Axel: A Bad Boy Romance (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Marie surveyed the master suite in the Hawks Mansion. It deserved its name. Intimidation washed over her as she pushed open the heavy wooden door. This one room was the size of Marie’s entire apartment upstairs. There were thick throw rugs on the floor and large, floor-to-ceiling windows were covered with heavy draperies. The floors were wooden and they creaked when she walked over them. The walls were covered in beautiful purple wallpaper that featured interconnected lilies drawn in a thick black line.

The bedroom was dominated by a large four-poster bed against the north facing wall. The wooden frame was carved to resemble long, lean willow trees. The bedpost branches spread out above the bed to form the top of the frame from which heavy red curtains hung. They were stitched with gold to show little birds flying diagonally up and around the curtains. The bed was king-sized with a heavy mattress and two white pillows.

Marie reached out to touch the hand-carved bedframe. Ingrid told her she didn’t need to wear gloves. She just needed to make sure her hands were clean and dry when she touched the antiques. She ran her fingers over the smooth wood and then along the curtains. It was all so fabulous and decadent. There was a huge black fireplace across from the bed and Marie could easily imagine lying there with a roaring fire while her servants prepared her lunch.

Hung on the wall in a golden frame was a portrait of the house’s first owner, Edith Hawks. In the classically styled painting, Edith looked to be in her thirties. She was thin with dark hair and she was wearing an elegant-looking black dress. In the painting she was standing next to a well made of grey stone on a bright sunny day. There was a backdrop of greenery behind her and her long, red hair was flowing in the wind. She was giving the painter just the hint of a smile. She looked smart, like she was the kind of women you turned to in a disaster to tell you what to do.

Ingrid had told Marie all about Edith. She was the family’s matriarch. It was Edith who decided that what’s now Harksburg would be a good place for her and her new husband to settle down. Mr. Hawks wasn’t sure. It was 1762 and there was almost nothing on the land, just a small settlement made mostly of rickety shacks. It was barely a village; just a handful of families lived here. But the land was cheap and Edith convinced her husband that if he created jobs, people would come to him.

So he started logging. Being right on a river it was all too easy to ship the logs down to the sawmill. It was a good business and, just like Edith promised, people followed. The town grew and while Mr. Hawks dealt with the business, Edith created the town. She organized the streets and dictated where houses could and couldn’t go. She built the library, the post office, the courthouse, and she really worked, too. It wasn't rare to see old Edith down at the construction site demanding to know why the men were behind schedule.

She built a school and personally went to Philadelphia to find good teachers for it. She paid their salaries herself. She built an orphanage and a hospital and the list went on and on. Nothing stopped her. If she saw something was wrong or someone was being hurt or there was an injustice she wouldn’t rest until she solved the problem.

Marie looked up at the painting and stood up a little straighter wondering what Edith would think of the woman living in her house now. She walked over to the closet and flicked on the light. Two-hundred-year-old dresses sat on dressmaker dummies along with modern replicas that hung in a small wardrobe. Marie worked here now, so she was able to lean forward and really look at the lace detailing and the many of little buttons.  She stepped up to the dummy and admired the work and then did the same to the newer dresses. She held one up to herself and spun around. It was black velvet with delicate lacing on the wrists and collar. She sighed as she returned the dress to the wardrobe and closed the door.

She was looking at a lace veil when she thought she saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye. She stood up but didn’t see anyone.

“Ingrid?” she called out. But there was no answer. She walked out into the empty bedroom, but there was no sign on anyone. She must have just imagined the shadow. She gave one last look at the smiling Edith and then closed the bedroom door and went downstairs to meet Ingrid.

The older woman was standing at the foot of the stairs glancing at her watch.

“Am I late?” Marie asked.

“You are just on time. Now, tell me your thoughts for the party.”

“Okay, well I was thinking we could limit it to the downstairs. This way we wouldn't need to worry about something happening to the antiques upstairs. We could hang string lights from the chandeliers for soft lighting and, if the weather permits, we could have drinks out on the deck. There’s already a table out there we can use as a bar. I also thought we could reach out to the local college and see if we could get any artists to volunteer to come do portraits of the party. They could be spaced out in every room. I also thought that maybe some people could come in period costume, but only those who wanted to,” she stopped breathlessly as she realized how she had been carrying on.

“That sounds very ambitious, but I like it!” Ingrid said. “It’s fresh and new. I bet we sell an additional dozen tickets because of your idea.”

Success wasn’t easy. Ingrid liked her ideas, but now Marie had a lot of extra work to do.  This party wasn't going to plan itself. She sat behind the computer in the office and took a deep breath. She wanted to do well; she wanted Ingrid to think she was capable of more than just caretaking the museum. But she felt nervous and self-conscious behind the computer. She was supposed to be emailing the art department of the local college to ask for volunteers, but her fingers wouldn’t work. She felt like a fraud with no real idea of what she should be doing. She heard Austin’s scoff in her head, his dismissive tone. She couldn’t do this, what was she thinking.

