Mia Like Crazy (4 page)

Despite his rudeness, and the odd behavior I’d witnessed, I was having a difficult time thinking of Drew Larson as a rapist. All my life, I’d relied on my built-in “creep radar.” It had always served me well, even in my days as an unsupervised child in the housing projects. Why didn’t I feel it when I was with him?

There was still cobbler on my plate, but I pushed it aside. I was queasy. Was I more sickened by the abuse Drew and Meridith had suffered or the fact that the man I’d met an hour ago had been convicted of sexual assault?

After a few moments of silence, I asked, “And what does he do now?”

“He spends most of his time alone in his apartment as though he doesn’t want to interact with anyone. I talked him into going to counseling, and he acts as if it’s a big joke, but I think it’s helping.”

“Oh, yeah, I can tell,” I said sarcastically, then instantly regretted my words. Meridith had been nothing but nice to me, and Drew was her brother.

But she kept talking as though she hadn’t noticed. “He’s never gotten a break of any kind until inheriting this money. Unfortunately, the biological father we share had a cruel sense of humor. He was aware of Drew’s situation all along, even though he never came forward to claim him or help him. I learned from my father’s lawyer that after Drew was convicted, my father added the ‘marriage clause,’ knowing it would be the hardest condition to fulfill as an inmate or convicted rapist.”

“Does Drew know that marriage clauses are invalid?”

She nodded. “I tried to get him to challenge the will. He refused at first, and when I looked into it further, I was told there’s a no-challenge clause. But something’s changed Drew’s mind now and that’s why he needs you—to figure all this out. My attorneys wouldn’t be appropriate because of possible conflict of interest.”

Meridith sipped her coffee before she continued. “Anyway, my father died a year ago, and that’s when I learned there was another heir, and that Drew was my brother. I wish I’d known sooner.” Her eyes were filled with sadness, regret.

What was I supposed to do with all this emotion? “I don’t know what to say,” I replied. “I’m really sorry for everything you’ve both been through.”

She laid her hand on my arm and peered into my eyes with such intensity, I thought she was trying to read my soul. I wondered if I had one.

“Mia, would you please come back with me and give it another try?” I opened my mouth to object, but Meridith hurried on. “Perhaps you could find a loophole or contest the will. I’ll pay you whatever retainer you want myself. I think he needs this as some sort of closure on his past. There’s a good heart in there, although Jack Larson tried his best to cut it out.”

“Are you sure it’s still in there?” It struck me as darkly funny— a soulless woman and a heartless man. I was sure someone could write us into one of those country western songs.

“Well, it’s punctured, mutilated maybe, but yes, I believe it’s still there.”

I hadn’t had anything but my own gut feelings to rely on for the past twenty-eight years. They’d never steered me wrong before.

Besides, there was something about Meridith, caring so intensely for a brother she barely knew, that was compelling in a way I’d never experienced…and the money. That would be the main reason, of course.

“Okay, I’ll try,” I said.

~

During the drive back to the apartment, Meridith gave instructions as though I was on my way to baby-sit an unruly child. “Drew is prone to throwing tantrums, but he rarely means them. If he likes you, he may act annoyed with you much of the time. If he starts to feel he’s making a connection, he’ll turn on you and try to scare you away. Just refuse to leave.”

“And if he throws me out bodily?”

“Dust yourself off and go right back in.” Meridith laughed. “Actually, it’s unlikely he’ll touch you at all. In the time I’ve known him he hasn’t wanted to touch anyone, although when my kids insist on piggyback rides, he won’t disappoint them.”

I had to chuckle at the idea of Drew Larson being forced to give piggyback rides. I couldn’t imagine it, though. “Does he have any friends, girlfriends?”

“He tries to be an island.” Meridith had stopped at a red light. She looked over at me and said, “You know your brown eyes are really lovely.” She was studying me intensely again, and I was sure she had more on her mind than compliments. She seemed to notice my expression. “Oh, it’s just that I always admired that exotic look—you know, growing up with blonde hair and freckles like I did.” For some reason, the exotic thing didn’t bother me when Meridith said it.

Still, I knew she was covering for whatever she’d been thinking before. There was definitely more going on in Meridith’s brain than she was allowing out of her mouth.

She suddenly jumped back to her original subject. “Anyway, he leaves the apartment as little as possible. I guess he believes if he’s alone, no one can hurt him and vice versa. I think you’ll be good for him, though.”

I couldn’t fathom what kind of help—other than the legal kind—she thought someone like me could give her weird hermit brother, or anyone else, for that matter. I thought of Lauren. It still made me nervous that she actually took my advice that day.

“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, Meridith,” I said. “I came because I need the money.”

“Yes, but that’s not why you’re staying. I have a good feeling about you.”

How annoying.

For as long as I could remember, I’d worked at being opaque, carefully picking and choosing what I wanted people to know. How could this woman know anything at all about me?

But she was right. I needed the money, but I wasn’t staying for the money.

What was I staying for? Meridith? Drew? Because I felt
something
when I was around them and maybe feeling something was better than feeling nothing at all?

