Page 12 of Mic Drop (Passionate Beats #3)

Jenna

A few months.

Three months maximum.

Months.

Ma will only be here with us for eight to twelve weeks.

My head shakes. No. No. No. This isn’t happening.

I don’t register the doctor asking if I have any more questions. It is of no import when Bennett leans over and disconnects the meeting. This is wrong. Wrong!

“Sweetheart.”

Ma has to stay with me. I need her guidance. Who else would support my crazy decision to open ten physical therapy clinics in five years?

“Jenna.”

She’s been my rock since day one. With my grandmother when I was a child. When Darren died, who picked up the pieces? Ma, that’s who. Despite her faking it with Bennett at first, she always adored Darren.

Hands move me physically from my chair. “Look at me.”

Concerned green eyes stare at me. I blink .

“Tug on your left ear if you can hear me.”

My chin bounces. What did he say? I concentrate and my left hand reaches for my earlobe. I pull once.

“Whew. I was worried there for a moment. Did you know Carol Burnett tugged on her left ear at the end of every one of her shows as a hello to her grandmother and to let her know she loved her?”

His words sink in. “No, I didn’t know that.”

He reaches over and tugs on my left ear. “I always loved that story.”

“It’s sweet,” I admit.

“Now that you’re talking again, how are you feeling?”

“Awful. This doctor confirmed what all the others have been saying. But he was the first one to give me a time frame.” I scour his face for answers. “Weeks?”

“Oh, Sweetheart. I am so sorry.”

He envelops me in his warm hug, and I allow his warmth to seep into my weary bones. “What am I going to do without her? I need more time.”

His hands slide to my shoulders as he pulls back. “I talked with your mother when you were in the kitchen. Among other things, she told me she wants to end her time on this earth happy. Not going to doctors all the time.” He pauses. “She’s exercising her free will, Jenna.”

My head shakes. “I don’t like it.”

“I know. But it’s different from how Darren ended his life, with a mistake. Your mother wants to go out this way.” He kisses my forehead. “You need to let her.”

I step back. “I don’t want to,” I wail. “First my grandmother died when I stopped visiting. Then Darren overdosed. I can’t believe Ma doesn’t have any other options.”

“You have to love your mother enough to let her make her own decisions.”

I have to what? Love my mother enough? Who’s he to talk about loving their mother? What does he know about how I can take care of her?

The need to lash out is overpowering. “Like you do to your own shrew of a mother?”

Like a cartoon quotation bubble, my harsh statement hangs in the air. His mouth goes into a straight line. If hot air could come out of his ears, I bet it would.

Good. Now he knows what it feels like.

Without saying anything else, Bennett shoves away from the quartz island and storms down the stairs. I don’t hear another sound from him.

I stare at the computer as if I could open it and get a real treatment plan. Why do all the doctors say the same thing?

Shame washes over me at how I treated Bennett. He was only trying to help me come to terms with what’s going on. He wasn’t telling me what to do.

That’s the issue, isn’t it? I want to be the one calling the shots. My own need for control overrides everything and every one else. Including Ma.

I have to love her enough to respect her wishes.

Bennett’s right. She gets to make choices for her life. I can’t make them for her. Doesn’t mean I have to like with them, though.

I slam my fist on the counter. Dammit. Why? I leap from the chair, needing to expend my pent-up energy. My feet take me to the doorway that leads downstairs but I turn away. Bennett deserves a break from me. Hell, I need a break from me.

Going in the opposite direction, I end up in the oversized family room.

We could fit Ma’s entire house in only this single room.

I bounce between the fireplace and furniture, wearing a path into the plush throw rug.

Everything about this house screams money, but not in an in-your-face way.

“Comfortable opulence” is what Angie and King called it. Fits Secluded Rest to a T.

This place suits Bennett .

Exhausted, I collapse onto the luxurious sofa, my gaze zeroing in on the television remote. For want of something to do, I turn on the TV. Of course, Lissa smiles back at me.

Despite not wanting to, I force myself to watch the segment. On an empirical level, she’s a beautiful woman. Her blonde hair is long and luxurious. Her blue eyes sparkle. Her skin is the perfect golden brown. Her boobs stand at attention. She’s all fake.

The reporter asks her about her relationship with Bennett. For the first time, I sit up and pay close attention to her reply. When I’ve been with Bennett when she’s on a show, he’s exploded within seconds, and I never truly heard her side of the story.

She gleams at the interviewer, her white teeth on full display. “We meant everything to each other in high school, you know. We were inseparable.”

Until you dumped him for his best friend to go to the senior prom.

“I felt like I was the queen of the school, as you can well imagine. Bennett and I were so in love. He used to bring me a flower every day before class.” She giggles. “Seems trite now, but back then, it meant the world to me. Plus, all the other girls were jealous.”

“You two were the couple everyone in the school envied,” the reporter adds.

“Definitely. Everyone tried to get the details about our intimate relationship, as you can imagine.” She bites her lower lip. She’s good . “We refused to kiss and tell. What we had going on was our business, no one else’s.”

The reporter nods. “Good on you. So what happened when it came time for the junior prom?”

