Chapter Eighteen

 

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Drew

 

“So she’s moved in with you.”

“It’s temporary,” I’m quick to tell Dr. Harris. I know what she’s thinking. What everyone will think, though it’s not like I know a ton of people. We’re moving too fast, Fable and I.

But it’s been almost a week since her mom abandoned her and Owen. I just can’t kick her out. They have nowhere to go. Besides, I like having Fable living with me. Owen and I have come to a somewhat uneasy truce. I know he’s not my biggest fan, but the kid is polite, keeps his room clean and doesn’t give me any trouble. Not that I believed he would.

He’s a good kid. Fable’s raised him right.

Doc is tapping away at her iPad. Probably noting how worried she is that I’m living with Fable. “Are you all getting along?”

“For the most part.” I can’t lie to her. “There was tension at first, most of it coming from Owen. He’s hurt that their mom did this.”

“Understandable.”

“He blamed Fable at first.”

“Also understandable. We sometimes look to put the blame on others because we don’t want to believe the truth.” She looks at me pointedly. “We also tend to blame ourselves.”

I know all about that. I get it. “They’ve hashed stuff out, but it’s still a little tense between them. So that means it’s a little tense between Owen and me. But overall, he’s a nice kid. I feel bad for him.” I remember being a teen. My entire world changed in a blink of an eye. I lost all my innocence, my childhood forever.

This betrayal by his mother has taken Owen’s childhood away from him for good.

“Has the mother resurfaced at all?”

“Fable finally received a text from her a few days ago.” And it had infuriated her. Only two sentences, it sent Fable into a funk that had her stewing the rest of the night.

I’m so sorry. Someday I hope you’ll understand.

Fable deleted it immediately, calling her mom every horrific name she could think of.

“Your relationship is already a delicate one. Doesn’t this situation put unnecessary stress on the two of you?”

“If we can get through this, we can get through anything, don’t you think?”

Dr. Harris offers me a kind smile. “One would think. Such a momentous move while in the early stages of your commitment to each other can also turn everything sour. Are you afraid of that? Of losing her after finally getting her back?”

I’m always afraid of losing Fable. The fear stays in the back of my mind 24-7. Most of the time I push it aside and focus on the present day.

“She needs me.”

“And you need her, don’t you?”

“I do.” I take a deep breath. “You won’t want to hear this, but I’d prefer if they lived with me. I like having her there. We don’t spend every waking moment together since she’s working full-time lately and I’m in school, but I like…” My voice trails off.

“You like what?” Dr. Harris asks.

“I like having her in my bed every night. Waking up with her every morning. Just knowing she’s with me gives me a sense of peace I can’t remember ever having in my life.” I rub my thumb against my knee. “I don’t want her to leave.”

“She will eventually. It sounds to me like Fable is a very independent person, right?”

“Yeah.” I don’t want to talk about her any longer. I don’t want to think about her leaving me, even if it is just to live on her own.

As if she can sense me closing up, my shrink changes the subject.

“Have you heard from your dad?”

“He called right before I came inside. I didn’t answer.” I feel guilty for sending him straight to voice mail but I can’t deal with another rant. And that’s all he does when he calls.

Rants about Adele and how much she wronged him. How badly she humiliated him among their friends and his colleagues. He’s the laughingstock of the country club, she’s flaunting her young piece all over town. On and on it went.

I’m over it. I’ll be there for him but he still hasn’t filed divorce papers. I know deep down inside he’s waiting for her to come crawling back and beg for his forgiveness. Fool that he is for her he’ll probably take Adele back.

I can hardly stomach the thought.

“He still doesn’t know?”

She’s referring to Adele and me. I shake my head.

“So she hasn’t said anything?”

“Not that I know of.” Cold fear grips my gut at the mere thought.

“Have you ever considered beating her to the punch?” When I frown, Dr. Harris continues. “Telling your dad before she does?”

“No way.” I shake my head. “I could never work up the nerve to tell him that.”

“It might be easier coming from you. Being honest with your father might take an incredible load off your chest. If he hears it from Adele first, she’s won. You’ve allowed her the chance to tell him, to make up whatever story she needs to tell to make herself look better.”

