting out a small sigh, I turned to face the full mirror attached to the wall behind me when a knot made its presence in my throat.

  “You better not be crying in there. Mona said no tears, and I’m pretty sure that gives me the liberty to beat you within an inch of your life if that mascara is running down your face. Come to think of it, I don’t have any extra in my bag either, so there would be no time for touch ups before stepping out of this shop, and the crazies are already lurking out the door, ready to snap a photo with the title ‘Reid and Molly call off engagement’.”

  “Well, aren’t you just a ray of fucking sunshine?” I snapped while ripping back the dressing curtain.

  “Wow, Molls. That is totally an ‘I’m sorry please fuck me’ kind of dress.” A naughty grin was evident on her face.

  “Of course it is, Danielle. Everything you would possibly hand me to try on today had been a ‘come hither and fuck ‘me kind of outfit. Just because I might possibly be in the dog house, does not mean I need to put the girls on display for the evening. For gosh sakes, if I even bend the slightest, my entire hoo-ha would be on display for anyone around me.”

  “You need a good fuck me dress, Molly. Letting the world see your titties, and being photographed with Brantley, basically solidifies your place in the dog house.” Danielle crossed her thin arms in front of her, narrowing her dark kohl rimmed eyes at me.

  “Not everything is solved by sex, Danielle.”

  “Well, it’s a damn good way to start the conversation then.” Danielle pushed me back into the changing area, and then grabbed the curtain, yanking it over quickly. Obviously, she was done talking to me. Hell, I was done talking to myself, too.

  Chapter 7

  Have I told you lately how much I love to give blowjobs?

  My mother always said, “It doesn’t matter how big the screw up was. Put on a nice dress, fix your hair, line your lips, and stuff those feet into the tallest pair of heels a girl owns. It won’t matter what kind of sin you partook in as long as you’re pretty enough to completely take over the man’s mind.”

  Now, from what I’ve gathered about the male species, most of that sentence would probably be true. Danielle did force me to buy that ‘fuck me’ dress, I still had time to do something with my hair, and I bet somewhere in that massive makeup bag Danielle kept at my place there had to be something in there to fix my lips with. The heels would have to be traded for flats, since my skills in that department had still not improved any, and being completely unstable on heels was clearly not sexy in the little bit. Dazzling Reid with my fake sex appeal was almost like masturbating with a kitten in the room. You knew you still wanted to, but something wasn’t right with the whole situation.

  Staring at the dress draped over my bed, I sucked in my bottom lip and started to chew on it. Yes, I screwed up last night, but nothing happened, and that was the truth. Fluffing myself up would be like trying to cover up the wound that shouldn’t even have been there in the first place. I needed to be me tonight, and cramming myself into that sexy black number wasn’t exactly the Molly Anne I was comfortable with.

  Opening my closet, I grabbed a pair of tattered old skinny jeans, and a simple red tank top. I might still have the last name McGlenister right now, but that didn’t mean I had to adopt my mother’s ways of surviving in the world. Reid fell in love with the messed up, uncoordinated, horribly stubborn, and downright awful version of me. Not the beautified one that attended premiers and award shows. Hell, that man would be excited to see that I was wearing underwear, and not going commando like I had previously grown accustomed to. There was that unwritten rule of less always being more. Now, while I still didn’t exactly know what the meaning of less had to do with my wardrobe, I really needed to adopt the saying and make it my own tonight. Sexy version Molly wasn’t going to happen. Reid was going to get sorry as all hell Molly, complete with worn jeans and a long tank top that covered my bruised backside. Hopefully, he would wait to rip my clothes off until we were securely in his house, alone in the bedroom, with all the freaking lights turned off.

  Yanking the straightner through my hair once again, I scowled at the constant rainy nature of Seattle had done to my hair. My weird, half straight, half curly hair didn’t fare well in the moisture and by the end of the day, and I sort of resembled Medusa on crack. Luckily, this blonde headed Medusa was able to straighten herself out with the magic of a hot ass wand. Glancing down at my phone, I tapped the screen to view the time.

  “Fucking balloon stick ponies,” I grumbled, dropping the straightener on the counter and fumbling with the off switch. The town car that Mona had ordered to pick me up probably arrived fifteen minutes ago, and being late today would undoubtedly be frowned upon from a publicist stand point. Grabbing my Chap Stick and phone off the counter, I smashed my hand into the light switch, swearing on impact as the toggle switch creamed into the palm of my hand.

  “Are you late for something?” Megan called out from the couch.

  “Holy hell woman!” My forward flying motion stopped suddenly, almost causing me to pee my pants from the sudden outburst of her voice. “When in the hell did you get home?”

  “A while ago,” Megan croaked out, peeking her head above the couch slightly.

  She looked like absolute hell, which lead me to believe that her night didn’t end when Brantley had put me into the car. “You going to make it?”

