Bad For Me (My Forbidden Rockstar) (13 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Dom

I hop in my car, and pull on to the highway. Maybe Annie
will want to grab a quick bite to eat, that will give us a good excuse to hang
out alone. I don’t know why I’m acting like this, but I do know that I need to
talk to her. This shit is killing me, I've never had to jump through so many
hoops for a girl before.

I’m about halfway to Annie’s when my phone rings.

It’s my mom.

I sigh and answer.

“Hey Mom.”

“Dominic! Where are you?” Her voice isn’t right. Her usual
smooth quality is gone, and instead she sounds frantic and rushed.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s your – your father. He showed up here at Cliff’s
house, and Cliff isn’t home. I got him to leave the house, but he won’t leave
the driveway,” her voice shakes, “He’s still sitting outside in his car. I
called the police but they haven't showed up yet.”

I yank my steering wheel so hard to the left, that I nearly
flip my car. Not giving a shit, I cut across three lanes of traffic, and make
an illegal u-turn so that I’m heading in the opposite direction toward Cliff's.

“Don’t fucking move!” I bark. “Lock the doors! I’ll be there
in less than ten minutes!”

I’ve only just passed the exit for Cliff’s house, and I
speed like hell to reach it in record time. I can't even think straight as I
drive, I'm so full of rage that I just begin to imagine all the ways that I’m
going to kill my father.

I tear up the driveway to Cliff’s house, and I see my
father’s nondescript rental car behind the obnoxious fountain. I leap out of my
car, and as I approach I can see the startled look on my Dad's face. I bang my
fists on the hood of his car and pound on his windows.

“Get out of the fucking car!” I scream.

The color drains from his face and he holds his hands up as
if he hasn’t done anything wrong.

I hate him so fucking much that I want to vomit. I hated him
as a kid, and I hate him even more now. I can’t believe I was ever scared of
this lousy excuse for a human being. Anger courses through my veins as I
remember how he used to beat the shit out of my mother and me. When I was just
a little kid, this pathetic coward used to make me so scared that I would piss
my pants.

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE CAR!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my mom shaking in the
doorway of the house.

My dad slowly opens the door, his arms are still up in
surrender. I don’t even give him a chance, and I grab him by his collar, yank
him out of the car and toss him against the hood.

“Dominic!” my mom screams.

“Stay out of this, Mom!”

I spin my father around so he’s looking at me, and I put my
nose inches from his.

“I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from my mother.”

“I – I just wanted t-to see your mother.”

“Why?” I snarl.

But whatever reason my father has dies on his lips, he's too
terrified to try to explain himself to me.

“You jealous prick,” I spit, “Leave her the hell alone.”

At that moment, Cliff’s car comes winding up the driveway.

“Fuck.”

“Is that him?!” My Dad rages.

I knock him back down on the hood of the car. I feel
satisfied as I hear the air rush of out of him and he starts sputtering and
coughing. Cliff hurries over to me, and my mom comes running down the steps.

“What the hell is going on?” Cliff yells.

“Cliff!” my mom cries, trying to grab him.

I put my hands up to try to stop Cliff, but he doesn’t care.

“Who the hell is this?” He asks my mother, whose mascara is running
down her cheeks. She can’t answer, so I do.

“It my loser of a father,” I growl, “and the fucker is
leaving now.”

Using all my force, I grab my dad by his clothes, and throw
him down hard on the ground by the driver side’s door.

He howls with pain as he hits the asphalt.

“What is he doing here?” Cliff asks angrily, he's torn
between consoling my mom and getting answers. I can see a vein bulging in his
head and his face looks way too purple.

“Cliff, take it easy,” I say quietly, “I got this.”

“I’ll kill you myself!” Cliff roars.

Suddenly he lunges at my dad. I know I should probably stop
Cliff but I can’t help wanting to see my dad get the shit kicked out of him a
little more.

“Cliff, don’t!” My mom screams, “He’s not worth it!”

“The hell he isn’t!” Cliff cries as he kicks my dad in the
stomach.

Shit, I guess my mom did tell Cliff all about my father.
Since I don’t want Cliff going to jail for assault and battery, I pull him off
my father, but not before he gets another good kick in.

“Thank you,” my dad pants.

“I didn’t do it for you, you pathetic piece of shit. I did
it for Cliff and my mom.”

I look over at Cliff and see my mom trying to calm him down.
He doesn’t look good, and a sheen of sweat glistens on his forehead. He’s
loosening the collar of his shirt.

“Get him inside,” I order my mom.

She hurries Cliff into the house.

My dad is scrambling into his car.

“I mean it,” I threaten, “I
will
kill you the next
time.”

My dad nods, and I think he believes me this time. He starts
his car and throws it into drive. I hurry over and grab a rock from the
landscaping along the driveway. As my dad starts down the driveway, I lob the
rock at the back of his car, and it smashes gloriously through his back window.

The fucker deserves worse.

He just keeps driving and once he's out onto the street, I
turn to go back into the house.

The scene inside the house is not good. Cliff is clutching
his chest, his face a sickly shade of eggplant purple. My mom is trying to give
him water, and she's mopping his head with a washcloth.

“Christ!" I scream, "We need to get him to the
hospital!”

“I called 911!” She cries.

“I’ll get us there faster,” I say, turning to go back
outside.

“Dominic, no! The paramedics are on the way.” She looks
around wildly, as if she doesn’t know what to do next.

“Annabelle,” Cliff gasps.

“Call Annabelle,” my mom orders, “tell her to meet us at the
hospital.”

Screw that, I’ve seen the piece of crap she drives. Plus it
doesn’t seem like the best time to ask for her phone number.

“I’ll go get her myself!” I yell.