“Everything all right dear?” Ingrid called over.

“Yeah,” Marie said with a jump.

“It’s just letters to the college,” Ingrid said walking behind Marie and putting her hands on the other girl’s shoulders. “Worst that happens is they say no.”

Marie smiled and took a deep breath. She knew how to write an email. She knew how to do all of this. She was free of Austin now and she wasn’t going to let him haunt her.

At the end of the day Marie realized she had worked nonstop and somehow had more to do. Having a party in a museum was more complicated than she thought, but she knew she could handle it. At five she stood up stretched out and walked into town to pick up Cate. People smiled and nodded at her as she passed. She didn’t know them, but they all seemed to know her. Small town gossip at work, no doubt.

She passed a handsome man in a blue suit and when he smiled at her she blushed and stared down at the pavement. But she did give him one last glance after he had passed. Another man. She couldn’t even think of such a thing. While she had only just left Austin a few days ago their relationship had been dead for a while, on her side anyway. She couldn’t remember the last time Austin said he loved her. She hadn’t loved him for a long time. If she had been able to, she would have left years ago. But she refused to leave without Cate.

Finally, she had started to seriously wonder why she was still with him. The answer was Cate and money and the fact that he would never actually let her leave. His pride wouldn’t take it. He could dump her, but she could never break up with him. She had tried, more than once, but it had been impossible. She had no job and no skills and only a high school education; the best job she could get was minimum wage or waitressing. The hours were awful and she would never get to see Cate.

She thought she could control it. She thought if she learned from her mistakes and tried not to make him mad the fights would stop. But nothing worked. Something that made him happy one day drove him to a frenzy the next. He was always irritable and angry with her. Marie tried to shield Cate as best she could, but it was hard.

It had all come to a head two weeks ago. She’d needed to run to the store, just a quick trip for milk and coffee. Cate was asleep and she thought it would be all right. She raced to the store and prayed Cate would stay asleep while she was gone.

She heard crying when she got home. She raced to the house, leaving her groceries in the car. Wrenching open the door Marie screamed out her daughter’s name and raced towards the sound of her tears. She saw Austin his hand wrapped around her arm and he was shaking her, his face red.

“Let her go!” Marie had screamed, jumping towards her daughter.

“Take her,” Austin spit, throwing Cat’s arm aside. “Get her to shut up.”

She couldn’t stay after that. She had to go and trust the universe had some sort of plan for her. And it did. She had a job with good hours and a place to live. She could still spend tons of time with Cate and Austin was gone and there was no one who could hurt either of them anymore. It was perfect. The handsome man turned the corner and slipped from view and Marie smiled to herself. It was way too soon for her to even consider dating anyone, but it was at least nice to think about.

Cate talked endlessly about her first day of daycare. She told Marie the names and ages of all the other students. She told her what they ate for snack and lunch. She talked all through dinner and up to bedtime when Marie finally tucked her in.

“You can come to my room if you get scared,” Marie said as she tucked a stray lock of hair out of Cate’s face.

“I’m not scared. I like this house,” Cate said as she let loose a huge yawn.

Marie smiled and kissed her on the head. She left a nightlight on and went back out into the living room. There was an alarm panel on the door and she checked it as she walked to the couch. Everything was working, which meant the mansion was fortified: bullet proof glass in the windows, several thick locks on all the doors, plus a state of the art security system. All the windows and doors, including the ones in her apartment, were wired. There were motion sensors everywhere. If anyone tried to get in, Marie, and the police, would know in an instant.

She sat down on the couch and turned on the TV settling in to watch
Scandal
with a big glass of red wine on the coffee table. Austin could never get past this security system and even if he did the police were less than two blocks away. She could finally relax and enjoy herself.

Chapter Nine

Axel jogged through the wooded back roads that led to his mother’s house. The town was small, so when Main Street ended, the woods began almost instantly. It was rainy out and he had his hood pulled up over his head as he splashed through the wet road.

He could hear the quiet sounds of the forest: the wind blowing through the branches, the sounds of leaves moving and brushing up against each other. A passing car occasionally interrupted the silence, but, mostly, the roads were quiet.  It was a Saturday, and a rest day, so this short jog would be the only workout he got. He turned down a small side street and jogged to his mother’s bungalow.

He slowed down when he reached the garage. He put his hands on his hips and then moved forward and peered into the ramshackle little building. There were two broken down cars and a handful of old parts and some empty oil cans in there. Austin really needed to clean the garage out. His mother never used it. It had been his father’s and she always refused to let Austin sell what was there.

But enough time had passed now. It was the one point of contention between him and his mother. While she didn’t revere her late husband she also wouldn’t hear anyone speak a word against him. He is dead, she would say, and you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. Anytime Axel said something negative about his father she would cross herself and shake her head and remind him God was always watching.