  My normally cheerful assistant/roommate scowled. “Possibility.” Disappearing below the couch again, I heard Megan whimper a little while grabbing my keys and purse off the bar top.

  “I’m sorry I can’t stay, but you should really drink some water,” I muttered while reaching for the door. Glancing over my shoulder, Megan tossed a thumbs up from her horizontal position. “I’ll text you in the morning.” Shutting the door, I scampered for the elevator and pushed the down button with a little more force than needed.

  This building was somewhat new, since it was built in the late nineteen-nineties, but today the elevator seemed to be channeling things of the fifties, since it was working so freaking slow. “Finally,” I complained, quickly stepping into the opening doors. Gritting my teeth, I pressed the lobby button and continued to silently curse out the slow as hell piece of equipment. I was basically clock watching the entire day, and the moment I stopped, time basically flew off the handle and I was freaking late. Nothing said I love you, and I am seriously sorry for all the bullshit like showing up late.

  The elevator came to a stop, and it took everything in me to stand back a few inches from the door. Knowing my luck, I would have tried to rush out the damn door and there would have been people on the other side, just waiting for me to cream into them and cause another horrible scene.

  “Come on,” I seethed, narrowing my eyes at the dark steel doors. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the structure opened, and I managed to dash outside without comi
ng in contact with any other residents of the building. Looking out the large glass doors, I noticed only a few crazy photographers and a black town car waiting curbside for me. Inhaling a deep breath, I pushed open the doors, fixed my gaze on the man standing outside the back door of the vehicle, and refused to let my eyes wander in any other direction.

  “Molly!”

  “Molly McGlenister!”

  “Can you look over here, Molly?” was all the heard when I excited the building.

  When in the hell were these idiots ever going to give up? I might not do what I was told all the time, but when the directions came from Mona, I didn’t dare cross that woman. She was like my mother; strong, scary, powerful, and someone you didn’t want to have irritated at you.

  “Miss McGlenister?” the older gentleman asked once I reached the car.

  “Yes,” I managed to squeak out. Nodding his head, the gentleman opened the door and motioned for me to get inside. Most people would ask more questions before just getting into a car. Sadly, the world I now lived in didn’t think twice on actions like this. The longer I stood outside asking that man questions, the more photo opportunities I had the photographers, and after last night, we knew damn well what happened there.

  Settling into my seat, I yanked the seatbelt over and clicked it into position. The dark tinted windows blocked most of the flash bulbs that were pressed up against the cold glass windows. Why photographers thought they needed to capture absolutely nothing, since getting a photo of the inside of the car was virtually impossible, was way beyond my comprehension.

  “I’m sorry, Miss McGlenister, but we are unfortunately running late this evening. Due to traffic, I have been instructed to take you directly to Mr. Chambers’ estate, and not the hanger.” The driver didn’t even take his eyes off the road as he spoke suddenly to me. Flicking on his blinker, he darted out into traffic in one swift motion.

  I pushed myself back into the seat a little further. Having someone else driving for me still racked my nerves a little bit. When I drove, I was in control. Sitting in this backseat, all I could do was pray to whatever god might have been listening to hopefully let me arrive to the destination in one piece.

  “Okay,” I managed to mumble, my fingers wrapping tightly around the upper portion of the seatbelt. Closing my eyes, my mind started to predict how tonight would actually go. Earlier, I had envisioned this elaborate scenario of Reid getting off the plane. Now, I saw myself walking into his darkened house, and him sitting in the massive chair that faced the lake. I would then have to summon up the courage to announce my presence, at which point I would drop to my knees and apologize profusely.

  My cell phone buzzed from my purse, startling me out of my nightmare encounter. Fumbling with the stupid thing, I unlocked the front screen and my heart fell out of damn vagina.

  *Reid* Just got home.

  My mouth instantly went dry and my body started to tremble. How in the hell was I this terrified over a simple text message. I did nothing wrong last night to induce this kind of fear. Dropping the phone into my lap, I fisted both of my trembling hands, and slowly exhaled the breath I had been holding in. Reid would understand. He loved me, and completely trusted me in all situations. Working myself up like that was completely stupid and irrational. I have my big girl britches on, and for all intents and purposes I was going to handle this bitch like the future Mrs. Rockstar I was. Grabbing my phone, I shoved it back into my purse, and forced my attention out the window as we cruised down the interstate. I got this; I’m a total badass.

  ***

  I had to force the massive knot in my throat down while giving the driver Reid’s gate number, and the entire way down the driveway, I felt like peeing my pants. No matter how long I gave myself the pep talk of everything was going to work out just fine, the stupid little voices inside my head kept telling me otherwise. I was pretty sure I had stopped breathing when the driver stopped the car and turned off the engine. My entire body shook as he opened the door and offered a hand to help me out.

