The Space In Between (16 page)

AS WE PULLED up to Michelle’s
property, I slid my sunglasses down, taking notice of the other car in the
driveway. “What are Mom and Dad doing here?” I hissed at my brother. He
shrugged his shoulders.

“Did you really think Mom wouldn’t want to see her daughter?
Come on.”

I mumbled to myself and sat back in my seat. “Overbearing
much?”

Eric watched as I slid my headphones back into my ears, and
I heard him as he whispered to Ladasha. “She’s a lot ruder than I remember.”

“Oh. That’s because you’re not holding up any money.” Eric’s
face instantly lost color. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I watched
my brother’s face turn to horror, probably thinking of me collecting money from
nasty men.

Ladasha stepped out of the car and gasped. Her brown eyes
widened in amazement as she stared at the mansion in front of her. The property
had everything she had seen in movies. There was an indoor swimming pool, a
tennis court, fireplaces in bathrooms, a private coach house…Everything. The
newly fallen snow added to the magical moment my friend was taking in. The home
had over twenty-five rooms, holding within it over seven bedrooms, eight
bathrooms, and a built-in home theater.

“Holy shit. People live like this?” Ladasha smiled widely,
looking around in complete awe. I stepped out of the car, rolled my eyes, and
joined my friend.

“No. They don’t. Come on, let’s get this over with.”

Ladasha went to help Eric with the bags, but he assured her
he could handle it. She smiled to him, and still picked up two pieces of
luggage.

“You coming, Michelle?” he asked his girlfriend. Michelle
was standing perfectly in her pair of heels. The sunlight kissed her blond
locks, yet her blue eyes were hidden behind her large sunglasses. With her cell
phone attached to one hand and her Michael Kors bag attached to the other, I
was instantly reminded of Iris and her stupid Michael Kors bag. Did I mention I
hated her?

Michelle’s loud laugh echoed through the air as she held her
gut from the conversation she was having on the phone.

“I see she still has that unique laugh.” I smirked.

Eric shot me the dirtiest look. “Really? You really think
you have the right to judge
anyone
right now? Don't start, Anders.”

I shut up.

Before we even had a chance to enter the foyer, I was
attacked by my mom, who wrapped her arms around me. The lack of air filling my
lungs was uncomfortable, but I didn’t push her away.

“Anders!”

“Hey, Mom.”

Mom stood back and looked at me. I noticed a level of alarm
form within her eyes. “You look skinny. You’re so skinny.” She was right.

“I’m not. This is my friend, Ladasha.” Perfect. Change the
subject away from me.

“Nice to meet you, honey. I always forget how huge this
house is. I got lost trying to find your father earlier!” Mom squeaked as she
poked me in the side, frowning at my recent weight lost.

“Where is Daddy?”

“In the study. Well, one of the studies. This place, I tell
you!” As if cued, Dad entered the room, holding a glass bottle with a ship
crafted inside it.

“It’s a nice place.” He stared at the ship through his thick
glasses. “How does anyone do these? I might have to try it.”

Seeing my dad made me sigh with a breath of relief. I was a
lot of things, but first and foremost I was a daddy’s girl. I loved the feeling
of calmness he had with his personality. He balanced out my ‘always on edge’ mother
so well. Dad walked over, and gave me a hug and kissed my forehead. His hug
wasn’t as tight as Mom’s, yet it was the exact kind of hug I needed. Not too
overbearing. Yet not nonexistent.

“Come on, let’s all go into the family room to catch up.”
Mom ushered everyone into the other room. I could feel my mom’s eyes on me as I
tried my best to blend into the couch cushion. “Andrea. I really do hope you’re
hungry. They are preparing a big dinner for us tonight.”

She was overly concerned with my weight. I was pretty damn
happy actually that ever since I’d met up with Cooper I’d started to gain a few
pounds back. But she didn’t know that. She saw me as an extremely skinny girl
who’d lost her fiancé. I bet she had nightmares at night about the life I’d
been living in New York. I guessed she had good reason to have the nightmares;
I wasn’t exactly making Mama proud out there.

Michelle came bouncing inside and joined us with the biggest
grin I’d ever seen in my life. Eric asked her what was up, and she smiled even
wider. “I have a surprise for you all! But you’ll have to wait until dinner
tonight!”

“Perfect, maybe I’ll go rest for a few hours.” I faked a
yawn to get out of there and headed to what was to be my bedroom for the next
few weeks. This sucked.

“WHAT’S THE MATTER with you?” I
asked to the distant Derrick. He shrugged his shoulders as he lay in my dorm
bed.

