Falling Away (8 page)

             
Hey, look at that. An
outie
! And it’s pierced…of course. Bet the girl had a large tramp stamp too.

             
It was only an hour into the party and already I was bored out of my mind. Robert and I were forced to mingle with these people, most of which I couldn’t care less if I ever met again. After two hours I needed something to refresh me. The bartender was limited on Ginger Ale so I offered to grab my own from the kitchen. Big mistake. Jenna Enemy #1 was in there and it was too late to walk back out without being seen. She forced a sharp smile as she swirled the cocktail in her hand.

             
“Mrs. Jennings,” I said politely, making my way to the refrigerator, determined to exit as soon as possible.

             
“Jenna, good. I’d been meaning to get you alone. I didn’t want to say this in front of Robert.”

             
Shit.

             
“You know, it still surprises me you want to go all the way to Rutgers when Yale can offer you a better education.”

             
Ugh. This again? My choice of schools was such a broken record.

             
“Are you and Robert having problems?”

             
You wish, bitch. “No
,
ma’am. I’ve always had my heart set on Rutgers. I guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t follow what I feel is right for me.” I opened the door disguised as cabinetry and scanned for my soda.

             
“So it’s the education you seek? I thought perhaps it was because going to Rutgers would cut your drive to Penn State by two hours.”

             
Thank the Lord I was buried head first in the refrigerator, ‘cause there was no way to hide the way my eyes just bugged out, filled with fear over what she may know.
Damn it! I knew I should have withdrawn cash from the ATM to purchase those damn tickets! I should’ve known the old crow would find a way to get a hold of Robert’s purchase information and comb through it meticulously. Damn it, damn it, damn it!

             
Forcing a slow breath into my lungs, I
calmed
my face and emerged from the refrigerator with my soda in hand. It probably wasn’t good that I wanted to smack the smug grin off the face of my boyfriend’s mother, huh? “Why would I
wanna
do that?”

             
“You tell me. Someone purchased tickets to and from Penn State when Robert was out of town at a swim meet, so I know it wasn’t him.”

             
Unbelievable. I crossed my arms and leaned back against the counter as I returned the chilly glare. “Seriously? You’re going through his finances? He’s not a kid anymore. He’s twenty years old.”

             
With a belittling expression, she said, “Exactly. And until he’s proven he can make proper decisions, I’ll check behind him to make sure he doesn’t stray off the right path. And that includes making sure
others
don’t compromise him as well.”

             
Afraid to let this conversation go any further, I silently acknowledged her statement with a tip of the head and turned to leave.

             
“You haven’t given me an explanation,” she snapped at my backside, raising her voice, as if it held authority and could demand my feet to lock in place.

             
I huffed, but I didn’t bother looking back. As I continued through the entry way, I rudely replied over my shoulder, “That’s ‘cause I don’t owe you one.”

             
Man I really hated that woman. Nothing I’d ever done had been good enough for her. All ‘cause of what? The fact that I wasn’t born to the right parents? I wasn’t born into a family she’d known all her life? I worked my ass off to get where I was today, and I hadn’t taken anything from her these past couple of years.

             
And maybe that was the problem. Thus far I’d refused their money, their connections that could get me into the most prestigious schools in the nation, and especially her neverending attempts to increase my knowledge of social etiquette. Robert’s been the one to foot the bill for what I couldn’t afford, and usually only then ‘cause he’s so
freakin
’ stubborn he does it behind my back. But even he didn’t borrow from his parents, living comfortably off the money his grandfather left him.

             
And since I hadn’t accepted anything from her, she had nothing to hold over my head. And she knew it. That’s why she was up my ass over this, the only questionable purchase I’d made to date. I wondered how long she’d been waiting for something like this to happen. And there was no doubt in my mind she’d tell Robert next. Good thing I mentioned it to him once before. The last thing I needed was him thinking I was keeping secrets.

             
I snatched a glass of ice from the bartender and filled it halfway with Ginger Ale, then made my way back to Robert. His back was to me ‘cause
Reynold
and Julie had found him. If I wasn’t so pissed I would’ve taken the time to smile over the way he wrapped her up in his arm, protecting her from the madness of this room. I sighed as I cut my way into the triangle, silently digging my way through Robert’s jacket for the thin silver flask
Reynold
gave him for Christmas. Appropriate gift for this household. I felt their eyes bore a hole directly into my head as I poured whatever the hell’s in there into my glass.

             
“You know, that doesn’t really go with Ginger Ale.”

             
“Don’t care.” I slapped the flask into his chest, waiting for his hand to take over, then took a few sips. It was nasty, though I’d probably think that even if I had mixed a proper cocktail. I could sense their amusement without even looking their way, but it was Julie’s eyes I met first, and she had this pained expression, like she knew exactly what was going on in my head.

             
Robert tucked the flask back into its secret location and tried rubbing the tension out of my neck. I sighed, shook my head and mumbled “bitch” before I took a few more sips.

             
“So who won the first round?”
Reynold
asked with a knowing smile.

             
“Probably your mother. She caught me off guard.”

