Page 3 of Nothing to Lose: Lost Trilogy: Part 1
I finally turn to look at her, and she calms down in an instant, tears running down her face. A face that used to be beautiful in her younger years but has since been ravaged by drugs and alcohol.
“Why don’t you tell me then?”
She is shocked that I’m asking. That I am attempting any sort of conversation with her. It hasn’t happened in a while, not since I was a little boy. Me asking about Blake Adams used to start a full on war between her and my uncle, which in turn would all backfire on me. I was a constant reminder of what my mother had done to him, and he loved reminding me of that fact any chance he had.
“His parents promised to leave him destitute if I didn’t marry Kenneth,” she finally whispers.
I raise an eyebrow in question. “Did Blake know that?”
“Blake didn’t care,” she waves the question off, then reaches for the large glass of liquor she has on the side table. “He just wanted to play hockey for fun. And he was good, really good.”
I looked my father’s name up once. He’s been a great businessman with a reputation as a ladies’ man. But I think whatever relationship he’d had with my mother threw him off.
“If he didn’t care, why did you?” I ask the obvious question.
“Because love doesn’t pay the bills, Lucas,” she rolls her eyes at me, then takes a large sip of whiskey from the expensive crystal tumbler she’s holding.
“So this is the life you envisioned for yourself, huh?” I lift my chin at her in disgust. “For me.”
“Well, no. Getting pregnant with Blake had never been a dream of mine,” she shrugs, and I feel literal shivers up and down my spine. “Kenny was ecstatic when I told him I was pregnant. His parents were as well. I prayed the baby was his, but… not meant to be,” she sighs.
“What about Blake?” I mutter through clenched teeth.
“Blake wanted to take you with him. He said Kenny was bad news once he’d learn the truth…”
He wasn’t wrong, I think to myself.
“Why didn’t you let me go with him?” My voice is shaking, and I can barely swallow around the lump in my throat.
“I didn’t want to start a fight with Kenny,” she shrugs but refuses to meet my eyes.
It takes me a minute to process what she just said.
“Let me get this straight,” I manage to choke out. “He wanted to take me away from this,” I point to the mansion behind us. “And you said no. Because you didn’t want to get into an argument withKenny,” I make sure to clarify.
I wish I could say that I see a small glint of shame in my mother’s eyes. She knows what me growing up around Kenny did to me.
“It is what it is, Lucas,” she finally shrugs and takes another healthy sip from her glass.
I am frozen in my spot on the deck. Suspended in the air, unable to stop images from flooding my brain. What would have my life been if Blake Adams really took me away from his brother?
“You really hate me for it, don’t you?” Elaine Adams, the woman who gave birth to me, asks.
“More than you will ever know,” I murmur quietly. What’s the point of getting angry and lashing out at her anymore?
Sadness washes over her face, but only for a fleeting second. The clarity I see in her eyes when she stares at me surprises me.
“I’ll make you a deal, Lucas,” she finally says in a pensive tone.
I really don’t want to enter into any sort of deal with her and, by association, my uncle. But curiosity gets the best of me.
“What kind of a deal?”
“I will have my attorney look into the trust Blake left for you. See if you can get it early.”
My heart is beating out of my chest, echoing in my ears and making me lightheaded.
“In exchange for what?” I know she’s not doing this out of the kindness of her heart.
