Page 27

Chapter Ten

They were having sex. Or, maybe they weren’t having sex but they were definitely working their way towards the big, dirty deed.

And they were loud.

No, that’s wrong. Only she was being loud. Obnoxiously so. Her moaning resembled the noises a dying animal would probably make. Mr. Cole kept shushing her. She paid him no mind, of course. Honestly, I don’t know how he kept his erection through the whole ordeal.

My mother. A serious piece of work. This whole show she was putting on was entirely for me. Mad about the Rover, she’d clearly chosen this as part of my punishment. She’d set the scene and I had waltzed right into it.

I’d gotten home from school the exact same time as I had the last two days so she’d known when to time it right. I walked through the front door and I heard them, I heard her. If I wanted to make it to the stairs so I could go up to my bedroom, I’d have to walk right past them. And that was the whole point. She wanted me to see them having sex. My mother let her bitter jealousy and resentment get the better of her, like usual.

I could either walk past the dining room where they were and risk them seeing me, and I knew they’d see me because she was waiting for it, or I could turn around and walk right back out the front door.

I picked option number two. Not for me, but for Mr. Cole. I’d seen my mother in a serious state of undress (read: naked) before. I’d even seen her in several different sexual positions with several different men. Right out in the open because she’d either forgotten I existed or hadn’t cared. This time was different because she hadn’t forgotten about me at all, in fact, this was the exact opposite of that.

No, I picked option number two because I didn’t want to embarrass Mr. Cole. And if I walked in on him having sex with my mother on his dining room table he would certainly be mortified.

I couldn’t do it to him, and I had no intention of giving that woman exactly what she wanted.

I’d always been a pawn in her game, the only serious one she’d ever had. Now she had two to play with. This terrified me. You could cause way more damage with two than just one. Nobody knew me better than my own mother and she’d know that I liked him and wouldn’t want to hurt him. She’d find some way to use that to her advantage. And by advantage, I meant some way to use it against me.

Walking out the front door, I couldn’t help but despise my mother. She was a terrible person, and the two of us together were likely going to destroy Mr. Cole’s life.

I had nowhere to go. What I did have was a pretty, brand spankin’ new, Range Rover with a full tank of gas and an ipod with a whole lot of music on it and nothing but time on my hands.

I’d leave without a word and let her think she won this round. It might backfire on me, though. Maybe I should go back inside, make my presence known and get my punishment over with just to be done with it. I should do that. I should, but I wasn’t going to. I liked Mr. Cole too much to harm him just to save my own ass.

I was frowning and buried deep in my thoughts as I made my way to the garage. I had parked inside because I hadn’t planned on going anywhere and that’s

what Mr. Cole had told me to do. My stomach grumbled angrily at me. I had not eaten enough today to satisfy it. School was hard work and I was hungry.

“Ariel, where are you going?” One of the twins asked me. I wasn’t really surprised to hear him, they seemed to be everywhere I was.

I looked up to see Addison standing at the edge of Tyson’s driveway just before the grass. I guess I should have referred to it as his driveway, too. He stood statue still with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black cargo pants, his clear blue eyes filled with worry. I didn’t understand why he’d worry about me, he barely knew me.

I stopped in my tracks. “I can’t be here right now,” I told him honestly.

“Why?” he asked gently.

I licked my lips, nervously. I didn’t want to tell him. At what point would my mother’s stink taint me in his eyes? In the eyes of the others?

“Come here,” he rumbled quietly.

I hesitated, not knowing what to do.

He sighed heavily and loudly. “Come on, girl. Let’s go into the house. Everyone’s already in there waiting for us. Quint even ordered pizza and it should be here soon. You don’t want to be late for that. Being late means you don’t get to eat. Not with that crowd.”

Tempting me with food? I liked him, he was smart.

I smiled sadly at him and headed his way. We walked side by side to Tyson’s house. Our arms brushed lightly, sending heat up my arm. This heat was really starting to get to me. Where did it come from and why did it have such a profound effect on me? It was the strangest thing.

“What’s wrong at your house that you can’t be there?”

Why couldn’t he be like a normal person and just let it go when he realized I wasn’t comfortable talking about it?

We reached the front door when he rumbled angrily, “Did she hurt you again?”

This conversation was making me miserable. “No,” I grumbled.