All I've Never Wanted (18 page)

Or at least, I used to be.

“Really? And where was the trip to again?” I asked in a sickly sweet voice.

My dad shot me a look that was half-pained, half-warning, which made me even angrier. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to waltz back in here like nothing was wrong!

Before he could say anything, my grandmother thrust a cup of tea at me. “Your memory so bad, Maya,” she scolded me. “He said many times before he go to Chicago.” She stared disapprovingly at my skirt. “Why skirt so short? Higher the hem, more brain cells you lose! Maybe that why you no remember. Have some tea. Good for mind.”

My lips flattened into a thin line as I silently accepted the tea. I’d gotten home late last night, well after everyone else had gone to sleep, and so this was the first time I’d seen my mom since I saw my dad with that…that woman.

I was still torn about what I should do, but it sure as hell didn’t feel right, standing there and trying to pretend everything was ok when it so, so wasn’t.

“Actually, Maya, we have some news for you,” my mom chirped, discreetly pouring some of her tea back into the pot when my grandmother wasn’t looking.

“Yeah, what’s that?” I mumbled, reaching for the plate of chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen counter.

Chocolate always makes me feel better.

My grandmother swatted my hand away. “No chocolate for you. You need to lose weight. Your butt too big. No one want to marry girl with big butt.”

I groaned, wondering what it was about her and my butt. Seriously, this was like the fifteenth reference she’d made to it! “People like big butts nowadays, grandma. It’s in fashion. Just look at Kim Kardashian.”

She squinted at me. “Kim Katashi? Who that? She Japanese? Why you wanna be like Japanese girl?”

I give up.

My mom cleared her throat, gaining my attention again. “So, your dad and I have decided to go on a vacation!” she announced excitedly.

I nearly spit out my tea. “What?” I choked.

“Yep, we’re going on a two-week trip to Napa Valley!” My mom’s face was glowing. “We’re long due for a vacation really, and we’ve both got so many days racked up at work that we figured, why not? Especially since they’re having a deal that this adorable inn there, and we love wine, so—“

As she babbled on, I stared hard at my dad, who was pretending to be engrossed in his newspaper when I knew for a fact he most definitely wasn’t. I didn’t even have to ask who came up with the idea with this “vacation.”

Probably suggested it so he could get mom away before I choose to spill the beans,
I thought with a sneer, even though I wasn’t sure if I would be. Spilling the beans, that is.

God, that is just so…so underhanded!

He was turning more and more into a stranger every day.

“Well,
Dad?
Don’t you have something to say?” I asked pointedly, interrupting my mom mid-ramble.

His head jerked up guiltily. “What do you mean?” he asked, visibly gulping.

I gave him a big, fake smile. “Well, mom’s obviously sooo excited about this trip. Aren’t you?”

“Oh. Yeah. Of course.” He laughed, a look of relief on his face. “Uh…you’ll be all right here with your grandmother for two weeks, won’t you?”

“Me?” My grandmother looked at him sharply. “What you mean?”

“Well…uh, since Shelly and I will be on the trip, it’ll only be you and Maya in the house for a bit,” my dad replied, obviously baffled.

My grandmother scowled. “What you think I am? Babysitter? Maya my granddaughter but I no live here! I have life back home.” She sniffed. “There’s annual mah-jongg tournament next week. I leave Friday. No way I let that Rose beat me again!” Her scowl deepened. “Rose, what stupid name that is,” she muttered. “More like Loser Weed.”

“You’re leaving this Friday? But we leave Sunday!” My dad turned to face my mom. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Oh, right.” My mom looked embarrassed. “I was just so excited it slipped my mind…”

I didn’t see what the big deal was. “So I’ll just stay here by myself. I’m seventeen, I can handle it.”

This was actually not a bad development. I needed the two weeks to figure out what I was going to do about the whole my-dad-is-cheating thing.

“What? No good!” my grandmother shrieked, waving a spatula frantically in the air. When did she get that out, anyway? “You girl! You cannot stay in house all by yourself for two weeks! Very, very dangerous!”

“Grandma, it’s Valesca,” I explained patiently. “The most dangerous things here are those birds that come out of nowhere and poop on you.”

But my grandmother wasn’t having it. “No.” She pointed the spatula at me. “You dating Parker now! I no want you and him in house by yourself when you having sex.”

My dad spewed his tea all over the table.

“Kids these days, they get up to kinky stuff when parents no around,” my grandmother continued. “I want grandchildren, but I no like kinky!”

“Parker? Who’s Parker? And why would you be getting kinky with him?” my dad sputtered.

“Parker’s her boyfriend, dear,” my mom informed him serenely.