I study her, let her words sink in. She has a point. I’m way too chickenshit to broach the subject with him, though. “I’ll consider telling him first,” I say only to appease her.

She smiles. “I’m glad.”

 

* * * *

 

 

The moment I leave Dr. Harris’s office I check my phone. Two missed calls from my dad and one from Fable. I call her first.

“You’ll never believe what happened.” She sounds excited. Happy.

“What?”

“I think I found the perfect apartment. Oh my God, Drew, it’s so nice. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms at a newer complex. The rent’s reasonable and the deposit isn’t too outrageous. I went and checked it out with Jen and it’s beautiful. They already ran a credit check on me and said they’d hold the apartment for me, but I have to come up with the deposit by Friday.”

Shit. She’s leaving me. “Where’s it located?” If it’s in a bad part of town, I refuse to let her move there.

“Here’s what’s even better about the apartment. It’s not too far from your place. Like about two miles away, tops. On the other side of the shopping center with the grocery store you like to go to.” She laughs. “I don’t have any furniture but I don’t care. We’ll figure something out. I can shop the Goodwill.”

“Let me help you,” I say automatically because I can’t not make the offer.

“No,” she says softly. “You’ve helped me enough already. The money I’m making at The District is outrageous. The tips have been amazing. That’s what I’m going to use for the deposit to secure the apartment. I have some tip money stashed at your place but not enough.”

“You don’t deposit your tips in the bank?”

“No. It’s mostly all ones and fives. I like to keep my cash in the pocket of an old sweater. Did you know I had almost five hundred dollars stashed in that sweater in my closet when my mom went through the house? Thank God they didn’t find it.”

She’s happy she found a place and I should be too but I’m not. I don’t want her to leave. How can I tell her that without sound cloying or overbearing? “Are you going to my place now?”

“In a little bit. I have to go by and pick up my check. Then Jen will drop me off. Where are you?”

“Headed home,” I say as I walk toward where I parked my truck.

“Oh, good. Owen should be there. He just called me and said he was being dropped off.”

“Is moving going to change where he goes to school?”

She sighs. “Yeah. He doesn’t mind, though. Says he wants a change, though he’ll miss his best friend. I promised him they could get together whenever he wants.”

“It’ll work out,” I reassure her.

“I hope so. I’ll see you soon, okay?” She hangs up before I can tell her I love her and I stare at my phone’s screen, wishing I had said the words.

Being with Fable has turned me into a complete sap.

My phone immediately starts ringing again. This time it’s my dad. I answer it, steeling myself for the inevitable spew of words over his hatred for his wife. “Hey, Dad.”

“Where’s Adele? Have you seen her?”

I stop in the middle of the sidewalk, causing someone passing by to bump into me. “Why would I see her? Where is she?”

“I don’t know. We…talked this morning. Then we started to argue and she brought you up. Said she needed to see you and took off in my fucking Jag. Have you seen her? Did she come there?”

“Of course I haven’t seen her.” Dread creeps over me. Making my head spin. “Why would she want to come see me?”

“I haven’t a clue. She said she had something to tell you.” He pauses. “Don’t turn her away, okay? Please? Hear her out, whatever she has to say. I’m sure she’s going to you to ask if you would help convince me that the two of us belong together.” He sounds smug, funny considering only last night he’d been a ragged mess, practically crying over her cheating ways.

He’s way off base with her wanting to talk to me. Adele knows the last thing I would do is hear her out over how much she and my dad are meant to be together. She wouldn’t have the balls to do something like that.

There’s something else to this story. Something I don’t want to know.

“If you see her, call me. Promise?”

“I promise,” I say before I end the call.

The entire drive back to my place, I keep a lookout for my dad’s sleek black Jaguar but I don’t spot it anywhere. That type of car is a dime a dozen back home. Here, in this small college town that’s filled mostly with Hondas or Toyotas, the car stands out like a glaring beacon.

Thank God I don’t spot the Jag in my complex’s parking lot either. Relieved I dodged that bullet, I head toward my apartment, surprised to find the door unlocked when I enter.