“Just thinking.”

“About?” I questioned. He ignored me, staring at the
ceiling. Ever since he arrived that weekend, he was off. “Answer me.”

He sat up on the bed, rolling his eyes. “Andrea, I’m just
off, all right? You have your days, let me have mine.”

“You don’t have to be an ass, Derrick.” I hissed. I hated
when he closed himself off to me like this, and it seemed to be happening a lot
more since the engagement. “Do you not want to marry me?” My eyes moved to the
floor, not willing to meet his eyes. Fearful of his response.

I felt his arms wrap around me from behind. He buried
himself into my shoulder and shook his head. “Of course I want to marry you.
It’s just…”

I turned to him, feeling ill. “It’s just what?”

“You’re doing something with your life. You’re getting a
college degree. You’re preparing for your future. And I’m just here.”

“You have your music, Derrick.” He was amazing at his
music, and I never looked down on him for not going to college. It wasn’t for
everyone.

“What if I’m not enough for you? What if I end up fucking
all of this up? Screwing us up?”

I wrapped my legs around him and held on tight.

“Don’t talk like that, all right? You’ll always be good
enough. We’re in this together, okay? You and me.”

“You and me,” he sighed into my neck. “You and me.”

THE MOMENT DINNER was being prepared
I had my mom barging into my bedroom to wake me up. Personal space was not
something she believed in. And there we were again, waiting in the living room.
She could have let me sleep for a little while longer.

“I’m so happy you decided to come!” Perfect Michelle grinned
as she walked into the house with a guest.

“Holy shit!” I screamed as my eyes connected with Cooper’s.

“Language!” Mom scolded.

“Sorry Mom. Excuse me. I—I have to use the bathroom.” I shot
up from my seat and hurried away.
How dare he.

How dare he come here. Hasn’t he done enough already? It was
because of him I was in this damn situation. I turned on the faucet in the
bathroom and started splashing water against my ghost white face. Breathing was
becoming a problem.

“We should talk.”

The sound of his voice sent chills down my spine, and as I
turned to look at him, my heart started pounding against my chest. He was
unshaven, wearing a button-down shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans.
Dammit.
He looks good.

He closed the door behind him and stepped near me. I stepped
back. This continued until I was up against a wall and he was staring me in the
eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed. I’d left him in New
York. I’d called him a dirty, disgusting, vomit-worthy asshole and left him in
New York.

“I can explain.” He put his hands up as a sign of peace, but
my body was still ready to defend myself from his smooth accent and strong
arms.

“I hope you know what you’re doing is a form of stalking,
Cooper.”

His green eyes smiled with his lips as he chuckled and
reached into his back pocket. “No. You don’t understand, I was invited. I’m
staying in the coach house here for a few days until the party.” He pulled out
the invitation to Michelle and Eric’s Christmas party and I was sure smoke was
coming from my ears. I was fuming.

“This is my life, Cooper. This is my life you are playing
with. And I don’t appreciate you taking it as a joke.”

“You think I would screw with your head, Andrea?” He was
sincere in his words, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d lied to me.

“Your wife is pregnant.”

“Yeah, I know. With another man’s kid.”

Oh no
. His hand somehow found mine and I felt my
warrior stance fading away. I spoke softly as I avoided eye contact. Those eyes
would be the end of any form of dignity I was trying to hold on to. “You got me
fired. And Ladasha.”

“From a strip club. Not to be rude, but I think y’all can do
better.” I could feel him getting closer to me.

“Says the man who showed up to the strip club in the first
place.” I shut my eyes. I tried to fight away the feeling of wanting his lips
connected to mine, but I kept hearing the words soda pop running through my
head.

Fight it.

I began to nervously twiddle my fingers as Cooper spoke.
“You want the truth? My manager said I would get over it. That I should have a
lap dance. A one-night-stand to clear my mind of all of it. Probably not the
best idea, six hundred dollars later.”

“Well I’m sorry you wasted your money.”

“I didn’t mean it in a rude way. It’s just, that’s not who I
am.”

“And you think that it’s who I am!?” I hissed.

“Of course not, Andrea. You know how I feel about you.”

My breaths were heavy, I was ashamed of what had happened
between the two of us the first night we met and the guilt of being home, in
this town, was weighing heavy on my soul. I needed to make myself clear to
Cooper that I had no plans to be with him. “Listen, shit happens. People go
through things and people make mistakes. What happened between us these past
few weeks was a mistake and it’s probably best we never talk about it.”