Yeah, and you’d know that, if you weren’t so busy getting “kinky” with some slut yourself,
I thought nastily, a bit appalled by my meanness. He deserved it though!

“I’m not going to be getting…’kinky’ with him!” I protested. “I can handle two weeks by myself! There’s no other option!”

“No!” My grandma stared at my parents. “Why you no postpone your trip till later?”

“Mom, I trust Maya. I’m sure she’ll be fine,” my mom assured her.

“No! Absolutely not! She can’t have the house to herself when she has a boyfriend,” my dad said vehemently. “We can just…hire someone to look after her.”

Like a
babysitter?

My jaw dropped as fury rose up in me. “Are you kidding me?” I yelled, startling everyone in the kitchen. “I’m seventeen! I don’t
need
a babysitter for two weeks!” I clenched my fists. “God, you’re such a hypocrite!”

Unable to take it anymore, I stormed up the stairs to my room and slammed the door, leaving my stunned family in the kitchen.

*              *              *

Later that night, I was on my computer, half-heartedly Facebook stalking people I didn’t even care about in an attempt to forget how shitty my life was when someone knocked on the door.

“I’m sleeping,” I called out crankily, clicking on a random photo album.

My face screwed up in disgust. Eeew! PDA overload! I shuddered and quickly exited the page. Some people seriously needed to keep their personal lives…personal.

“Maya, can I come in please?”

I stiffened. “I'm busy."

“Please. I just need to talk to you for five minutes.”

I gripped my computer mouse so tight I was surprised it didn’t break. Finally, I pushed back my chair, stormed over to the door, and yanked it open.

“Make it quick,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

My dad stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He looked nervous. “Look, I think we should talk about…” He cleared his throat. “About what happened yesterday.”

“You think?” My voice was sarcastic.

“Watch your tone, young lady,” he automatically said.

I rolled my eyes. Like he had the authority to tell me to do anything anymore.

“Ok, I just wanted to say…” My father took a deep breath. “I
was
on a date with someone else.”

Even though I already knew, I couldn’t help but flinch when he finally admitted it.

My dad’s eyes were pained. “I swear, I didn’t mean to lie to you or your mom. I just…” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “It gets hard sometimes, you know? I’m always traveling for work, and as wonderful as your mother is, sometimes she doesn’t necessarily get how much stress I’m under…Lexi, though, she does. She works for the same company I do—“

“Are you in love with her?” I interrupted, my voice rather shaky.

“What? No!” My father’s eyes widened as he shook his head. “No! Of course not. Maya, your mother’s the one I love, but it gets so damn lonely on the road—“

And you just couldn’t keep it in your pants.
God, men were such jerks. Even the ones whom I thought were one of the few good ones left.

“—especially since we always end up on the same projects together. Honestly, though, yesterday was our first date.” My dad looked at me. “All the other times I’ve said I’ve been on business, I really was!”

“With her.”

He flushed slightly. “Sometimes. But it never went beyond flirting until…until recently. I know it was wrong of me. I swear, it’ll never happen again. Just…just don’t tell your mom, ok?”

I couldn’t believe it. “You want me to
keep
this from her?” I hissed.

I mean, I had thought about it, but it just seems so slimy for him to be the one to ask me to do it.

“Maya! Just look at it from another perspective,” my dad pleaded. “Look, I promise, I won’t ever see or talk to Lexi again unless it’s for professional purposes. Your mom doesn’t need to know, it’ll destroy the entire family. It was just a mistake.”

I swallowed. Maybe he had a point. I didn’t want my parents to divorce, even though my dad had made a major dick move. Most of all, though, I don’t think I could stand to see my mom in the pain I knew she’d be in if she found out.

“Did you sleep with her?”

“No,” my dad immediately said. “No, it never got that far. And it won’t. I promise.”

I sighed, feeling exhausted. My brain hurt. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was just a mistake, and everything didn’t have to change.

“How could you have even afforded that date anyway?” I muttered.

“I got a new credit card your mom doesn’t know about,” my dad answered somewhat sheepishly.

I snorted. How clever. Using a new card so my mom couldn’t see the charges. For someone who insisted it was a
one-
time thing, he certainly knew how to go about it.

“And I guess that’s why I suggested the two week trip,” my dad added. “To help us… rekindle that spark, I guess. Actually spend some time together.”

I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t even want to know what “rekindle that spark” meant.

“And you promise it’ll never happen again?” I demanded.

He nodded eagerly. “I promise.” He stared at me hopefully. “So, can we just keep this to ourselves? Please?”

After some hesitation, I finally, reluctantly nodded. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I
had
to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Not for him, or me, but for my mom and my family’s future.

