Vex (10 page)

He reaches over and picks up my hand, clasps our fingers as natural as breathing.

Skyla
. A clear look of agony is written all over his face, his sad shoulders. It pulsates off his body in steady waves of dejection. Acres of time elapse locked in his solemn gaze.

“Honey, you coming?” Mom peers her head into the kitchen. Her eyes widen with surprise when she pans down at our hands. “I’ll just be—” she points to the door and disappears.

“I gotta go.” I try to pry my fingers loose. “Look, I’m happy with Gage. You should be happy for me, too.” The words come out depressed, like meaningless semantics you would utter to someone grieving, when you know there really are no words.

Logan doesn’t bother hiding his disapproval—he’s rabid with jealousy.

He drops his gaze to the counter and expels a morbid sigh.
I’m really sorry that I can’t be happy for you. There is only one word to describe how I’m feeling, and that’s devastated. I love you, Skyla. I always will.       

Chapter Sixteen

Needle in a Haystack

A heavy mist covers the island, the water, and any view we might have of the mainland. A flock of geese dart over the boat, honking and flapping their wings as they fade in and out of the scenery. 

Mom and Tad are nestled below deck, which naturally drives Gage and I up top to experience the elements first hand.

I nestle into the crook of his arm and relax, trying to get my breathing in rhythm with his, so we can rise and fall at the same time.

He bends over, and gives a gentle kiss just above my ear before digging deep into his pocket, fishing out a little black bag no bigger than a credit card.

“What’s this?” I ask as he places it in my hand.

“Your Christmas present.”

“I don’t have yours,” I say, feeling like the world’s lousiest girlfriend.

“Just having you back is enough,” he pauses to kiss my cheek. “Go ahead, open it.”

I cinch back the thin cord, dip my fingers inside the small velvet sack. The cold feel of metal greets me, and I bite down a smile as I pull it out.

A silver charm bracelet, delicate and shining, twin hearts welded together dangle from the center. There’s something engraved on the front, and I hold it up close to read it.
For my love, Forever Gage
.

“I love it!” I squeeze him with a death grip. It’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever given me.

“I’m glad you like it.” He helps me put it on. “So, I guess we’re spending the night.”

I look up to see his dimples fully inverted.

“Yeah, well, I’m more than positive there will be strict guidelines when it comes to sleeping arrangements.” Although, there will be a hotel room involved. My mind starts to percolate with possibilities.

His lips twist in disappointment.

“You’re really serious, aren’t you?” I pat my hand over his chest.

“Yes, I’m serious. I love you,” he gives a smoky grin. “And, I’m ready.” He kisses my hand. “How about you?”

I bite down on my lower lip to quell my excitement and nod.

“Don’t get your hopes up for tonight,” I say. “My mom may think I’m headed for the maternity ward, but she’ll be cold in a casket before she lets me shack up with my boyfriend under her nose.” Plus, I just cringe at the thought of having to face Mom and Tad in the morning. I can just imagine the mountain of awkward it would produce by way of Mom’s maternal inquisition,
So, Skyla, why are you limping? Skyla, what’s with the stupid grin on your face?
I mean, how do you freaking hide something so monumental?

“You’re beautiful.” His eyes dilate. Large black pools widen until there’s just a trace outline of blue. “Just knowing I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you makes me feel like I’ve won the lottery.”

I pull him into a deep hypnotic kiss and let our lips linger long after they stop moving. A hot bite of lust bisects my abdomen. I want to drag him to a corner and share everything with him right now.

“I wish it were just you and me on the planet,” I whisper. That would fix everything. Eventually, that’s what it’ll feel like. At least that’s how I imagine my life will be like with Gage in the future, being with him all the time, ending the day with him in the privacy of our own home. That vision I had of walking down the aisle towards Logan wafts in and out of my mind uninvited.

“We have everything to look forward to,” he whispers, “kids, vacations—a honeymoon.”

“Kids?” I laugh and smack him in the chest again. “We’ll have to put those off, for like, ever. We’ll have to go to college first and find real jobs, so we can prove to Tad we can survive on our own.”

“I’ll probably run the mortuary,” he nods.

“Eww,” I sneak a kiss in, “but I’ll be right there with you.”

“Not the handling of the dead people part. I’ll have Logan for that. The business end.”