  “Thank you.” Nodding my head, my insides screamed at me to run, but I forced my feet to carry me up the steps and over to the front door. Looking over my shoulder, I offered a meek smile at the driver who stood next to his door, waiting for me to enter the residence.

  This residence would be my home in a short amount of time. This would be the place that Reid and I would start our lives together as husband and wife. We would return here after tours, spend countess holidays in his kitchen, and maybe even spawn some of our own musically talented kids at some point in the distant future. This was going to be our starting point, and I was having one hell of a time simply opening the damn door. My mind always overanalyzed things, and usually made things a much bigger deal than they ever were. But, I couldn’t seem to shake what happened the night before, even though deep down, I knew it was completely nothing.

  “Are you going to come in, or standing out on the porch all night?” Tiny’s voice broke my inner battle I had been wagering with myself on either knocking or just walking through the door.

  “Hi,” I squeaked out, sheepishly shrugging my shoulders and biting my lip. Of course they knew I was here; an alarm was sent through the house when anyone punched in a gate code out front.

  “It’s been too long, my Molly girl.” Tiny’s massive arms wrapped around my body as he lifted me effortlessly off my feet and pulled me through the open front doors.

  “I missed you, too,” I replied quickly, letting him squeeze every last bit of doubt I carried with me out of my body. Tiny was Reid’s best friend, and if his greeting was any inclination on how Reid was feeling tonight, then obviously, all the issues I had been carrying around with me the entire day were vast and stupid.

  Setting me down in the entry way, Tiny reached around me and shut the door quickly. “Reid’s in the kitchen,” he commented with a smile.

  “Thanks,” I said softly. Offering him a slight smile, my heart started to beat loudly as my feet carried me down the long and narrow hallway. The bright lights coming from down the hallway were a welcomed change from the dark front of the house, and I could hear the soft melodies being played out of the speakers in the kitchen. Rounding the corner, my nose was immediately hit with some amazing smells and my heart skipped a beat as I noticed Reid facing the stove in the brightly lit kitchen.

  Having this feeling every single time I saw this man never got old. This was the feeling of true love. This was the feeling of our forever. Standing in the kitchen was the man that I loved unconditionally, and the fear and doubt I had been harboring slowly stared to fade.

  Smiling, I watched as he head popped up, and he turned around quickly, sensing my presence in the kitchen. “Molly Anne, what in the hell did you do?” Reid commented, setting the large wooden spoon down next to the stove.

  Fuck a damn duck.

  Chapter 8

  Sex is not a spectator sport.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Without even thinking, the words rushed out of my mouth and before I could give it a good ponder about playing the whole dumb card, I went ahead and made it the first comment out the gate. What I should have done was kept my damn lips shut and offered an apologetic smile, maybe a little shoulder shrug, then a quick shuffle of my feet to secure the awkwardness in my stance. But, no. I played it off like I had no clue that I just spent the day dodging the paps, acting like life was hunky-dory, and was now absolutely terrified standing in front of him. Perfect play, Molls; fucking brilliant.

  “When you lie, these tiny little creases appear between your eyebrows, and your hands immediately shoot together. We’ve got to work on that poker face, Molly Anne.” A smile spread across his lips as he started to walk around the small island, and a lump in my throat instantly made its presence known.

  “I didn’t mean to.” The words escaped once again from my lips, this time with tiny tears trailing down my cheeks. Damn girly hormones, and feeling about two inches tall.

  Wrapp
ing is large arms around my body, Reid engrossed me into his frame, lightly chuckling at my pathetic state. “You’re kind of sad looking, Molly Anne.”

  “Asshole,” I muttered into his shirt. Inhaling the clean scent from his t-shirt, I wiped the remaining tears from my cheeks and let out a little snort. Breaking down the moment he said anything to me was a little pitiful. My mother would have cringed at my behavior; telling me to clean myself up and not to show my face again until it was put back together and presentable. Luckily, I wasn’t anything like my mother, and was totally okay with wiping the snot from my nose with the back of my hand.

  It was like I hadn’t eaten in days. Stuffing my face full of pasta and chicken probably wasn’t the sexiest thing I could have been doing tonight, but when Reid cooked the heavens align and the gods themselves came and blessed the meal sitting in front of me. “So good,” I mentioned between cramming bites in.

  “How in the hell did you get so drunk?” Reid’s left eyebrow raised in question, and I knew he wanted the full story and not just the cliff notes version I had been preparing in my head.

  Reluctantly setting my fork down, I pushed the plate away from me slightly and finished chewing the last juicy bite of chicken. “Well, I found a dress earlier in the day, and Megan insisted that we celebrate. Then, one shot lead to two, and some mixed drinks got passed around, hot sweaty club, lots of dancing, more booze, and that is basically the whole thing.”