This woman might have lied to Mia about her true role in her life—I mean she did push her out, I bet she kept her mouth shut even then—but I knew she loved Mia. Her tears are not theatrical. She knows Mia’s been taken, but still, why is she here? In Courtney’s house?
“Nicky,” Cole starts, taking the lead, knowing how absolutely useless I am—not to mention my grade-A type assholery—when it comes to crying women other than Mia of course. “Is everything okay? We came here looking for Courtney, but…”
Nicky sniffles, shaking her head repeatedly and I just fucking know before she can say a thing.
“What is it?” Cole questions but fuck that. How can he be that dumb and naïve? The situation is pretty fucking clear and obvious here.
“Mia,” Nicky cries louder now, dropping her phone to the floor. “They have her. Someone took Mia.”
The woman breaks down crying, leaning all her weight on the door. I stare at her, unfeeling.
“That’s it,” I seethe, my vision now firmly tainted with red mists and pain. “Give them to me,” I snap, my hand outstretched to Cole.
“What?”
“Your fucking car keys, I need them.”
“Hell no!” a different voice says from behind me, and I sigh. Turning around, I stare into the angry, clouded face of my father. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“You don’t have the right to tell me what the fuck to do.”
“I do when you’re about to run around like a headless chicken,” he snaps. “I told you both that we should all head to the house.”
“In his defense, this also appears to be a house,” Liam chimes in. I roll my fucking eyes.
“You,” I seethe, glaring daggers at my younger brother.
“What don’t look at me. I didn’t snitch,” he says with a tense shrug, his eyes on Nicky. “I just know you and Dad well, he followed me.”
“Because I know you both, now be sensitive to the situation.”
“Sensitive to the situation?” Nicky blows up now, her eyes wide and full of rage. “How dare you show up here and talk about being sensitive? My daughter was just taken and they’re threatening to kill her.”
“How do you know?” I tush to say. “Was it them on the phone.”
“Them? Who is this ‘them’ you’re talking about?” she questions, stepping closer. “Do you know who took her?”
Yes. I fucking know them all right.
“Nicky,” Dad says, stepping in now. “Who was that on the phone?”
“That was Mia’s principal. She’s with the police. Apparently, Mia’s car was found abandoned with signs of struggle everywhere and a note that says, ‘Call me, Fitz or we’ll kill her.’”
“Jesus.”
“Who would do such a thing? It’s obvious this is all your fault! You are the fucking Fitzgeralds in this mess and you…” she trails off, loudly sobbing now. “She’s been taken because of your family!”
“Nicky, I know you’re in pain right now,” Dad says softly, stepping closer to Nicky. “But you need to tell us what they told you on the phone.”
“I just told you, John! The school called! Security cameras outside the school picked up a black, unmarked SUV speeding away that prompted them to check and now, Mia is missing!”
A sense of déjà vu hits me, but this one is nauseating.
“When did they say it happened?” Cole questions.
“They just reviewed the footage, but she was taken hours ago,” Nicky rushes to say. “Why did they wait to tell me?”
I stare at my father, then at Cole, silently sending them my best fuck you with my eyes, thanking them for fucking wasting time that I clearly don’t have because SHE WAS TAKEN HOURS AGO!
“Why are you here?” I snap, staring Nicky down. “I thought this was fucking Courtney’s property now, so why the fuck are you here?”
“Julian!” Dad says, but I ignore him, stepping closer to Nicky as I think of all the times Mia was hurting and crying over this woman and the lies she weaved on a daily.
“Tell me, are you and my calculating, heartless mother working together as well? Did you make some kind of deal with her to keep your pathetic life of luxury and comfort while letting my snake of a mother hurt Mia like this?”
“What?” Nicky gasps “No! Why would I do something like that?”
“For-fucking-give me for not believing a word you say,” I seethe. “You lied about being her mother, kept it a secret from her all these years, so what makes you think I’ll believe you when the love of my fucking doomed life doesn’t trust you?”
“Okay, now that’s enough—” Dad steps in but is effectively cut off.
“Love of your life?” Nicky snaps, straightening up. “The only part of that stupid speech you got right is about your snake of a mother who I’ll happily kill if I set my eyes on her and the fact that your life is doomed! The rest of that was bullshit, young man. You don’t love my daughter. You abandoned her when she needed you, when she told you she was being set up to take the blame for the trouble you fell in like a fool, you left her hanging! You left her to break and shatter for two weeks as she tried reaching out you, only to receive cold silence back!”
“I was—” I trail off, having no defense.
What was I doing beside reading her texts and dreaming of her lips just to kiss her one more time? Oh yeah, being an asshole.
“Yeah, that’s right! You don’t even have an excuse that makes sense, so you’re the one I wouldn’t dare trust, seeing as the way you broke her heart led her to make some kind of deal with Courtney that has landed her and I living here with no explanation.”
“Wait, what?” Liam demands. “Mia made a deal with Courtney?”
“What do you mean?” Cole asks.
“Boys, please,” Dad says. “Give Nicky a moment and stop ganging up on her like that.”
I ease away from the front door, slowly trying to come up with what I need to do.
“Well, first of all, both Mia and I have been living here for the past two weeks. Actually, from the day you were arrested,” Nicky says, waving her hands in the air the more upset she is, just like Mia. The mannerisms are the same, the passion, the same, the anger—same. “And in all of this, the whirlwind of the press hounding her for a statement, the silence and sadness she’s been in, she hasn’t once uttered a word of explanation of how we are here, but I have my fucking suspicions.”
“Courtney.” Liam and I say at the same time.
“You’re damn right,” Nicky seethes. “That bitch hates my daughter and I’ve tried keeping her away from that snake, but some kind of deal was made between the two of them.”
“But wait, weren’t you living back at our house?” Liam questions clearly confused.
“Well, I felt it wasn’t right…”
“If you’re going to tell the truth, Nicky, say the whole truth,” Dad says now. “You moved out because of that bastard, Nathan.”
“Oh my God.” Nicky deflates right in front of us. All the strength and war like resilience she just displayed evaporating like a drop of water in a desert. Fear is now clear in her eyes as she talks a step back.