I dash out the front door, hop into my SUV, and drive like a
madman to Annie’s apartment. I take the steps two at a time up to her door and
pound on it frantically.

“Annie!” I yell. “
Annie!”

She pulls the door open, looking absolutely bewildered.

“It’s your father,” I say, “We need to go. They're taking
him to the hospital.”

Her confused look turns into panic.

“What!" She cries, "What's wrong?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Let’s go!”

She only takes a second to register what I’ve said and
dashes into the hallway to grab her phone and purse.

“Elle, I’ve got to go! It’s my dad!” she cries.

We hurry down the stairs and rush to my car.

I speed to the hospital, and on the way I try to give her as
many details as possible. I try to leave out the part about my father showing
up, but the story makes no sense otherwise, so I give up and give her as little
information as possible to explain what he was doing there.

“But why would my dad go after him like that?” She cries,
wiping at the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Because my mom must have told him about what a low-life my
father is,” I pause, and Annie looks at me expectantly, “And about how he used
to beat the shit out of me and my mom.”

“Oh God.” She says quietly.

Her whole face has changed now, and I know if this were
another time, she would tell me she’s sorry and ask if I wanted to talk about
it. Instead, tears are streaming down her crumbled face again.

“My father is so stupid! He has high blood pressure! What
was he thinking?”

I don’t know what to say.

“It will be alright.” The words sound hollow, but I think
that’s what people say when they try to console someone. I want to take her in
my arms, and kiss her, and tell her that I’ll protect her, but I’m driving, and
I know I can’t really protect her from this. There’s nothing I can do but try
to get us to the hospital as fast as possible.

I’m sweating and anxious, and I don't realize it until now
but I'm really scared for Cliff. I breathe a sigh of relief as we near the
entrance of the hospital.

“Dom, I’m so glad you’re here with me,” she suddenly blurts
out.

She leans across the armrest and puts her head on my
shoulder.

“It’s alright,” I murmur, grabbing her hand in mine.

Annie’s eyes are cast downwards, and suddenly I feel her
stiffen. She reaches down to the floor to pick up something, and my stomach
fucking drops when I see what’s in her hand.

It’s a tiny piece of neon-orange silk. An expensive lace
thong. Brittany’s lace thong, to be exact.

“What the hell is this?” she whispers.

I can hear the storm brewing behind her words.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I begin.

Stupid fucking Brittany! I forgot how the dumb cunt pulled
her underwear off in the car before she began to play with herself. Why in
fuck’s name did I ever agree to drive that slut home?

“Right,” she says bitterly, “I’m sure it belongs to your
mom.”

“Honest, it’s not what you think, Annie,” I say desperately.

“Be fucking straight with me, Dom,” and her voice is
shaking. “I was in this car forty-eight hours ago, and I can assure you there
wasn’t a trashy thong balled up on the floor!”

“Okay, okay. It belongs to my neighbor. She keeps coming on
to me. She was in my driveway when I got home from our dinner, and she was
drunk. I gave her a ride home because it was late and she had been drinking.
She pulled them off in the car as she tried to seduce me.”

That was all true.

Annie’s eyes are narrowed to slits.

“So, nothing happened?”

Fuck.

“Look, Annie-’’

“Answer the damn question, Dom!” she screams.

We’re pulling into the hospital now. I should lie to Annie.
I’m so good at lying that it comes as second nature. One smooth sentence and
this could all be water under the bridge.

“She pulled her panties off in the car. She started to
masturbate,” I say carefully.

“Damn it, Dom! Did anything happen?”

I wasn’t used to being grilled like this, and I snapped. It
had been a long day, not to mention my father’s unannounced visit and Cliff’s
medical emergency.

“Okay, fine!” I yell. “I let her suck me off! Are you happy
now?
You
got me hard,” I accuse, “And then I came home to find her at my
house. I tried to send her home, but I’m a fucking guy, all right? It was an
asshole move. I’m sorry!”

The look on Annie’s face is worse than any insult she could
sling at me. The crushing disappointment and hurt that I've caused her makes me
sick to my stomach, and I can’t even look at her. The timing could not be
worse.

“So, it’s my fault?” she whispers, incredulously. “I give
you blue balls, and so you have to have some whore take care of it?”

“It’s not like that,” I say evenly. I wasn’t trying to blame
her. “I take responsibility for what I did. It was wrong and I felt lousy
afterwards. If it makes you feel any better, she kept trying to get me to fuck
her, but I wouldn’t.”

Annie snaps. “If it makes me feel any better?” she
screeches. “If it makes me feel better that you didn’t fuck her? Oh,
whoop-dee-fucking-doo, Dom! Do you want a goddamn medal for only getting your
dick sucked?” Her eyes are wild now. “I’m a fucking idiot,” she sobs, and the
tears are falling again. “I should have known better. I knew you were no good,
I knew it.”

“Annie, no,” I say softly, reaching out for her hand.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” she screams.

She looks around the car like she’s an animal who suddenly
realizes it's been trapped.

“Let me out! Let me out of this fucking car!” she shouts.
She doesn’t even wait for me to stop, before she flings the door open and jumps
out.

I slam the brakes on.

“Jesus, Annie!” I yell, but she’s already taking off towards
the hospital entrance.

“Fuck,” I mutter. I throw the car back into drive, hastily
find a parking spot, and run in after her.

Chapter Fourteen

Annie

I can barely see through my tears as I hurry into the Emergency
Room. I’m crying over my dad and Dom at the same time, and I’m so angry at Dom
for a million different reasons. I’m angry about him and his slutty neighbor,
and I’m angry that he’s distracting me at this crucial time when I need to be a
hundred percent here for my dad.