As we passed through downtown Vaughndale, I stared out the window at the nice-looking shops, the movie theater, and the moms with their kids at the park. None of this was the stuff of my dreams. I missed New York.

When I quit my job, I wasn’t even thinking of leaving the city. Not that this was a one-horse town, by any means. It was a small city of a hundred thousand, or so. It had the usual chain stores and fast food restaurants, but it didn’t have Time Square and all those hurried, well-dressed people on the sidewalks
.
People who were going somewhere, like to their good jobs at their well-respected law firms.

What had I done?

I pushed the pointless thoughts away and tried to focus on Meridith’s pleasant tour chatter.

The ride was way too short, and before I knew it I was standing outside Drew’s door, bracing myself for embarrassment. Meridith knocked and he opened the door, staring at us like we’d just stepped out of our space capsules.

I found I was having trouble making eye-contact again. And I wasn’t about to start this conversation, so I waited for Meridith to speak.

“Hi, Drew. I ran into your lawyer when I came by earlier, and I liked her so much I took her out for coffee,” she said cheerfully, as she stepped past him into the apartment.

“Not to that dive you always go to,” he replied. “She probably likes her pie
without the cockroaches. She’s from the
city
.” Despite the sarcastic tone, I was glad to know there was something we could agree on.

“Mrs. Farley keeps a very clean kitchen. I’ve been back there several times myself.” Meridith patted him on the side of his face. “You just don’t like the friendly atmosphere.”

He took a step back to avoid any more patting, walked to the wooden table behind the couch and adjusted the antique clock until it was positioned directly in the middle. He turned abruptly toward me.

“What are
you
doing back here, Medina?”

Meridith jumped in again. “She came to work on your case…for your inheritance, like you asked her to.”

Drew didn’t look at his sister as she spoke. Although he was several yards away, his dark eyes stared intently at me, as though he was looking for evidence I knew the truth
.

He wants to know if I’m judging him, or afraid of him. He’s wondering what Meridith said to get me back here.

His gaze left mine and his manner became overly casual. “Whatever. Hey Sis, you want some popcorn? I just popped it. It’s the real kind, not that microwave crap.” He strolled toward the kitchen as Meridith trailed behind him.

“That would be nice,” she answered.

I was left standing in the doorway wondering whether to stay or go. Meridith turned around briefly and nodded her head toward the table where the papers still waited
.

She wants me to start working like nothing happened
.

I stood motionless for a few seconds after they disappeared into the kitchen. For the first time in my life, I felt utterly indecisive.

I tried to tell myself this was only a decision to stay or go for a few hours today, but it felt like a lot more than that. Becoming part of a trio in which I was the one with the most stable childhood seemed ill-advised, but something drew me to them.

Pushing my emotions aside, I tried to think through the problem logically. I was still in debt and had no other way to support myself at the moment, and I already knew I was unhappy working at a law firm...

I shrugged away the negative thoughts and walked over to the table. As I flipped the file open
, it slid over a bit, revealing a slim note pad underneath. I picked up the pad and examined the scrawled notes written in black ink.

“Harper and Barnes” and “Josh Samuels” were there with a phone number, as were my name and number.

But my name appeared again, lower on the page, standing alone. Only, it looked very different. Though in the same ink, and possibly the same handwriting, this time it was done in flowing script as though the writer had wanted to recreate it with more care.

I’d never seen my name written so beautifully before. It was like a work of art. I traced over the letters with my index finger and wondered if Drew Larson had done it.

Before we met or after?

Although my stress level had dropped since he left, I found myself wishing he’d return. I’d been in the same room with him twice, but his manner was so allusive, I still didn’t feel as though I’d really seen him.

I slid the notepad back underneath, opened the file, and started working. There was a healthy pile of legal documents in front of me. Some pages pertained to the ten thousand dollar per month allowance Drew was getting since the death of his father. Others involved the disbursement of funds and investments upon his “legitimate marriage,” and who would decide whether or not the marriage was legitimate—some old friend of Vaughn’s, although I wondered how a man like that could have an old friend.

There were financial papers revealing how much money was in what type of investment and who was overseeing all of it. Perhaps these were there to make the inheritance possibility even more enticing…or more depressing, if the “heir” felt the terms were impossible for him to fulfill.

I was lost in my reading, so it didn’t seem long before Meridith reappeared with Drew behind her. She explained that she had a meeting to go to and she was sorry she couldn’t stay longer.

“Bummer,” Drew said sarcastically. He didn’t bother to show Meridith out.

She breezed to the door, said her good-byes and left, completely overlooking her brother’s rude behavior.

As soon as the door closed behind her, he turned and asked, “What are you still doing here?”

I felt the tension race up my spine and into the base of my skull all at once. I stood to face him. “I’m here because your sister convinced me to come back. She’s a very kind pers—”

“But I’m not, and I’m the one you’d be working for.”

“That’s irrelevant. It’s just a job and—”

“Is it irrelevant? This is all
irrelevant
to you?” He began pacing like a caged animal, and I could feel a rave coming on. “Why are you here,
Ms. Medina
?” His voice grew louder. “Why would a beautiful, smart woman with so many other options, choose to stay here?”