Asher takes a bite of mashed potatoes, not even a little intimidated, and I have no idea how he does it. My father is a shrewd negotiator and a ruthless businessman. He puts fear in people for a living to close multimillion dollar deals weekly. Everyone is afraid of him. But not Asher. “And why’s that?”
My father places his cellphone down, sitting up arrow-straight. “Because you’re a young, single college student. They aren’t your responsibility. So why move in?”
What the hell is he getting at? Asher has been around since I told Lincoln about Sebastian. Granted, he rarely came to our house, so they haven’t been around each other much, but my father has known Asher has been helpful.
“Sebastian is my nephew.”
“Not your son.”
My father looks deadly serious. Asher places his fork on his plate and matches my father’s posture. “No. My brother died.”
“So you’re just taking his place?”
Asher rarely gets flustered by anything, but the mention of Colt definitely riles him up. I see his jaw tense. “No. No one could ever take Colt’s place.”
“And yet, here you are.” My mother takes a sip of her wine, and my eyes dart to hers.
“What are you two implying?”
My father still won’t look at me, instead his eyes remain trained on Ash. “What exactly are you getting from all of this?”
Is he implying . . . ?
“You think I want sex?”
Now I want to die. I turn to Asher. “Ash.”
“Yes.”
I turn to look at my father in horror. “What?”
His cold, dark eyes meet mine for the first time in years. “Is it really that far-fetched, Vivienne? We know what you’re capable of. Clearly you have no self-control.”
I’m left stunned, and Asher is the only one able to speak up. “I would say Viv here has plenty of self-control.”
I turn to look at him and shake my head in warning. “Don’t.”
He looks straight ahead at my father. “I’m not here to get laid. I can do that anywhere in this town and in most towns.” Jesus, Asher. He leans forward. “I’m here because Sebastian is a kickass kid and your daughter is an amazing mother, but even the best moms need help. And she’s helping me out too just not with my dick.”
My cheeks flame, and I could kill all three of them in this moment. “Asher,” I hiss in a quiet warning.
My father straightens his tie, and it’s amazing, I’ve never seen him back down before. He’s the one that seems riled up. “Keep it that way.”
My voice is strained and almost a desperate whine, “Dad, it’s not like that. He’s here to help with his nephew.”
My father is no longer making eye contact as he picks his phone back up. “Yes well, two single people of the opposite sex under the same roof, Vivienne. Do not make the same mistake twice.”
I refuse to cry in front of them anymore. Referring to my beautiful son as a mistake makes me sick to my stomach.
I nod my head, my back painfully straight as I sit in the wooden chair and watch my parents exchange a look, my father giving my mother some sort of go-ahead before she turns to look at me. “We’re moving, Vivienne.”
They’ve both lived in Kansas City their entire lives. “What? Where are you moving?”
“New York. There’s more opportunity for your father’s business there, and since you and Sebastian have moved out against our advice, we have decided it’s time.”
They were so angry at me when I told them I wanted to move out, but in the end, they agreed to it. After a full year of me arguing my case and them giving in. “When?”
“In a couple of weeks.”
My mother’s eyes meet mine. “We’re finished cleaning up your messes. You wanted to be on your own. Now you are.”
They both stand up from the table, and on instinct, I stand as well. My mother continues to stare at me. I hate all the help I’ve accepted from them over the years. “I don’t expect you to.”
“Good. You can keep the house and your trust fund, but we won’t be helping you with your son anymore. You won’t listen to us anyway, so do not ask. We won’t be there to watch him, and if you decide to make another one,” her eyes land on Asher, “we will cut you off completely. Do not make the situation worse.”
I feel Asher stand next to me as I hold my hand up, praying he will take the hint and not say a word.
“I understand.”
I can hear Asher stewing, dying to say something, but thankfully he doesn’t. My mother nods, and I walk my parents to the door.
“Are you going to say goodbye to Sebastian?”
“Give him a kiss for me,” my mother says, brushing my hair over my shoulder. She was never good with affection. “We love you, but it’s extremely hard to watch you make mistake after mistake.”
I cringe, feeling the bile rise in my throat thinking about the last four years, really my whole life, of never being able to make them happy.
Always a disappointment in their cold, steely eyes.
Holy fucking shit. Viv’s parents.
Okay, I get it now. Jesus, it’s a wonder the girl isn’t wound tighter than she is.
What the fuck was that?
Vivienne wouldn’t talk much after they left. We just cleaned up in silence, and then she went upstairs to put Baz to sleep and I went downstairs. I took a shower to wash that fucking dinner off me, but I can’t shake it.
I guess I get why she puts up with them. I mean, the kickass house and trust fund. It ain’t easy to do it all on your own, especially without any money, but holy fuck.
Lying on my bed and looking up at the ceiling, I can’t stop thinking about her face, falling with each blow from her parents.
I hear a loud noise coming from down the hall and sit up and then hear a scream. I rush out into the dark hall and see a light coming from the theater room.
I race in and see the screen is lit up with a dude in a hockey mask chasing some half-naked chick on the screen and Viv cuddled up with a blanket in one of the chairs. “Vivienne?”
She looks back at me, more surprised by me than the killer on the screen. “Asher? Did I wake you up?”
I shake my head and look back at the screen. “Friday the 13th?”
She nods happily and pops a piece of popcorn in her mouth. “The original. The new one is shit.”
Who is this girl? “I haven’t seen the new one.”
“Don’t waste your time.”
“You okay?” I stand in the doorway and watch as she pulls the white blanket up to her chin and reaches into the bowl of popcorn again.
“I’m fine. I told you they were a lot.”
“Yeah, I feel like you undersold them. Like, a lot.”
She laughs at that and eats another piece of popcorn. “Yeah. Sorry about that, but at least they’re moving and want nothing to do with us anymore.”
I’m sure she’s conflicted about that, although for the life of me, I don’t understand why. “Can I join you?” She nods her head, and I walk in, sitting in the chair next to her. “Surprising. It seems like they like to have their thumb over everything.”