CHAPTER 13

At school the next day, I was practically a zombie. I hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, and as a result, had slept through all of my morning classes. I was so distracted by my family drama that I wasn’t even freaking out about the fact that I was probably screwed for next week’s tests.

“Maybe you should go home early today,” Venice suggested as we walked slowly to our next class. “You look like you’re about to collapse.”

“I concur.”

I whipped my heard around, and saw Adriana leaning against the wall outside the Scions’ private classroom. I hadn’t even noticed we were in this part of the school.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled. “I can’t just skip school.”

“Don’t be silly,” the leggy blonde said, sounding exasperated. “You obviously need some serious R&R after yesterday. And if I’m right—which I usually am—you couldn’t sleep last night, hence why you’re walking around like a card-carrying member of the undead.”

“Thanks. Do I look that horrible?” I asked dryly.

“You’re getting there.”

Adriana pushed herself off the wall and tossed her shining golden hair over her shoulder. As usual, she looked impeccable in a fitted suede jacket over a beaded tank and a pair of low-slung, perfectly faded Seven jeans that made her legs look miles long.

“Anyway, I’ve already secured permission from the school to take you two out for a girls’ day. Or afternoon, really.”

“Wait. You mean, I get to come too?”Venice asked excitedly, her green eyes even bigger than usual.

“Why not? You’re Maya’s best friend, and she needs as many friends around her as possible.” Adriana gazed at me with a hint of sympathy in her aqua eyes.

I shook my head. “Thanks for the offer but—“ Yawn. “I’ll be—“ Another yawn. “Fine.”

“Do I need to kidnap you?”

My face fell. If this kept up, I was going to break a world record for most kidnappings in a month. And I had no doubt Adriana would do it too.

“When you put it that way,” I groused, looking longingly down the hall, though I didn’t know why. My next class was AP Calculus BC, and I hated math.

Adriana looked pleased. “Good. Come on.” She began to walk down the hall towards the double glass doors that led outside.

Venice, at least, didn’t seem to have any hesitation in ditching school as she practically ran after the blonde, obviously thrilled at the idea of being able to miss calculus.

Sighing, I followed them into the backseat of a waiting chauffeured Rolls-Royce.

“Where are we going?” I asked, settling comfortably into the plush leather seat.

“La Maison de la Sérénité,” Adriana answered, putting on a pair of oversize Chanel sunglasses as she named the most expensive and exclusive spa in town.

“Really? My mom loves that place,” Venice exclaimed. Leaning over, she whispered into my ear, “It’ll be good for you, Maya. I heard the masseuses there are
amazing.”

I shrugged. “Ok,” I said. My voice was lackluster, but I felt a spark of excitement.

I’ve always wanted to go a spa.

“So what are you going to do about the whole babysitter thing?” Venice asked. I had filled her in on everything during lunch, which I’d taken in the library because I was too tired to deal with the Scions today.

Adriana’s head snapped up. “What babysitting thing?”

I glumly explained my father’s threat to her, and I saw anger flash across her face.

“Seriously? No offense, but that is so hypocritical of him,” she said, sounding annoyed.

“That’s what I said. What can I do?” I slumped down in my seat.

Adriana smirked. “Blackmail him?”

“I’ve thought about it, but I just don’t think I can go through with it,” I said honestly. “It’s not in my personality.”

She laughed. “That’s what I figured. You’re too nice sometimes, Maya.” She paused. “So you need someone to look after you for two weeks, huh?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“Interesting.”

Right. Personally, I don’t see anything interesting about my situation at all.

When we arrived, I couldn’t help but gaze at the sleek, Japanese-style building in awe. It was surrounded by leafy trees and reflecting pools, and exuded an aura of utter serenity, just like its name implied.

In the breezy lobby, which was open on three sides, a slender dark-haired woman clad in all white greeted us with a warm smile.

“Miss Perry, Miss Lindberg, Miss France, please follow me,” she said, leading us down a long hallway.

She showed us all into different rooms, explaining that “Miss Perry” had pre-booked different treatments for the three of us. I had gotten something called the Tahitian Goddess package, with included a manicure, pedicure, facial, body treatment, and 50-minute massage, all in a section of the spa that looked like, well, Tahiti.

Now, I don't consider myself a particularly materialistic person, but I had to admit, this treatment was nice. More than nice. I wondered briefly what it would be like to have so much money, to be able to buy whatever I wanted and go wherever I wanted without a second thought. I immediately dismissed it.

Sure, it'd be nice to have a private jet and weekly spa days and a closet full of Gucci and Prada, but if it meant I had even the slightest chance of turning into a typical Valesca rich-girl clone, then no thank you. I’ll stick to land transportation and H&M like a normal person.

“Which color would you like, Miss Lindberg?” my pedicurist asked kindly, handing me a book filled with literally hundreds of nail colors by OPI, Essie, and Lippmann Collection.

