Love and Lies (21 page)

The screen lit up with a text message notification from Alec. I flipped it open with one hand and nearly dropped the phone.

The text from Alec read
Umm, they’re here.

The clerk looked at me in disgust
as I dropped everything on the floor. Eric walked in behind me, bumping into my back when I froze. “Fuck.”

In a rush, I gathered up the bags
.

“What’s going on?” Eric asked.

I pushed him out of the way, and dialed Alec's number, ignoring Eric’s question. He would follow, and I’d fill him in once we had a cab and were on the way back to the hotel.

Before Alec said “hello”
the questions gushed out. “What do they know? Who told them?” I heard laughter in the background. “Who the hell is there with you?”

Alec cut me off.
“Slow down, speed racer. Sean’s with me. Well, not technically, I stepped out of the room to call you. I called your parents right after you left, but I didn't talk to them. They didn't answer, so I hung up. I don't know how they figured out where we were staying or why they came over here. Now, where are you? I don't want you going off the handle and doing something irrational.”

“
Irrational?” I squealed.

Eric guided me with his hand on my lower back to a free spot on the curb.

“Why do you think I'd do something irrational? Besides, what do you consider irrational? Cutting you out of my life, is that irrational? Why did you call them? Did you not hear me tell Eric I would call? Jesus.” I signaled to a cab. When it pulled up next to the curb I tossed my bags in and climbed in and Eric gave the driver directions. “Bye, Alec.”

I took a deep breath
, hoping to calm down.

“So Alec called your parents?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, but he said they didn’t answer. Who knows how they found out where we’re staying.”

At the hotel
, the bellhop helped us with the bags, following Eric and me to the room. He placed the bags on the couch, and I tipped him before shutting the door quickly. Footsteps shuffled out of the bedroom, and I braced myself against the door before turning to see who was there.

Someone cleared their throat, an encouragement for me to turn around. I balled my hands into fists, slowly turning around, hoping it wasn't
my supposed best friend standing behind me. The shaggy hair brown was first to catch my glare, then his dark brown eyes. I leapt for Alec with my hands outstretched to wrap around his neck and squeeze.

Eric caught me
mid-air and held me out at arm's length. I sputtered obscenities at Alec, my arms and legs flailing trying to make contact with any body part I could get to. At that point I wanted to inflict pain. I didn't really care how or where. Finally, my foot made contact with something, but it wasn't Alec I made contact with. It was Eric, and it was the one place I'd never intentionally plan to kick a guy. He doubled over in pain, dropping me to the floor. I fell beside him, the wind knocked out of me.

“
Oh, my God. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Eric, look at me please. I'm sorry.”

Eric shook his head and whined.

I turned to Alec. “Can't you help him? Get him a bag of ice or something.”

Alec motioned to Sean then turned his gaze on me.
“So is there a reason you decided to try and attack me?”

“Why the hell did you call my parents? What were you thinking?” I let out a long sigh. “Seriously, what were you thinking?”

I flopped down on
to the couch and threw my head back, pushing the bags out of the way so I didn't sit on them. My head landed with a loud thump.

“
I was only trying to help out,” Alec said.

Alec and Sean
supported Eric as he limped to the oversized chair opposite the couch, where he stretched out. Eric sat there a few minutes before making a sound. When he did, it was a quiet whimper.

“
Where are they anyway?” I looked around the room, coming to the realization that they weren't there. I probably should have paid closer attention to that when I'd initially come back.

Sean and Alec traded guarded glances with each other.

I tapped my foot on the floor. “I'm waiting.”

“Seriously, baby girl, I don’t know where they are. Sean and I excused ourselves to the bedroom to formulate a plan
, and when we returned, your parents were gone. No note, nothing. I’m not even sure they remembered me when I introduced myself.”

“Please. They may act ignorant, but they know you.
Since you and I met, you’ve been the only friend I did anything with.”

Alec shrugged.

“Maybe so. Didn’t seem that way to me.” Sean voiced his agreement.

“
I'm sorry for kicking you.” I didn't know what else to say to Eric. The adrenaline rush left me without much energy to fight. “I'm gonna go put my clothes up.” With my bags in hand, I went back to the bedroom.

