Autum's Lost (A letting go series) (24 page)

I wink at Michael and think of his tie and shoe collection. Michael gives me a dimply smile.
“She can fill up my closet with whatever her heart desires.”

Jess is gagging.
“Stop, just stop right now.”

I laugh once.
“I am going to go take one more look at Auty’s room and make sure we have everything.” I grab Michael’s hand and look over at Skyler. “There is booze in the cupboard. Take what you want.”

Skyler’s eyes shoot up.
“Thanks, mouthy, I will.” He looks over at Jess. ”You hear that babe? Free booze!”

I walk down the hallway to her room and see everything is gone. I look in her closet and everything, even her clothes are gone. I breathe in deeply.

Michael comes up behind me. “She’s going home with us beautiful. We have left nothing behind. I wouldn’t allow it.”

“It’s just different and hard to think about. But with you, somehow it makes it better.”

Michael nuzzles my neck. “Let’s get my girls home.”

My heart explodes at those words and another tear slips down my face. “Sounds perfect.” I start to leave her room but before I do I grab her pillow. I squeeze it and her smell enters my memory and for the first time since the funeral I can feel her with me.

We decide to meet up at Michael’s for pizza and beverages around seven thirty. Jess went home to go get the kids while Skyler and Michael unloaded the heavy stuff from the truck. I called my mom and asked her if they wanted to come over for pizza. I made it to Michael’s the same time Clarissa did.

“Addy!! How exciting, you are moving in.” She is doing the happy clapping.

I hug her. “Yep, your Dad demanded it.”

She throws her head back laughing.
“Well he did tell me he wasn’t taking no for an answer.”

I smile.
“Yes, that sounds exactly like him.” She puts her arm in mine and we start walking up to the house when my phone starts to ring. I don’t recognize the number but it’s new and Curt doesn’t have it, so I answer.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Addison.” I stop in my tracks. Looking over at Clarissa, I wink at her and give her two fingers and she happily nods and goes into the house.

“How did you get this number?”

A laughing Lexus sneers into the phone. “I own this town, or did Daytona forget to tell you that?” My face is beet red and I am done with this bitch.

“You listen to me, you second class whore, and if you don’t you won’t get your money. I have no problem in taking the cash to your front yard and setting it on fire. I have no doubt that you are in love with my EX husband but being worthless as you are that’s not surprising. You are wasting your time on him. Tell me
, Lexus, how much money does he owe now? Because he has been using since the first figure came in from Daytona.”

Silence lands on the phone, and then an answer with an edged voice.
“I am not in love with Curt, Daytona is. I told her he was bad news but she refused to listen to me. The amount of coke Curt has consumed since your daughter’s death, well, he should be dead by now. He is destructive and I want nothing to do with him. The pictures you have of us together are nothing. The only relationship we had was exchange. I gave him coke, he gave me money. The same cannot be said for my sister though.” I stand still and a million things go off in my mind. But the one thing that stands out is that Daytona is Lexus’s sister. “Shocking, isn’t it, Addison? I know you never knew, he gloated about that. I gave a fuck less about the affairs that were going on with him and his woman and men, Daytona didn’t care either; she was a willing partner in it all. That was until he beat her up because his man of the night stole his coke. I found her in my car the next morning. Her face bruised and bloodied. I called him and said if he wanted coke to find someone else I was done.”

I start to breath heavy and feel like I am going to pass out. My words come quick.
“I talked to your husband though, he sent me the pictures to begin with. Then I hired the private investigator.” I hear someone coming up the steps. Turning around I see Michael with a concerned face. “Is this number one where I can call you back at?”

Lexus’s snippy voice rings in my ear. “Yes
, please do. I want this done and over with.”

“As do I.”

I hang up and Michael grabs me by my waist. “Addison, what’s wrong? You are white as a ghost.” He clenches his jaw “Tell me that wasn’t Curt.”

I shake my head and his face relaxes.
“It was Lexus, Daytona is her sister.”

Michael’s mouth opens.
“What? And how did she get your number?”

All I can do is
shake my head. “Daytona is in love with Curt and Lexus is the dealer. Money buys anything if you want it bad enough, Michael.”

Michael is pacing back and forth.
“So, he wasn’t having an affair with Lexus?”

“No, it was with Daytona and random guys or random women now and then.”

Michael runs his hands through his hair. “So he really is off his rocker.”

“Yep and now I have to call Lexus back and tell her when she is getting her money.”

Michael stops and looks at me. “She will guarantee that you never pay her another dime no matter what he does. If he snorts his way to a quick death then so be it.”

I look back up at Michael.
“That’s what he is doing according to Lexus. He has used for years but now his amounts are a death sentence.”

Michael comes over to me and hugs me. “I love you
, beautiful, and will protect you always. We need to have the kids swim so we can inform everyone and get a plan together.” I look at the ground and shake my head yes. “Right! So inside you go my lovely.” We walk up the steps and into the house.

Clarissa runs over to me with tears in her eyes. “
M
u
mma Addy, can I go through some of these boxes? I want to have some of my sister’s stuff in my room.”

I hold her face in my hands wiping her tears with my thumbs. “I was hoping you would do that, she would love
nothing more.” Hugging me hard she releases me, grabs two boxes, and takes them to her room. I look over at Michael who is talking to Skyler and wink at him. The doorbell rings and I go to answer it.

“Hey Addybell, we are here for the moving party.”

I laugh at my Dad. “Well, it’s a partial party, I guess.”

My Dad hugs me and my Mom comes in behind him.
“I have fresh basil and tomatoes for you from my garden. Clarissa forgot to take them home.” I hug her and Michael takes her bag.

As I shut the door I ask.
“Skyler, has Jess called you yet?”