“Whoa, this is a lot,” I murmured, a bit overwhelmed.

Finally, though, I settled for a gorgeous deep burgundy. It seemed appropriate for fall.

By the time I received my Swedish massage, I was admittedly a million times more relaxed and refreshed than before.

Venice was right. The masseuses here
were
good.

Unfortunately, just as I was about to doze off, a loud knock on the door interrupted the tranquility. A moment later, the door swung open with a
bang.

Letting out a surprised scream, I instinctively shot up from the massage table. Oh my god, was the spa being robbed or something?

No. It was much worse.

My jaw dropped when I saw Roman standing there. He was holding a bright pink handbag, for some reason.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” I stuttered.

He didn’t respond, and just stared at me with a rather stunned and embarrassed look on his face, which was flaming red.

I frowned. What reason did
he
have to be embarrassed?

Then I looked down, and gasped when I realized that I had to take my top off for the massage. Which meant that when I got up, there was nothing covering my torso. Which meant I was currently topless in front of Roman Fiori.

And that was when I really screamed.

*              *              *

“It was just a huge misunderstanding. My fault, really,” Adriana said, not sounding repentant enough for my liking as she walked up the little stone path that led to my house.

“Can we not talk about it?” I felt like the redness would never fade from my face, which was bad, because then my grandmother was
really
going to think I’d been up to “kinky stuff.”

“Ok,” Adriana chirped, sounding suspiciously like she was trying not to laugh. “That’ll teach me not to leave my Hermés behind anymore.”

“What I really want to know—“ I jammed my key into the lock. “—is how Roman ended up barging into
my
room.”

“I must’ve texted him the wrong room number,” Adriana answered innocently. “My bad.”

“Hmph.”

Likely story. Adriana was way too much of a perfectionist to get something like that wrong. She was up to something, I just didn’t know what. I was pretty sure I didn’t like it, though.

Still, I suppose I had to forgive her, since she
had
come up with a brilliant idea to save me the embarrassment of needing a babysitter while my parents were away. Hence, the reason why she was at my house right now.

“Whoa.” Adriana sucked in a breath as she stared at the living room, which looked like a tornado had just blown through it. “What is going
on?”

“My grandmother is packing,” I answered matter-of-factly, sidestepping a stack of boxed ginseng.

Every time my grandmother visits, she somehow manages to accumulate two extra suitcases full of unnecessary…
stuff,
which she a) handed out to her friends back home, b) used to brag about her travel adventures, c) sold on eBay for twice its listing price, or d) all of the above (she had a tendency to take back gifts from people who offended her).

“Really?” Adriana picked up a skimpy black negligee, looking horrified. “This…is your grandmother’s?”

“Ew.” I whimpered, snatching the negligee from her hand and stuffing it under a sofa pillow so I didn’t have to look at it. “No! I guess my mom is packing too.”

I resisted the urge to gag. That was just gross. No daughter should have to see her mother’s lingerie.

“Maya! You home, honey?” My mom entered the living room, panting slightly as she set a giant cardboard box onto the floor with a small groan.

“Hey, mom. What’s going on?”

“Oh, just some cleaning and packing,” she replied cheerfully.

“Your grandmother’s in the kitchen.” She lowered her voice. “I think she’s cleaning out our sausage supply.”

“No problem here.” I shrugged. I was more of a bacon girl.

“Oh, you brought a new friend!” my mom exclaimed happily when she finally noticed Adriana. She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Maya’s mom.”

“Good evening, Mrs. Lindberg,” Adriana said politely, shaking my mom’s hand with her own freshly manicured one. “I’m Adriana.”

“Oh, please, call me Shelley. Mrs. Lindberg makes me sound so old.” My mom made a face. “I’m so sorry about the mess, it’s usually not like this. Things are just a bit hectic this week.”

“I think Maya may have mentioned that to me earlier. You and Mr. Lindberg are going to Napa Valley?”

My mom nodded, a grin lighting up her face.

I swallowed, the tension coming back into my muscles as guilt took over again. I hated lying to her, but I hated hurting her more. Hopefully, my dad had been telling the truth and wouldn’t do it again.

I would never forgive him if he did.

“I have a family friend who owns a vineyard there. They hold some amazing wine tastings a few times a year, and I believe they’re actually planning one for next week. I could put in a call and reserve a spot for you if you would like,” Adriana offered.

Wow, that was pretty generous of her. I knew she was trying to butter my mom up, but still.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t…” My mom’s voice trailed off. We could all see she really wanted to say yes. “It’s too much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Adriana laughed. “I just have to make a call. What do you say? It’ll make your trip
really
unforgettable.”