Page 49 of Valentine Dare

“I have, but I didn’t think it was possible.”

She chuckled. “Everything is possible if you just believe.”

She rested her head on the back of the chair and then took off her glasses and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to talk anymore. Neither did I, seeing as she had that patronising tone in her voice when she spoke to me. I didn’t know if I was annoyed with her for picking me up and pretending she was so concerned about my wellbeing or for me for acting like a fool and traveling down the wrong road again.

The Edwards had taken me in like a stray dog, and I had to go back to the one place I ‘belonged’ with my parents, even if everything inside me was saying that this was a really bad idea.

* * *

As we landedin New York at JFK, there was another limo to take us to the Waldorf penthouse. I couldn’t believe they had money when a few months ago, they had nothing. Sure, Uncle Mike worked as a realtor and had his hands on a few properties, but I didn’t think he had the type of cash to allow mom to go shopping and for us to stay at the Waldorf.

Once again, we rode in the limo in silence. I turned my phone off, even debated whether to get rid of it. I just wanted to put the boys behind me and move on with life, but it was as if I couldn’t get them out of my mind. I had to blink my eyes a couple of times when the driver came to pick us up. He had blue eyes just like the boys, and for a second as he took off his cap, I thought he was Brent as he smiled and greeted me.

“Toss it in the trash!” Mom declared as Kevin, the driver, was about to put my case in the trunk.

I shouted to him. “No, that has my college applications and essays I need to submit in there too. I need it.”

Mom shook her head. “Oh alright, but we need to get home. I mean, your father has been waiting, and we’ll be getting you new things. You can’t be seen in New York in these drags.”

Once again, she commented on my clothes. She gave Kevin a nod, and he tossed it in the back. I sat down in the limo feeling uncomfortable about being here. We’d only been together for a few hours, yet all the memories of how she’d treated me in the past reared their ugly head, and all I was feeling was regret about agreeing to come in the first place.

We were sat in the back of the limo. The drive to the hotel felt as if it was taking forever. I popped my head up to see that we were stuck in traffic. My stomach started to make a grumbling sound as I realized we hadn’t eaten since she picked me up this morning, and it was way past lunch time. Even on the plane, when the stewardess wanted to serve food, mom said that I should stick to water.

“Dear you’ve obviously been eating too much. I mean, you’ve gone up at least four sizes. Here, take this bottle of water. Hopefully it will settle your stomach.” She winced as she passed me the bottle.

“I’ve put on two sizes. And I could happily go up another two. I don’t want water, I want something to eat. Is there no snack in there? I’m starving.”

She bit back, “No. You don’t want to look like that girl. What’s her name, Stacey? I mean, her parents are doctors. They should know better than to let their daughter grow to that size.”

“So, it’s better to look like a stick insect than a healthy size six.”

“There’s nothing healthy about being fat. And you’re not a healthy size six. More of an overweight ten/twelve. I’ve managed to keep my figure after all this time and even after giving birth to you. You were such a big baby. You need to think about these things. I mean, Kurt wouldn’t want to get married to a fattie.”

What did she say?

I ignored the stint about my weight, but the mere mention of hearing her talking about wedding bells and Kurt in the same sentence made me come out in hives as I started to itch.

“Urgh, you’re dirty too. A good shower and salad will be waiting for you when we reach the Waldorf.”

We hadn’t even been together for a day, and all the warning signs were screaming at me. I didn’t know if I hated mom or myself more. Either way, I was stuck for now, I had to find a way to get out of this situation.

How could I?

The boys wanted us to be in a fake relationship to get at Kurt. I didn’t even say bye properly to my one and only friend. I’d burned all bridges in Boston, and I hadn’t even been gone a day. If I’d done things properly, as soon as we landed in NY, I would be sticking my finger up at mom and telling her there was no way I was spending Christmas with them.

There was no doubt about it. I was back to square one. Stuck as I was back in the country club. Before I could even reply, she started to make the call. I slumped in my chair because nothing about what was taking place gave me any comfort. If anything, it just made me feel sick.

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