“I remember it like it was yesterday. I was so excited to be on his arm, get all the photos taken. I was sure we’d be named the King and Queen of the prom. It was going to be a glorious event. But?—”

She draws out the preposition.

With a sigh, she says, “It wasn’t to be. We weren’t in good financial shape back then, and I couldn’t get enough money together to buy a dress. At that time, Bennett couldn’t loan me any either, so we ended up not going.” Her fake eyelashes flutter. “It wasn’t a total loss, though,” she purrs.

The interviewer prompts, “Don’t leave us hanging. What happened?”

“Well, it’s been such a long time that I don’t think Bennett would mind me telling you.” She leans forward. Get on with it! “Bennett and I had our own prom, if you catch my meaning.”

Liar! Unable to remain seated, I pace around the coffee table.

“We had the most amazing time, just the two of us. I wore a pretty sundress and he wore khakis with a button-down shirt and a red tie. Not appropriate prom attire, but we didn’t care. We played music and danced. He even sang a song he had written for me.”

“ A capella ?” the reporter interrupts.

“Yes. He had a great voice, even back then.”

Is this why he won’t sing for me without the band ?

The reporter appears intrigued. “Have we heard this song? Is it on any of Untamed Coaster’s albums?”

Lissa’s bowtoxed lips curve upward. “Oh no. He’s kept it only between us. It’s our special song.”

Bitch .

“Lucky you,” observes the reporter. “Then what happened?”

“Well, after a magical night where I gave him my virginity and he gave me his, we kept up our more physical relationship. Teenage hormones are impossible to keep in check.”

The host allows a pregnant pause before asking in a quieter voice, “How did your relationship end?”

Duck lips turn downward. “It’s a sad story.

His father died and he got invited to join Untamed Coaster within weeks.

I encouraged him to go and make a name for himself.

He promised he’d come back for me. We were so in love back then.

” She sighs. “I guess life had other things in mind.” Her hand strokes her flat stomach.

“Did you tell him you were pregnant? ”

She crosses her shapely legs. “I tried to reach him when I earned two pink stripes. He must have lost his phone or something, because my messages never were returned. I didn’t know the rest of the guys in the band, except I had met Darren once.”

I stand still. She’s seriously bringing him into this story she’s concocted?

Lissa tucks her hair behind her ear. “I did text Darren, who promised me he’d pass along my message. I waited and waited, but Bennett never did call.” Her eyes cast downward.

In a gentle tone, the reporter asks, “Then you lost the baby?”

Her head bounces. Lissa sniffles and takes a tissue from the box sitting next to her.

“I didn’t understand what was happening.

All of a sudden, I had these massive cramps,” her arms cradle her stomach.

“There was blood, too. So much blood. The doctors at the ER said there was nothing they could do to save the baby.” She cries into her tissue.

Not like my ugly cries, more like the dainty tears of a practiced actress.

“I am so sorry for your loss.” Lissa waves her tissue. The reporter continues, “Why now? Why are you coming forward now?”

Exactly. Good question, for once.

Lissa blows her nose one final time. “Now I’m an influencer. I get paid to wear clothes, go to places to be photographed. My story needs to be told so other young girls won’t have to go through what I did.”

More like you see dollar signs, bitch.

The reporter puts her hand on Lissa’s knee. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all this, especially by yourself. If you had the chance to speak with Bennett right this second, what would you say?”

My feet stop moving. I stare at the television. She had her opportunity right here in Aroostook, and never mentioned this fake story.

Lissa dabs her face. “As you know, we did reconnect recently in the Hamptons. It was magical.” Her fake eyelashes flutter.

“But, we didn’t have time to really talk , if you get my drift.

If he were here now, I would tell him I’m sorry I lost our baby.

I would forgive him for running away. Mostly, I would ask him why he never came back for me.

That’s what hurts the most.” She cries. Again.

My eyes roll.

Unlike me, the reporter eats up her lies.

“We’ll see what we can do to make this happen for you.

You, and the rest of the world, deserve his apology.

No man should ever treat a woman like this, especially one he professes to love.

” The interviewer turns to the camera. “If you’re out there, Bennett Hardy, we’d love to hear your side of the story.

That is, if you’re man enough to tell it. We’ll be right back.”

Music plays as the cameras show a tight shot of Lissa, still crying.

This is bad. Really bad. Lissa’s painted Bennett as some sort of monster who threw over his high school girlfriend for the promise of fame and groupies. Bennett has to make a statement. Does he have proof he’s not the father?

A text arrives on my phone, and I check it.

COURT

A reporter by the name of Jeremy Davis of the Record News just called. He wants an interview with you about all the Black Widow stuff. I told him I’d pass his request along. What do you want to do?

He’s the reporter who wrote a glowing review about Bennett before Untamed Coaster Unleashed was released.

Maybe I can use this article to combat Lissa?

After all, part of my horrible nickname references my dating Darren, and now Bennett.

If I play my cards right, I can use this opportunity to my advantage.

Even though I can’t control Ma’s decision, maybe I can make a difference here?

Tell him I’m game.

This has to work. I deserve a win.