Surprised even more to find Adele sitting on my fucking couch, Owen sitting next to her and looking incredibly uneasy.

“Andrew!” She stands, pushing her long dark hair over her shoulder. “You’re home!”

I shut the door, my gaze going to Owen, who sprang up so fast from that couch he reminded me of a jack in the box. He looks uncomfortable, he’ll hardly meet my eyes, and I’m instantly taken back.

How she used to spend all of her time with me. Flattering me. At first, she made me nervous. I wasn’t used to that sort of constant, almost overbearing attention. But after a while, I started to crave it. She knew exactly what she was doing, how she was manipulating me to fall under her spell.

“Get away from him,” I say a little too forcefully, shocking the both of them. “Keep your fucking hands off him, Adele, I mean it.”

She smirks, shooting Owen a long, sultry look. “He’s a sweet, sweet boy, Andrew, reminds me so much of you that age. Tall and handsome and so strong, he’s going to be quite the looker someday.”

I’ve never been tempted to do harm to a woman in my life. At this very moment, if I could wrap my hands around her neck and squeeze the ever-loving life out of her, I’d have no regrets. “Go to your room, Owen,” I demand.

He scurries off without a protest, slamming the door so hard, Adele jumps, then titters nervously.

“You don’t need to scare the poor boy. I didn’t do a thing to him. You know I only have eyes for you.” She comes close to me. I can smell the scent of alcohol emanating from her body. She has to be drunk.

Sidestepping her, I ignore what she said. She’s just trying to get a rise out of me, as usual. “Where’s Dad’s Jag?”

She laughs. “I parked it on the street, behind this building. Pretty devious, right? I knew you would flip if you saw the car. Knew that your dad would contact you and ask you to look for me. Heaven forbid he actually do it himself.” She plops down on the couch, her body draped across it. “You have a nice place here. Why does your little slut’s brother live with you?”

“It’s none of your goddamn business,” I bite out. “You call Fable a slut one more time, I won’t be held responsible for what I do to you.”

“Such anger. You know, I’m surprised the two of you are still together. I didn’t pick her as your type.” She tilts her head and smiles. “You deserve someone so much prettier, a better match for you. You have so much potential. Too much to squander it all on a stupid girl like Fable.”

Adele spits out Fable’s name like it’s poison. Fable does much the same with Adele’s name. “I already told you, watch what you say.”

She waves a hand. “What are your plans for the future anyway, hmm, Drew? Do you plan on moving on to pro ball? I know that’s your dream. I think you could do it. You’ve always chased your dreams and accomplished so much at such a young age.”

What is she talking about? “I’m not discussing my future with you or what I plan on doing next. You need to leave.”

Her eyes widen in feigned shock. “Why, Drew, I can’t believe you would say such a thing to me. Are you that eager to get rid of me?”

“Yes,” I tell her bluntly.

We stare at each other blindly for a long, uncomfortable moment, until finally her eyes narrow and she rests her hands on her hips. “I’m going to tell him, Andrew. I’m going to tell your dad about you and me and what we did. What we made. Vanessa. There’s nothing you can do to stop me either.”

All the blood feels like it drains from my body. “Why would you do that?”

“I need to come clean.” She shrugs. “I need to get my sins off my chest, Andrew. You’re my biggest sin. Did you know that? I’ve never done anything so wicked as what I did with you.”

“Shut up.” If I could slap my hands over my ears to drown out what she’s saying like some sort of little kid, I would. “Just shut up.”

“Truth hurts, doesn’t it? Imagine what it’ll do to your dad. Oh, it’ll tear him up. Destroy him and his relationship with you. You’ll lose him forever.” She smiles. “I’ve already lost him. What does it matter if you lose him too?”

“Get out,” I tell her. She’s already overstayed. I need her gone. Fable’s due home any minute and I can’t risk a confrontation.

“Don’t be so quick to send me home now. I fully plan on telling your father everything the second I see him.” She heads toward the door, her walk smooth, her head held high as if she were some sort of queen. The perfect image she must keep up has to be exhausting. I should know. I did much of the same thing for years.

“Why would you want to do that to him? To me? I thought you loved him.” I don’t understand why she needs to do this.