             
“What. Happened?” He wasn’t so much as mad, but there was a definite tone to Robert’s words.

             
“She’s nosy and she thinks I’m cheating on you or something.”

             
“Why would she think that?”

             
“I’ll tell you later.” I shook my head and slightly rolled my eyes. The glass felt cool against my cheek. “That is unless your mother beats me to the punch.
If
she actually thinks that’s what happened.”

             
Now Robert was sighing.

             
I looked to Julie. “Does it ever get any better, or should I expect this until the day I die?”

             
“You could always do what we did,”
Reynold
cut in.

             
“Yeah? What’s that?”

             
“Move to Seattle. She hates the rain and doesn’t visit, so we only have to deal with her on lovely occasions such as Christmas.”

             
Hiding behind the drink she was about to sip, Julie muttered, “Probably because she’ll melt.”

             
I tried to keep my giggles silent ‘cause I didn’t think either of her sons were close enough to hear that, but Julie and I shared a look of camaraderie and raised to clink our glasses. “I’m gonna need your digits before we leave this place.”
Gotta
find all the allies I can.

             
“Alright…” Robert’s grip tightened against my shoulder. “We’ll catch up with you guys later.”

             
I waved goodbye as Robert’s fingertips drifted down my arm to my hand, then led me through the sea of people and up the stairs. Gratefully, he bypassed the media room, where a bunch of young adults our age had
congregated…including little Miss Robert’s-wife-wannabe, Anne
Bridgeway
. I really hated how amazing she looked in that sleek, black dress, even if she was revealing too much.

             
A tickle of sorts fluttered inside my stomach when I realized he was defiantly leading me into his bedroom, an action his mother still forbade and would probably castrate him for. Or more likely go after me, as I doubt she’d ever do anything to her precious son. He closed the door behind us, flicking on the table lamp, which dimly lit up the warm tones of mahogany wood, silky midnight blue linens, and what I would consider these garish gold accents.

             
No, it didn’t look like this when Robert lived here as a kid. It wasn’t until he went away to Pennington that his mother took the fun out of it and made it seem like he’d never spent a day in his life here.

             
Admiring the plumpness of the bed, I meandered towards it and sat on the monstrous pillow top. Robert chose the desk to lean against, which was about ten feet farther from where I wanted him right now.

             
“Alright. Give it to me straight. All of it. I want to be prepared when my mother ambushes me.”

             
I rolled my eyes at the thought, imagining her waiting, practically itching, to strike against my happiness. I moved to sip more of my concoction but the stench was like a two-by-four to the face, snapping my head in the opposite direction. I set it down on the bedside table, sure to use the coaster in order to avoid the wrath of Penelope for making a water ring on her expensive furniture.

             
I sighed, then whined, “God! It wasn’t even a big deal but the woman is just so
freakin
’ nosy. Did you know she was checking behind on all your purchases?”

             
His eyes darkened when he scowled. “Really? Technically, my father was responsible for handling my trust once my grandfather died. I’ve been given a partial, but the full amount won’t come until I’m twenty-five, so I’m afraid that gives my mother some access by association. But I’m with you, if she’s monitoring my credit card statements, then we’re going to have to start buying things with cash from now on.

             
“What exactly did she see that upset her?”

             
I pursed my lips. “Bus tickets to Penn State.”

             
His eyes scrunched up a bit. Confused, he asked, “For you? Or for someone else?”

             
“For me. Remember when you came back from
Bucknell
and I told you I met up with an old friend?”

             
“Vaguely.”

             
Uh…yeah. I told him when he was sick on purpose. Sue me – I was totally hoping he’d forget that confession.

             
“Well, I heard through the grapevine that he got hurt with some sort of head trauma.” I leaned sideways and allowed the side of my head to rest against the high bedpost. “When we were in high school, he was in a coma for six months before I met him at the hospital, and I knew the doctors were worried about how his brain would recover. So when I heard he’d been in another accident and I couldn’t find out how he was doing, I decided to just hop on the bus and go visit him for a few hours.”

             
“Why didn’t you tell me about all this?”

             
I shrugged. “I did, I just didn’t elaborate. I was back the same day, my friend was fine, and life went on,
ya
’ know?”

             
“Well, I guess my mother thinking you slipped off to meet another guy wasn’t completely unfounded then, was it?”

             
I smiled weakly, the brunt of the alcohol really beginning to daze me now. “No, I suppose not. But forgive me; I didn’t realize I needed to run all my actions through an approval process first.”

             
He chuckled as he rose and strutted towards me. My heart tried to
amp
up from anticipation, but thanks to the numbness overtaking my body, it could only sputter its excitement. “No, baby. You don’t. You’re allowed to be friends with whoever you want and see them whenever you want.” His lips gently brushed my forehead, feather-light, as his hand reached out to caress my face, stroking my cheek softly. “And don’t worry about my mother. I’ll talk to my father. See if I can’t get him to pull her rein in a bit. Months, if not years, of snooping and this is all she’s come up with? She needs to quit bugging us and let us live our lives already.

             
“But just in case, what do you want me to say if she corners me?”