“Yep she is five minutes out with the kids. They are bringing their suits,” he looks over at Michael. “If that is ok?”

Michael pats his back. “Of course. It’s warm out and swimming at night is a blast.” I blush thinking of the hot tub swim we took together. Michael looks over at me and gives me his dimply smile and winks. No doubt he is thinking the same thing.

“Michael
, did you call the pizza in?”

“Sure did
, love.”

“Mom, Dad you want something to drink?”

“Cold beer for me, Addybell.” He looks over at my mom who is talking to Skyler “What do you want to drink, dear?”

Mom looks over at me.
“Oh, I will have water sweetie.”

The doorbell rings again and Jess walks in, with the kids following. I give Lila a hug and Tristin a fist tap.

“Can we go swimming, Michael?” Tristin asks excitedly.

“Yep, the towels are in the pool house.” With that Lila and Tristin are gone. Clarissa walks out and my Mom grabs her and hugs her.

“Mom, don’t smother her.”

Clarissa laughs.
“Its fine Addy, where are the kids?”

I nod my head towards the patio door.
“They are already in the pool.”

“Cool! I will be out there in five.” Clarissa turns back down the hallway.
Michael goes over to the patio door wall and flicks a few buttons that illuminate the pool and turns on the outside radio. Clarissa comes out towel wrapped around her. “Call me when the pizza is here, okay?”

I look over at her.
“Will do.” And out the door she goes. I look over at Michael and he nods yes.

“I think we all need to grab our drinks and head into the living room.” I look over at Jess and she is giving me the questioning look again. I smile tightly and point with my head to go in the living room. After everyone is comfortable I stand with the bomb. “So as you all know
, Curt owes his dealer fifty grand. I got a call from her tonight.”

Jess looks at me
. “Her?”

I nod yes. “Her name is Lexus.”

Jess rolls her eyes. “I fucking knew it!”

“Her sister is Daytona.” Jess’s mouth drops to the floor. Michael gets up and puts his arm around my shoulder. “She has been Curt’s dealer for years I guess. The pictures I have of Lexus is of her and him making their deals. Up until Curt beat up Daytona everything was running like a well-oiled machine.”

Dad cuts in. “What does she want, Addy? Money? Revenge?”

“Money
, Dad, that’s all. Daytona is in love with Curt and will probably never leave him and Lexus wants the money that Curt promised to pay Daytona.”

Skyler chimes in.
“If he has been paying all these years why all of the sudden does he have no money?”

I shrug my shoulders
“I can only assume he got fired. I know he drained our savings of about twenty grand when I filed for divorce.” I look over the room and everyone is silent. “It’s a lot to take in and it will all be over soon, well part of it anyways. The other part I have to wait for the court system to handle.”

Jess’s phone rings and as she answers it the doorbell rings. I walk over to the door and Officers Darcy and Austin are there.

“Addy, you need to come now; there is a fire at your house. The neighbors said they heard an explosion and saw the flames coming out of the back of the house.”

I turn to grab my purse and Jess is frantical
ly running over to the officers. “Patrick, C.J, please call into the scene, Curt’s still in the house!!”

I stop breathing and look at Michael, who grabs my arms before I can pass out.
“Jess!” I yell trying to get my bearings together. “Who was on the phone?”

Jess looks over at me
. “Daytona.”

Thank you for reading, and hopefully enjoying my first novel. Book two Addison’s Release is still in my writing cave, so, how about I give you a snippet of a gal that I dearly love like a sister and was blown away by her talent! Ladies and Gentleman, I give you,

Darkness Deserved by Author Jessica Spoon.

Harper Reagan has been through everything a woman could possibly go through. Losing her parents and entering foster care, only to be abused by her foster father. Running away at fifteen, she enters the world’s oldest profession to survive. And survive she did.
 
Barely...
If you call abuse, counted as property and tortured to no end surviving, then that was what she did…survived. Her life was spared, but at what cost? Long ago Harper had died. Today, due to those decisions she made, she is left existing with no choice to do anything else. Staring the devil in the face daily for as long as she did, left its mark and pain behind for her to live with forever.
The pain of that survival scars her deeper than any physical wound she's ever received. 
Harper is finally living a better life and has a great business, friends, and a home finally her own. She will do anything to keep her past hidden, including jeopardizing her only chance at love and a truly good man.
Breccan Caldwell is everything Harper doesn't deserve. He's gorgeous, successful, caring and a true gentleman.
Can Breccan show Harper who she truly is? Or will he be pushed out by the darkness she allows herself to be consumed with?

Chapter 1

“You like that you fucking whore? Sweet tight pussy. I bet your ass is even better.”

I narrow my eyes at this piece of shit
. Seriously? I don’t think so!
Shitdick here laughs at my expression as he pounds into me harder and harder.  What a creep. Why do they always expect me to answer? What can I say to something like that?
Yes, baby, please it feels so good.
Not likely. “Fuck off, asshole”, I respond.

“Yeah, Stevie told me how you’ve never let anyone in that high tight ass of yours. But, baby”, he leans close and whispers like he’s fucking Casanova or something. Fucking idiot.  “
you’re gonna take it tonight.”

I glare into his beady brown eyes that are too small for his bone structure. His face is round and covered in wrinkles, though he can’t be more than fifty. His cheeks are round and sag on his face. Small lips hide his stained teeth. His large and overweight body pushes me further into the mattress as he huffs with each thrust. Sweat drips off him and lands on my face. Gross.  “I don’t think so
Shitdick”, I grind out through my teeth. I’ve come to name all of them Shitdick. No way in hell do I want to know their names. It’s not like I’m going to be screaming it out for them. No matter how much they want it.