“I don’t love him. He doesn’t fulfill me. I stay with him for the beautiful house and the cars and the jewelry and the money. I don’t think I’ve loved him for years.”

This isn’t my problem. None of what she’s saying has anything to do with me. That she would be so hard and cold, talking about my father, is hard for me to swallow but I need to push past it all and get rid of this bitch.

But before I can so much as push Adele out of the apartment, the door swings open and Fable walks in, stopping short when she sees who’s standing in front of her.

 

Fable

 

Seeing Adele in Drew’s living room nearly sends me stumbling backward. Luckily enough I’m able to gain my footing so I don’t make a fool of myself.

Also luckily enough, I find my voice immediately. “What the fuck is she doing here?” I ask, looking pointedly at Drew.

Adele laughs her bitch cackle. “As crude as ever, I see. The epitome of class, aren’t you, Fable?”

“At least I don’t pretend to be full of class when so clearly you’re not, considering you like to molest teenage boys.” I slam the door, realization dawning on me, and I look at Drew. “Where’s Owen?”

“In his room,” Drew says, his voice gentle. “He’s safe. I promise.”

“You two treat me like some sort of common child molester out to pick up little boys off the street when you couldn’t be further from the truth.” Adele sends Drew a warm smile, which totally creeps me out. “He seduced me as well, you know. I mean, look at him. He’s always been a beautiful boy.”

The bitch just crossed a line and now I’m crossing one right back. I don’t know what’s come over me, what possesses me to do something so crazy, there will be an eventual price to pay.

But here I go. It’s like it’s all happening in slow motion and I know I’m going to do it before I actually complete the act.

I launch myself at her. Take her to the ground so hard, I hear her scream of pain when her body hits the floor. I’m sitting on top of her, tugging at her long, sleek hair, trying to scratch her beautiful smug face like I’ve always wanted to do. I want to beat the crap out of her and leave her as bruised and battered on the outside as she left Drew bruised and battered on the inside.

Doing all that, I know I still won’t be satisfied.

“Fable, Jesus, stop!” Drew is yelling at me but I won’t listen. I’m ready to tear this bitch apart. I’m pulling her hair, scratching at her, cocking my fist back as if I’m going to punch her square in the face, and that’s when Drew grabs hold of my arm, stopping my fist from making a connection with Adele’s jaw. “Get off her. Now.”

I’m shaking, full of rage and fear and adrenaline. Both of us are panting, the sound filling the otherwise quiet room. Adele stares up at me with her dark, mysterious eyes and I wonder what happened in her past to turn this woman into such a complete fuck-up.

“Fable.” Drew tugs on my arm so I have no choice but to climb off of Adele and stand. Drew’s fingers are clasped tight around my upper arm and we both watch as Adele gets up, the expression on her face nothing short of murderous.

“I should call the cops,” she says, pointing her finger at me. “And press fucking charges, you lunatic bitch!”

“She didn’t touch you,” Drew says in that scary menacing voice of his.

“What are you saying? She was all over me!” Adele holds out her arms. I suppose there might be a few scratches there but nothing I can see. “Look at me!”

“Get out. Just get out,” he says, ignoring her outstretched arms, her plea for help. All of it. “Before I’m the one doing something I’ll regret.”

Her eyes go wide for the quickest moment and then she’s gone. Fleeing the apartment like some sort of terrorist in flight after dropping a major bomb in the middle of a crowded room. The door slams behind her and I fall onto the couch, my entire body shaking with anger.

“Why did she come here?” I look up at Drew. Misery is written all over his face. His brows are drawn, his mouth a thin, grim line.

“I don’t know. To tell me she’s going to confess to my dad everything that happened between us? She claims she’s going to tell him about Vanessa too.” He sits down heavily beside me, tension radiating off his body in waves. “Should I call him? Should I be the one who tells him first? Dr. Harris says I should.”

I part my lips, but the words clog my throat. I still can’t believe what I did. How quick I jumped her, how bad I wanted to hurt her. I may act like I’m tough but I never resort to violence. I never got in physical fights at school.

That woman makes me want to lose my mind.

