I knew my mom and dad would both be at work, but I knew where my mom"s hidden key was. Both of my parents had re-married after their divorce but I was still the only child. None of them had more children or even stepchildren. Stella was their only grandchild, and they loved spoiling her any chance they could. They sent ravish birthday and Christmas gifts, so I knew they"d be exceptionally blown away seeing her in person for the first time in two years.
"Mommy, where are we?" Stella asked as she walked through the door.
"This is Grandma"s house baby. We"re going to stay here for the weekend," I smiled, hoping to get a good response out of her. My mom had two spare rooms, which is the main reason why I chose to come here although I planned on stopping by my dad"s house as well. He only had a one-bedroom condo with his wife and dogs.
"We better call Grandma so she doesn"t have a heart attack when she gets home," I teased gesturing for Stella to come by me.
"h.e.l.lo?" My mother answered worried. I never called in the afternoon especially on a Friday considering I was usually in cla.s.s.
"Hi Grandma!" Stella squealed. "I like your house!"
"Hi mom!" I chimed in.
"Hi mom!" Michael yelled from the hallway.
"Well, h.e.l.lo dear. Where are you?" she asked confused.
"We decided to take a last minute road trip. We are at your house. Hope you don"t mind."
"Oh my goodness! You are? Really?" She sounded like she almost didn"t believe it.
"Yes, we wanted to come see you and Dad. We used your secret key. Hope that"s okay."
"Oh honey, it"s more than okay. I can"t believe you"re here! I"m going to leave the office early. I can"t wait to see my little Stella-bug. I"ll be there in a half hour!" she said eagerly and hung up. I couldn"t be happier to be home right now. This was a time in a girl"s life where I just needed my mom.
My mom arrived home a half hour later and squeezed us tight for ten minutes. She was crying and soon enough so was I. I hadn"t realized how much I missed her after all this time. In fact, I hadn"t realized how much I missed where I grew up. Home Sweet Home.
"I just can"t believe you guys are really here!" my mom gushed wiping away her tears of joy.
"Well, it"s been long enough. We missed you. And... I need to see Liam"s gravesite."
"Liam"s gravesite?" she asked confused.
"Yeah... I think its time I tell Stella about her father and show her where he is. And I need to say goodbye. It"s time."
"Oh honey." She brushed her fingers on my wet cheeks. "You know he is always with you and Stella no matter what. But you deserve to be happy. You both do," she said rea.s.suringly. She hadn"t been there for me when he pa.s.sed away, but she was doing her best to make up for it now.
"I know mom. But it"s been difficult moving on, even after all these years. I want to be happy, but I need to do this. Liam was my first love and in order for me to fully love anyone else, I need to tell him that I will always love him no matter what. I need the rea.s.surance that it"s okay to move on," I paused waiting for her to react. "I met someone mom. And he"s wonderful. I"m falling for him and it makes me feel conflicted for loving someone else and for moving on. I need to do this."
She grabbed me in for a hug and held me tight. I hadn"t told her how much I was suffering on the inside still. She never brought up Liam"s name when we talked on the phone, but I"m sure she did that to avoid any sad feelings for me.
"Sweetheart, you are an amazing person and mother. Liam would be so proud of you and your accomplishments. He"d be so proud how you are raising his daughter and he"d be proud that you are moving on. I understand you need to do this. You deserve to be happy and feel loved again." She kissed my forehead and continued hugging me. There was no feeling like this. My mom and I hadn"t talked and hugged like this in years. I missed her so much.
CHAPTER TEN.
That evening, I took Stella to see my dad. He was just as shocked as my mom was to see us. I didn"t tell him about seeing Liam because I just didn"t have the energy to talk about it again, and I didn"t want Stella seeing me upset. He swooned in for a hug and kissed Stella on both of her cheeks. He was beyond excited to see us after all this time; it made my heart melt.
"Molly! I can"t believe you guys are here! I have missed this little bug!" he gushed continuing to squeeze us.
"We missed you too, Dad. We are only here for the weekend though. I have to get back for my internship on Monday."
"How is the internship, darling? Learning a lot?"
"It"s great. I love it. And yes, learning tons," I said with a hidden meaning.
For the next hour, we caught up and watched Stella play with his dogs chasing them around his condo. I briefly told him about Drake and our new relationship. Michael and I took Stella out to dinner and invited my dad and my mom. It"s been years since they"ve been in the same room together, but it was a short visit and I wanted to make the most of the time we had.