“OK. I’ll help. I’ll keep the morgue stocked with the most fashionable inactive wear.”

“Don’t forget fashion-conscious coffins.”

“Sounds like a cutting edge fad. We can throw in free wifi in the event they feel the need to communicate.”

He tickles me under the ribs.

“Stop that.” I give him a hard squeeze just under his arms.

“Oh, you’re asking for trouble.” He gently holds my wrists behind my back and offers a passionate kiss that makes my insides tremble with ecstasy.

I always want to remember this moment. The intensity behind it is so perfectly pure, so insanely right. There’s not a thing in the world standing between Gage and me. We already have it all.  

***

Tad decides we might find cheaper rates on a hotel room if we check in after dinner. His logic being that if the rooms that haven’t filled up, the hotel will practically be giving them away. Mom didn’t look too convinced. In fact, she looked rather green after the ferry ride over, like all she wanted in the entire world was to take a nap.

The Space Needle is a towering work of genius. It looks like a relic from some long forgotten city on another planet entirely, majestic and simple in its own way. I ask Mom to take a picture of Gage and me in front of it and save it as wallpaper to my phone. It all feels so official now with Gage. Well, except for the fact everyone at West thinks I’m with Dudley and that Gage is with Chloe, but still, as official as relationships can get in my world.

“Maybe we can come back someday, just you and me,” I whisper to him before tugging at his earlobe with my teeth.

“Enough, you two,” Mom ushers us inside. “That’s what got us here in the first place.”

She gives a little wink as though she didn’t really mean it.

Nothing like a little approval from your mother to ruin the momentum, so I cap my sensual yearnings for now and we head for the elevator before she kills our relationship with some offhanded remark.

Upstairs it’s a wall of windows that look out over the city, the port, and a tangled mass of islands.

Mom looks around at the tables then breaks out into an overzealous wave.

I step forward to see who she’s waving at and take in a sharp breath.

“It’s him!” I squeak to Gage.

“It’s who?” he leans over and takes a look. “Brielle’s mom? That dude with her?”

“Yes—that dude with her. It’s Demetri Edinger.”

“Oh, my gosh, you’re right!” My mother cries out before bolting in their direction.

“Who’s this?” Tad asks no one in particular.

We follow along with morbid curiosity.

Just when I think she’s going to pick up a fork and stab him in the eye, she screams with delight and hugs him, for like a really long freaking time. I watch as his hands run up and down my mother’s back like two wild boa constrictors.

“I can’t believe
you
are the new guy in Darla’s life!” She pats her chest in disbelief. Mom looks back at us. “I knew Darla was going to be in town, so I had her join us for dinner.” She reverts her attention back to the man who, for all I know, actually killed my father. “I have not seen you in forever! How are you doing?” She blindly takes a seat and nearly lands herself on the floor.

“I’m well. I’m back on Paragon. My grandfather passed a few weeks back and I’m taking care of his estate.” Demetri cinches his lips as though he were restraining the urge to laugh. He has a smooth even way about him and I can totally see him seducing my mother.

“Still detective Edinger?” Mom purrs into him.

“Yes, but unfortunately there are no openings for that position at the Paragon P.D. I’ll be doing field work for awhile.”

 “Well, this is my family. Skyla, her boyfriend Gage and,” she squints a moment as though grasping for a name just out of reach. God, she forgot his name! “My husband, Tad.”

Tad extends his hand and glares into Demetri while giving a firm grip.

Gage pulls out a seat for me, and I reject the offer by way of shaking my head. There is no way I am breaking bread with this man, not now, not ever.

“Um, hey,” Gage leans into Tad, “you mind if I take Skyla, and we sit alone?”

“Welcome to your first family function,” Tad gives a greasy smile. “The answer is a big fat no.”

Nice.

Gage and I sit down at the small circular table. It takes a couple minutes for me to realize that the restaurant is slowly rotating. A crop of green islands locked together like a puzzle lie in the distance, and my stomach gives a hot roll of sadness. I actually miss Paragon, although it’s hard not to miss just about anything with Tad and Mom and Demetri all at the same table. A dental drilling would be welcomed right about now.

“So, how do you two know each other?” Darla says the words in a cute southern drawl, the first clue that she’s going under fast. Darla is neither cute, nor southern.

There’s the million dollar question
, Gage rubs my hand under the table.

