Page 18 of You’re Mine

“I saw Jamie sleeping in the living room,” she reprimands me. “You forgot to take off his shoes, so I did it for you.”

I nod, without meeting her eyes.

“Thanks, Mom.”

She takes a seat on one of the chairs.

“What are you two doing today?” I turn back to the meal I’m making, not really wanting to look at her.

“I’m not really sure. I’m letting Jamie decide what he wants to do. It’s all part of the home-schooling. Self-direction and all that.”

“Hm,” is all I get in response. The judgment behind it is very apparent because everything Irene says is laced with judgment. But before I can reply, she leaves the kitchen, disappearing like a ghost. I guess that was the end of the conversation. I’ve never known whether or not my mom actually loves me because we live in such a prison. Sometimes, I think she’s more like a cellmate than a mother. Sometimes, I think she blames me for our situation.

Jamie wanders into the kitchen next as I’m putting lunch on the table. He rubs his eyes as he looks at what I’ve prepared.

“It looks yummy, Mommy!” my son exclaims. I’ve made us some cheesy noodles, one of my son’s favorite meals.

Together, we while away the rest of the day in bliss. While our situation isn’t perfect, spending time with Jamie is its own type of heaven. After all, he’s all I have of the man that I once loved, even if we’re no longer in contact. Unbidden, my thoughts wander. Where is Jace now? What would he do if he knew he had a son? My heart contracts with pain, but I make myself smile through tears at the beautiful boy who looks just like the man from so long ago.

6

Jace

“Jace, come to bed,” commands Chloe. I try to stifle the urge to snap at her. I don’t even know what she’s doing in my bed, and my jaw tenses with frustration.

The last seven years haven’t been great. After my passionate encounter with Haley, she disappeared from my life. That’s the only way to put it. I called her, texted her, and tried to reach out to her for days. But she never responded. It was complete radio silence.

Did I fuck up somehow? I mean, I thought we had a great time in the back of my pick-up truck. Granted, it’s not exactly the most romantic place, and especially not for a virgin’s first time, but I thought she enjoyed herself. At least, that’s what she told me, and I asked a bunch of times too. There was a smear of red on my dick after I got home, but from the moans and excited gasps, I thought Haley enjoyed it.

But evidently, I was wrong. I messed up. Haley didn’t like it and had a change of heart. I dropped her off that night with the feel of her kisses still warm on my lips, her scent still clinging to my clothes, and then I never heard from her again.

At first, it was hard to believe. She’d just proclaimed her devotion to me, after all, and we were going to escape to New York together. But Haley ghosted me after that. What the hell? Summoning my courage, I went to her house and tried to find her, but her asshole of a dad ran me off.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Herb snarled, standing at their front door with his arms crossed belligerently over his chest. “You took her innocence, isn’t that enough? Why can’t you leave my daughter alone?”

“Sir,” I stammered. “I just want to talk to her. Please, can I see her for a few minutes?”

“Leave,” Herb snapped. “You’re a fucking low-class piece of trash. Why don’t you get it? She doesn’t want to see you.”

My heart hammered in my chest. How could this be possible? The woman I loved more than life evidently wanted me gone. I didn’t believe it at first. I continued to text, call, and even skulk around the Jones mansion. But she never replied. Haley ghosted me, and seemed to know exactly how to avoid me. My beautiful girl never even came out of the house because it was as if she knew I was lurking about the bushes. I really fucked up, and the experience broke me.

With a numb mind and body, I left Lenville. I graduated and moved away to the big city by myself. That entire period of my life is cast in grey because I was gloomy and depressed. Somehow, New York lost its sheen because I didn’t have Haley by my side. The Empire State Building was just another building; Grand Central was just another railroad station; and nothing about the town could cheer me up. Without Haley, I was a nobody.

But somehow, I went through the motions. I got an entry-level job at a brokerage, and since I had no friends, no family, and no girlfriend, I threw myself into the work 24/7. It wasn’t easy. The suits looked down on a country boy wet behind the ears and weren’t exactly tripping over one another to show me the ropes. But I didn’t care because I didn’t care what happened to me anymore. I worked harder than ever, and let the insults roll off my back.

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