“I can’t make that decision for you,” I finally say. I know it’s harsh, but I won’t be responsible for Drew telling his dad or not about what happened. He needs to come to that conclusion on his own.

“You’re right. I know you’re right.” He blows out a harsh breath. “I don’t know how to tell him, though. I’m scared.”

I hook my arm around his shoulders, trying to give him comfort. He’s stiff beneath my touch, though, and I end up running my hand down his back before letting my arm drop. “It’ll be okay,” I murmur. “Don’t let that bitch bother you.”

“Easy to say, not so easy to do.” He looks at me. His gaze is bleak, his face pale. “She’ll ruin everything, Fable. She’s trying to destroy my life.”

I stare at him. He’s giving her so much control still. I thought he was starting to move past this. Clearly, she still had her claws in him. He looks terrified. “We won’t let her, Drew. I’ll stand by you no matter what. I’ll support you. It doesn’t matter what she says.”

“What if she wants to take it further? What if…what if she wants to go to the media or whatever? Try to make me look bad around here, in the community. That will destroy me. Destroy my chances at a professional football career.”

“Is that what you want?” He never talks about football much with me. It’s like he compartmentalizes all these different parts of his life and only reveals what he thinks I should see.

“Yeah.” He hangs his head. “I don’t know what else I would do. I’m a business major with a minor in finance. I did that to please my dad.”

“Hey.” I rest my hand on his knee and give him a little shake. “It’s going to be okay. Really.”

Drew settles his hand over mine and gives it a squeeze. We look at each other as he laces our fingers together and then he’s leaning in, kissing me, so softly, so sweetly I almost want to cry. Touching my cheek with his other hand, he breathes words against my lips that make my heart ache for him.

“I love you so damn much. I know this has happened fast and we’re having to deal with a lot of shit, but if we can make it through this, we can make it through anything.”

He’s right. He has to be right. If I could, I’d beg him to take me to bed right now. So we could lose ourselves in each other, if only for a little bit.

But now’s not the time. There’re other things to consider first. And Owen…

“Where’s Owen?” I ask after I break our kiss.

As if he’s lurking behind his bedroom door just waiting to bust out, he enters the living area, stopping short when he sees the two of us sitting so closely together. We haven’t been very affectionate or grabby in front of my brother. It makes me uncomfortable, which is so stupid, but I know Owen doesn’t approve one hundred percent of me being with Drew.

Crazy. I shouldn’t care. I love this man sitting beside me. And I love the boy standing in front of us.

“That chick was creepy.” Owen shakes his head, looking at Drew. “She said she was your mom?”

Drew stiffens beside me. “She’s not. She’s married to my dad. My mom died when I was little.”

“Wait a minute.” I disentangle myself from Drew and stand, going to Owen. “You met her? You talked to her?”

“She was in the apartment when I got home,” Drew adds.

“With Owen? Alone?” I’m stunned. What. The. Hell. “Who let her in?”

“I did,” Owen admits sheepishly. “She was waiting outside when I got here. She said she was Drew’s mom and that she needed to see him so I let her in.”

“Oh my God.” I’m reeling. “How long were you with her alone?”

“I don’t know. Ten minutes?” Owen shrugs. “What’s the big deal? She’s weird, I’ll give her that. But it’s not like she did anything to me. You act like she’d want to feel me up or something.”

I look at Drew. No way am I going to say anything to Owen about…that. “She’s a little mentally unstable at the moment. Everyone’s worried about her.” Ick. I can’t believe I just said that. I’m not worried about her. I wish she’d fall off the face of the earth and rot in hell forever.

“I thought I heard you two fighting,” Owen said, shifting on his feet. He looks uncomfortable.

“We don’t really like each other.” I circle my arm around Owen’s shoulders and lead him into the kitchen. I need to change the subject and quick. “I have good news. I found an apartment for us.”

“Really?”

He’s so excited as I tell him all the details, hyperaware of Drew sitting in the living room. Alone with his thoughts. I’m torn. Excited to find my own place for Owen and me. Sad to leave Drew. I need this independence. But I need Drew as well.

He needs me—now more than ever. I hope I can be enough for him.

I hope we can be enough for each other.