He pulled opened the garage door and peered into the room. It was dark and dusty and damp. He pulled down on the chain attached to the overhead light, slightly surprised it actually still worked. Under the harsh glare he looked around at the things his father had left behind. Mr. Connelly had always been working on projects and get rich schemes. Some of them were even good ideas, but he was lazy and unmotivated and one by one they all failed.

That was when life was most dangerous. When his newest idea, which they had toasted and cheered not two months ago, began to fall apart he would lash out at everyone. Axel was too loud. His wife’s cooking was lousy and making him sick, his wife was lazy and spent all his money. His mother would cry silently in the corner while Axel seethed.

“You got something to say, boy?” his father demanded a few months before his death.

From behind his bedroom door Axel heard his mother run up the stairs and slam the door to her bedroom. She was trying to be quiet, but he could hear that she was crying. He stomped down the stairs and confronted his father, standing in front of the old man with his hands balled into a fist. “You can’t talk to mom like that. She works hard. You’re the lazy onel you’re the one-” He didn’t see the hit coming. His father backhanded him sending his son reeling and crashing to the floor. Axel remembered fighting back tears as he struggled to get up.

“Go to your room. You’re a waste of my time,” his father said and Axel, only ten years old, did as he was told. He wished his father were alive now. Axel could take that old man easily. He had acted like he was so big and tough, beating up on a ten-year-old. What a jerk.

He would sell both of the cars for scrap and clear the rest of it out, as well. Then he could get to work repairing the structure. It would be a lot of work, but it would increase the value of his mother’s house.

“What are you doing in here?” his mother demanded as she stood under an umbrella outside of the garage. “It is freezing outside. Come in.”

A hot shower later, Axel was in the living room drinking from a mug of coffee his mother sitting down across from him and yammering on about the new plans at the historical society. His focus went in and out. He wanted to hear about the new girl who worked there and find out if she was the gorgeous woman from the other day, but his mother was still talking about the damn party.

“Well, Ingrid has given full credit to Marie and I’m happy about that because people have been asking some questions about her.”

“Marie,” Axel interrupted, “Have you met her? Do you know what she looks like?”

“No, I haven't met her yet, but Ingrid says she’s lovely.”

“So what are people saying about her?”

“Well, nothing specific. But she was able to get here very quickly. Within a week of applying for the job she was moving into the house. We were happy about it, of course, but she has a young daughter. What kind of woman just picks up and moves her child across the country with no preparations? She had practically nothing on her when she got here. Almost no luggage at all.”

“Where’s the father?”

“No one knows and Ingrid refuses to ask. She thinks it would be unconscionably rude and I agree,” his mother said with a sniff.

“Don’t play moral now, Ma,” Axel said shaking his head. “You are the worst gossip in town and it sounds like this woman was running from someone, so you definitely shouldn’t gossip about her.”

“I am not a gossip! I’m just saying this looks terribly interesting. We were expecting some boring grad student and now we have a woman on the run.”

“Don’t repeat that. I don’t know if that’s true and neither do you,” Axel said.

“All right,” she threw up her hands in mock defeat. “I won’t say another word. My lips are sealed.”

He spent the day throwing out garbage from the garage and went home before changing and going out. He was training, so drinking was a no go, but he could still go have a little fun. There was a small part of him that hoped he might run into the new girl who lived at the museum. It wasn’t the reason he was going; it would just be an added bonus.

He met with Hayden at the one cool bar in town. Heads turned as he entered and he heard people whisper his name and point to each other. He fixed his collar and kept on walking making eye contact with half a dozen girls he caught gazing at him. He sat down at a booth towards the back with the rest of the trainers.

Axel ordered a cranberry juice, but the rest of the table drank. Hayden started with three shots and leaned back in his chair and surveyed the room.

“What do you think, bro? Plenty of talent out tonight.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Axel said looking around. It was a bar with a dance floor. A DJ stood high above the crowd and spun something with a heavy bass. The crowd of dancers grew and several girls walked slowly past his table giving him a glimpse of short shirts, long legs, and high heels. But nothing motivated him enough to actually get up and dance.

He stayed for another hour and then bowed out. It was loud and the music was giving him a headache. He normally had a good time even when he wasn’t drinking, but the last week of training must have really gotten to him. Once he was out of the bar and in the street he found that he didn’t want to go home yet. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets and headed north on Main Street.

The little town was quiet. The traffic lights blinked yellow and there were no cars in sight. The bar he had been at was really the only one open. He walked up a block and then crossed the street. He pushed back the hood on his sweater as he stared up at the Hawks Mansion. It was imposing and dark, like a creature from another age that had survived to modern times. It was too big. It imposed on the buildings around it. The house had always creeped him out, but now there was something inside waiting for him, maybe. He had no idea if the woman on the street was Marie the girl who lived at the museum, but it was his only lead.