The evening went better than I had expected. Stella kept both my parents busy even though it was awkward for them. She told them about her school, her friend Bobby that she likes, and about meeting mommy"s new friend, Drake.
Oh thanks Stella-bug.
The next morning while making breakfast, I decided to tell Stella about her father. She has never really asked about him. I think since Michael has been in the picture for so long; she didn"t really notice. I was waiting until Stella was old enough to understand before mentioning her father. Today was that day.
"Sweetie, mommy has some important things to tell you. We need to talk about your daddy." I pulled her onto my lap.
"Who"s my daddy?" she asked with curiosity.
"Well... his name is Liam. He was so excited when he found out you were coming. He loved you so much. When you were just a baby, he died in a car accident. And I know he misses you very much." I tried to hold back tears. It saddened me every day knowing that he wasn"t here to watch her grow up and that he"d never see her on her first day of kindergarten, her first dance, her first boyfriend, walk her down the aisle, or meet his grandchildren.
She just stared at me unsure of how to respond. I could see she was confused. "We are going to go visit his gravesite today, sweetie. I want you to see where he is buried."
"Okay mommy. Why are you sad?" she asked concerned as she saw my eyes swell up.
"I just miss your daddy that"s all baby. But I"m so very happy he gave me you!" I said playfully squeezing her nose.
Michael came with us to the cemetery allowing me some alone time with his grave without Stella. She was pretty confused by the situation, but I did my best to explain everything to her.
Once we got to his headstone, I knelt down and pulled Stella on my lap. I held back tears as best as I could, but a few slipped down.
"Stella, this is where your daddy"s buried. Do you have any questions?"
"Can I tell him about my friends at school?" she asked unsure of what to do.
"Of course honey. Tell him anything you want." I squeezed her tighter.
Stella smiled and touched the stone with her hands. She told him about her best friends Kylee and Mackenzie, told him her favorite character is Elmo, and said she wished she had met him. It was such a relief to see her here with me. She made this process so much easier on me. She took Michael"s hand and walked back to the car. I stayed behind needing a few moments to myself.
"Liam, I miss you. So much. I wish you were here still. Stella looks so much like you. I think about you every day, but I need to tell you that I"m moving on. I will always love you Liam James Weston, and I will never forget you. You were my first love and my best friend. I believe that you are with Stella and me every day. I met a great man named Drake. He is kind and wonderful, and I think even Stella approves," I chuckled a little at Stella"s first reaction when she saw Drake. "And I just needed to tell you. I needed you to know that even though I am moving on, you will never be forgotten, and you"ll always have my heart. I love you Liam." Tears rolled down my cheeks. "Goodbye Liam." I kissed my fingers and planted them on his stone. I stood up, glanced at his stone one more time, and walked back to the car by Stella and Michael.
I brushed my wet cheeks and got back in the car. Michael looked at me for approval and started the car. I glanced back at Stella as she was smiling at the window. I was happy to experience this with Stella even if sure she didn"t understand it all.
I decided to call Drake once we got back to my mother"s. Stella was busy playing with my mom, and Michael was catching up on his writing.
"Hey baby, how"s everything going?" he asked, answering the phone.
"Pretty good. My parents love spoiling Stella. It"s great to see them."
"So I need to tell you something. Don"t freak out," he pleaded sounding worried.
"Oh my G.o.d, what"s wrong?" I panicked.
"Baby, don"t freak out I said. I found out who"s behind the pictures. And I"m taking care of it. But we need to keep under the radar for a little bit until it blows over."
"I"m confused. If you know who it is, why do we have to keep under the radar?"
"Her name is Kendra Kingston. She was my college girlfriend, and she"s a friend with someone on my security team. I caught her on camera talking to one of them and negotiating a deal. She comes from a very rich and intense family, so that"s why it needs to be under the radar. I need to handle her gently. She"s used to getting her way, and when she called recently asking to get together, I shot her down. And now she"s trying to get revenge on me when she found out about you." He took a breath finally allowing it to fully sink in. Holy s.h.i.t... Kendra.
"Is that the same Kendra I heard you yelling at one the phone the other morning?"
"Yeah... you heard? She can be a bit intense. She"s not interested in the money, Molly. She just wants to rattle you. She won"t expose those photos, but the more public we become, the more intense she"ll get. But don"t worry, I"ll take care of her," he said trying to sound calm.
"So your ex is a psycho, trying to blackmail me to get back at you? This is absurd!" I was furious.
"Honey, calm down. Everything"s going to be just fine..."