“Old friends from back in L.A. We hung out a lot.” She waves a hand in the air as if to push the thought away and gives a bashful smile.

I shoot Gage a look. What if Fake Mommy Dearest conspired with Demetri to kill my father? Wait, no, it was Chloe. I shake the thought out of my head. I can’t even begin to go there.

“Now, now,” Demetri wags a finger. His hair is slicked into dark glossy waves, and he sports serious sideburns that run down his well-tanned face. “Back in the day, she and I were a pair.”

A pair? A pair of what? Then it hits me. I glance over at Tad to gauge his expression.

“Oh, it was nothing,” Mom assures Darla as though this might have some impact on their budding relationship. “We mostly group dated. Long before I met Nathan.”

“Yes, Nathan.” Demetri says it while glossing over me with renewed interest.

How dare he. What gives him the right to say my father’s name, utter it from his evil lips while staring down his daughter? Where the hell is Holden’s obnoxious dinner party ghost when you really need him? Maybe I should fake psychosis and start lobbing food over at him anyway. Heck, forget food—knives, I should start lobbing
knives
.

I snap to just in time to hear my mother babble over to him. “Skyla’s with child. I’m also being seen at the facility,” she leans in secretively, “we’re trying. It’s really the best prenatal care in the country. Of course, insurance only covers a small portion.” She averts her eyes.

“No offense to you, Lizbeth,” Darla narrows in on Mom, “but maybe it’s the mister who’s shooting blanks. You ever think of that?”

“My blanks are none of your concern,” Tad scowls. “And for your information there’s nothing blank about what I’m shooting.”

God, why am I here? The last thing in the world I want to be discussing is Tad’s projectile missile spawn.

Mom’s sweater falls off one shoulder and instead of adjusting it, she leans into Demetri as though she were trying to seduce him. Don’t get me wrong, Mom is beautiful, but flirting while trying to conceive another man’s baby is beyond wrong. Come to think of it, she and Tad have been having more than their fair share of spats lately. I’ll either have to kill Demetri or make sure he marries Darla. Personally, I’m hoping for the first option.

“You know I’m always here to help you Lizbeth,” Demetri softens his tone as he stretches across to pick up her hand. “Anything you need, anytime you need it. I’ll do whatever it takes to give it to you.”

Crap. It’s Demetri who’s firing with all guns blazing. Impregnating my mother with his lies.

“Thank you very much but she doesn’t need anything from you.” Tad picks up his spoon and knocks Demetri hard over the knuckles.

He recoils his hand, making a fist as though merely stretching out his injury, but he looks markedly pissed. I’d warn Tad not to mess with him, but personally I’d like to see a battle.

“And, Skyla, I extend the offer to you,” Demetri pats my mother’s hand in direct defiance to Tad. “You know, at one point I wondered what it would be like to have a daughter with your mother. We were almost at the altar. Then, along came your father, then you.” He gives a hard look as though I were the tangible reason that he lost my mother—that he never had a daughter of his own. “When your mother left me, she took all of my hopes and dreams with her.”

“Oh, stop!” Mom belts out a laugh. “You were about as serious as a sneeze. He had ten different women he was seeing at the same time, and I was number eleven.”

Demetri’s brows rise slightly as he picks up his wine glass and offers a salute in her direction.

“No, Lizbeth, for me, there was only ever you,” he corrects.

There’s something authentic in his voice when he says it, something that assures me this is the unvarnished truth.

He gloms onto me with those large black puddles that warp the world for him and holds my gaze.

Just what is he really doing back in town? And what exactly does he want from my mother? 

He raises his glass one more time. “I look forward to spending time with you again,” he looks right at me when he says it.

I raise my glass in retaliation.

And I look forward to killing
you.

Chapter Seventeen

All of My Love

Tad actually makes Gage fork over his share for dinner—and the tip. Of course, Demetri patted away the thought and paid for the entire table, which scored major points with Tad. It completely absolved Demetri of all of the covetous mishaps—the touching, the feeling, the loving—the freaking
squeezing
that went on at the table with Mom. It was like watching soft porn starring my mother of all people. I’ll need to claw my eyes out later just to purify them from the profanity of it all. Thank God, Darla was too ripped to notice because I swear it would have been a friendship-killing scene had she been lucid enough to bear witness.