Fire rises in my chest, cresting the tip of my ears. I’m annoyed at my day, even more so when I see that our mom’s car is still not here. I grabbed the things I needed from the nursery for the front yard, hoping that she’d be here when I pulled into my driveway.
I don’t know what’s happening to our family, but the loss of our dad has turned this family on its axis.
Groaning, I walk toward our front door, mentally checking off the list of things I have to get done before my shift at the diner. Once I’m in the house, I set my stuff down and head toward the kitchen to get dinner started.
I must have zoned out because the next thing I know, the front door flies open, and in come the twin tornadoes, speaking so animatedly that I can barely keep up with what they’re saying.
“Take a breath, you two. I can barely understand anything you’re saying,” I say, turning to cover the pot with the pasta sauce in it.
Before they can continue with their excitement, Jamie strides in, a huge grin also on her face. “Our new school is so much better than our last ones.” Their elation brings a smile to my face. The last few moves were so rough on them, so seeing them this happy fortifies my need to make this place work.
“Oh yeah? Tell me all about it while you grab a snack.” They head to the cupboards, and it gives me a moment to turn to Jamie. “How was it?” I ask her.
“Riah, this place is so great!” Jamie is smiling, like extra scoops on her sundae beaming. “I made so many new friends today, and the teachers are so nice. I even signed up for choir and orchestra. I get my viola on Monday,” she gleams.
“That’s amazing, Jams! I’m so glad y’all had such a great day.”
They all take turns telling me more about their school, who’s in their classes, and how much fun they had.
“Okay,” I begin, “let’s get cleaned up, and everyone can go do their reading while I finish up dinner. Unfortunately, I have to work again tonight. What are the rules while I’m gone?”
“No answering the doors, keep the lights on, shower, and be in bed by nine,” they say while rolling their eyes.
“Look, I know it feels redundant to go over every time I leave the house, but it’s important. If we bring any attention to ourselves, we can get in trouble. No one can know Mom isn’t home. I’ll be at the diner until ten, but I’ll have my phone on me if you need me.”
Turning, I look to Jamie, “I’m counting on you to keep an eye on them. I’ll set out everyone’s food, so the only thing you’ll need to do is warm it up.” I feel like shit having to leave, but with no other money coming in and our mom’s disappearing acts, I have no choice but to work. “I’m so sorry, Jamie. I wish you didn’t have to do any of this,” I start to say, but she cuts me off.
Her jewel-green eyes, looking far older than she should ever have to be, lock on mine, and she says, “Listen, Riah, this sucks, but we have to do what we have to do until we can do better, right?”
I wrap her up in my hold and then reach for the boys, hugging them. We’ve been through a lot, but we’re going through it together. I’ll do anything to make sure they don’t have to suffer much more than they already have.
I take all three of them in, and a stitch begins to form, working to heal the crack in my heart. I’m happy that this place might just work out for them. My worry, however, refuses to ease. My parents being missing will have a profound impact on them if I’m not careful.
“I promise I’ll find Mom, but until then, we’ll make this work,” I whisper, kissing the top of each of their heads and head for the door.
LIAM
“That slap was so fucking hot. She bodied that skank,” August shouts over the music before turning it down as we drive through town headed for The Tombs.
“No, it’s fucking disruptive,” Rowan retorts from the front of August’s truck, his arms crossed across the broad expanse of his chest. His face is still fixed in a permanent scowl. Rowan’s a broody hothead on a good day, but one day with the new girl and his jaw is set tighter, his posture’s more rigid- his temper is liable to explode like a tripwire trigger. Staring at August from the passenger seat, gritting his teeth so intently, it’s a surprise we can’t hear the grinding of his molars over the music.
“Stop acting like you just sucked powdered milk from an old dusty tit,” Karl heckles next to me.
Nostrils flared, Rowan growls, “You idiots would team up. Which asshole is going to stalk her first, possessive or obsessive?” I think he’s going for an insult, but these two wear those traits with a badge of pride.
“Says the dude who had a whole file on her before returning from his trip across the pond. Kettle, meet pot,” August adds, his laughter bouncing off the car’s interior.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing to know what you want and go after it,” Karl replies, eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment at the idea that someone would give less than everything to something they care about.
Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I pull out my laptop and start pulling up passcodes for Emma’s house. It won’t be long before a request is made. I should start a pool on who will break first.
I could add my opinion to the mix, but I don’t have one. The jury’s still out on the new girl. I ran an initial background check on her and her family as soon as we discovered someone had moved into the old Washington place. There was nothing alarming. Still, she’s an unknown piece on the board, and I don’t like unknowns.
What I do know is that Emma’s doing something that no other girl, except Shay, ever does- stand up to Sam. Sam is repugnant. Everything she represents makes my stomach churn. However, like Rowan said earlier, there’s a pecking order and Sam’s positioned herself on the tier just below ours when really she’s no better than anyone she lords over.
Her family has no true position of power in this town. They have no seat on the council. The Davenports have a long history in Calloway, it’s just not a powerful one. There are five original bloodlines, and they aren’t one of them.
“Can’t you just see her, Liam?” August asks, pulling me into the conversation. I was fine being left out of it.
“See what?” I reply.
“See her as ours,” he claims with such surety that I’d almost believe it’s already so.
Lifting my focus from the screen in front of me, I remind him, “No, Wy. She won’t be ours, our fates are already sealed, and she’s not an option.”
Mirth fills his eyes, now more green than brown, as he scoffs, rebuffing my statement, “You fuckers are always steps behind.” It’s almost as if he knows more than he’s letting on.
“Do you know something we don’t?” Rowan voices my thoughts.
He grins, cranking up the music and focusing back on the road, done with this conversation.
Rowan grips the muscle of his thigh, his chest expanding and retracting as he tries to reign in his anger. August’s poking the bear. These two never know when to quit.
A message pings in my inbox. Pulling it up, I see a report from one of my programs. I’ve finally got a hit. I’ve kept this project a secret, running this facial recognition software for months hoping for something. I won’t say anything until I get a current location.
Clicking the message open, I freeze and my eyesight glitches. A reel of images plays like a slideshow through my mind’s eye. There he is.
“Gotcha, you dumb fuck,” I mumble, but I must be too loud because Karl leans over, and I watch as the color bleeds from his face- his skin turning paler. I snap my laptop closed. Imperceptibly, I shake my head so he says nothing when the music cuts out, and the question I know is coming is voiced.
“What the hell is going on back there?” August’s eyes appear in the rearview mirror.
Changing the subject, I reply, “Wy. You’ve got to tone it down. You’re going to scare the girl.”
It’s not a joke, August fixates and there is no rhyme or reason for why he does. He just does. So, my redirect has the desired effect I hope for.
Chuckling, he says, “Fear only heightens euphoria. What’s a little scare when it eventually turns to blissful screams?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.