"Everything is not fine!" I cut him off. "I didn"t come all the way out here to say goodbye to my first love so I could finally give my heart to you to be run off by some crazy psycho b.i.t.c.h!" I confessed.
"Wait, what? I"m lost."
I took a deep breath in. I rambled that off too quickly to rationalize why I told him any of that.
"You are the first man since Liam that I have fallen in love with Drake. I needed to say goodbye to Liam so I could give you my whole heart. This wasn"t easy for me. And now you"re telling me your ex wants to separate us?" I admitted.
There was silence at the end of the line. I thought maybe he pa.s.sed out. Then I realized I just confessed my love for him.
"Molly," Drake finally said. He took in a deep breath. "I love you, too. I know this is sudden, and we"re moving fast, but I have never been so sure of someone in my entire life. I understand this is new and scary for you, but I promise you I"m not going anywhere," Drake spilled his guts out to me. I couldn"t believe what I had just heard. My heart began to race.
"I... can"t believe you just said all that," I gushed holding back tears. "That is exactly what I needed to hear today, Drake. Thank you so much. I love you."
"Baby, I want to be one hundred percent honest with you. I don"t want you going anywhere. I love you. I want you. And if you ever have any doubts, you just need to talk to me." Drake had such a warm-heart. It was a side most people never saw.
By Monday morning, things seemed back to normal. I finally got the closure I needed from Liam"s death and the rea.s.surance from Drake. We were in love, and I couldn"t wait to see what our future held for us.
I walked into the kitchen for my internship with a huge smile. I felt great. The weekend trip was a success, Stella got to see her grandparents, and Drake and I confessed our love for each other. I couldn"t feel happier!
"What"s up s.l.u.t?" Blakely said as I sat down next to her. I gave her a puzzling look.
"Umm.... what did you just call me?" I glared at her noticing everyone"s eyes were suddenly on mine. They were staring at me like I was on fire or something. "Why is everyone staring at me?" What the h.e.l.l?
"Ohhh.... maybe just because you"re sleeping with the manager! Is that how you got your internship?" Blakely directed right at me accusing me of sleeping my way in. f.u.c.king s.h.i.t... how did this happen?
"I don"t know what you"re talking about," I lied, hoping I sounded convincing.
"Blakely, back off!" Travis chimed in behind me.
"What the h.e.l.l is going on?" I demanded.
Blakely took her phone out of her pocket and showed me the email. There in an email were four pictures of Drake and I having s.e.x in that very kitchen. My face fell, and I went pale. I couldn"t believe it. What the h.e.l.l... Kendra!
"Who sent you that?"
"I don"t know... does it matter? It"s true isn"t it?" Blakely stared me down.
"Who all received this?"
"Everyone in the internship. We all got the same email." Blakely looked at me like she disapproved. Or maybe she was just jealous.
Before I could retract, Mr. Cooper entered the room demanding our attention. Today was not going to be a good day.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
I spent the first half of the day in a daze. I was furious on the inside. I wondered who else saw the photos and whom else I was going to be humiliated in front of. I wouldn"t know how to explain this to my family back in Iowa if the photos leaked to the press.
"So Drake was the person you were seeing when I asked you out?" Travis came up behind me and quietly asked. I nodded but couldn"t look him in the eyes. I could tell he was trying to be genuine, but the fact was he had private nude photos of me. Just like everyone else...
I kept to myself and avoided Blakely as much as possible. I had to go see Drake as soon as possible and get this mess figured out. I couldn"t focus on anything. I was having another panic attack.
I ran off into the freezer to cool off. My breathing had quickened, and I was starting to shake. I was burning up and panicking. I started ripping my chef"s coat and ap.r.o.n off and then I yanked my shoes off. It wasn"t enough and soon my undershirt and pants came off. I fell forward leaning against the shelves trying to regain my strength. I felt like collapsing.
Crunched up against the shelves on my knees, I heard the door open. My hands held my head without even realizing someone was walking in. Still sitting in my bra and panties, Travis walked in and stood right in front of me.
"Molly? What are you doing? Are you alright?" Travis knelt down by me concerned.
"I think so," I mumbled trying to inhale and exhale slowly. Something I had learned from my therapist years ago when I first started getting them.
He brushed his hands up and down my arms trying to warm me. "Molly, you don"t have clothes on. You"re going to freeze to death."
"Good," I pouted. I want to freeze to death.
"Get up. Right now." He reached his hand out for me to grab it. I stared at him not able to put my hand in his.
"Just leave me alone, Travis. I"m already humiliated I don"t need to go back out there," I whined in desperation.