Putting away my clothes gave me some time to gather myself back up. With the blackouts
, and then Alec, it was a pretty good guarantee that I looked a mess. After twenty minutes or so, I heard Eric yelling back at me.

“
What?” I asked, as I thrust the doors open.

“Are you hungry? We can order room service if you want.”

“
Where are Alec and Sean?”

“
Oh, they're staying in another room. They left a few minutes ago. Alec said something about giving you some space. I don't think it was that as much as he wanted to be alone with Sean. You know, he felt like shit for calling your parents.”

“
When did we get another room? I thought they were all sold out.”

“
Alec called and begged his way into it after you hung up on him earlier.”

Served him right.

“Yeah, order pizza. I'm hungry. I want pepperoni.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

I needed to call my parents. I still wanted them to meet Eric
, and there was a nagging desire to talk to them about why I left New York. It's not like I thought it was going to be some after-school special where I spilled my soul, we all made up, and lived happily ever after. I just thought one of the only ways for me to work through everything with Eric and my parents was to talk about it. Talking wasn't anything I was used to, it hadn't worked in the past, and I still wasn't convinced it would work now. But for my own sanity, I had to try.

“
Hello.” I choked out.

“
Who is this?”

“
It's me, Carissa.”

A pause
. Then, in a voice all too bright, Mom spoke. “Carissa, sweetheart. How are you? Your dad and I heard you were in town.”

Liar.
No one had told them, but it didn’t matter any more. “Umm, yeah. Alec told me you stopped by my hotel room. Look, Mom, I want to come by and introduce you and Dad to someone. We’re only in town for another couple of days, so I kind of need to come over soon.”

“
Oh, w-well, we have a party tonight, and your dad's been busy getting ready for a fashion show. He's been spending a lot of time at the office working with the new designs. I'll talk to him and see when we can get some time. I'd really like to see you, sweetie.”

It was strange to me. My parents weren't around growing up, but my mom nearly had a nervous breakdown when she thought I'd been kidnapped. They'd tagged me with bodyguards to make sure I was always safe, but they couldn't take five minutes out of their busy schedule to meet someone.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“
Goodbye, sweetie. I will tell your father that you called.”

I sighed and stared at the phone. Unshed tears bu
rned my eyes, damn emotions. I was pretty sure I'd formed a solid hatred toward them. All it seemed to do when I showed a feeling other than happy was cause trouble.

Eric sat
next to me on the sofa with his hand on mine. “She’ll call. Don't worry.”

I didn't look at him, just nodded.
“And if they don't?”

“
Then we go over there just like they showed up here.”

“
So, what's on the agenda today?”

I had to give Eric credit for trying. He knew how difficult it would be to see my parents, but he was trying to be there for me while not discouraging me. Still, I didn't know what I wanted to do. The plan was for my mom to tell me to come over as soon as I called. Then I was going to use the Broadway show we had tickets for as an excuse to leave.

“I dunno. Seeing them
was
the agenda. What do you want to do?”

Eric searched the room
—I was pretty sure he was trying to come up with something to do, but it looked more like he was lost. My phone rang, saving him from coming up with a new plan.

Eric grabbed it before I could. His voice was rough.
“Hello?”

I reached for my phone and mouthed,
“Give it to me.”

Eric smirked and shook his head.
“Oh, Mrs. Stein. Just a second please, I'll get her.”

He handed my phone to me
, and at the same time he kissed me to keep me from talking. “Just a minute, Mom,” I yelled, hoping she'd hear me. I shoved Eric back. “Sorry. Did you get a chance to talk to Dad?”

“
Yes. He's on his way home now. Can you come on over?”

“
Sure, we'll be there in half an hour. Is that okay?”

“
That will be fine. We’ll see you then.”

I stood and shoved the phone in my pocket.
“Get your shoes on. We're going over there.”

I wanted to take the subway, but there was too much of a chance we'd be late. Outside the hotel
, we got a cab and gave their address to the driver.

Eric studied me for a while.
“Are you going to be okay?”

“
Yeah, I'll be fine. I need to do this.”

“
Don't forget I'm here for you. I know you need this, it's the right thing to do.”

I shifted out from under Eric's arm, then called Alec. He didn't answer, so I left a voicemail.
“I'm headed to my parents. We'll see you tonight at the show. Don't be late. Love ya.”

The rest of the drive was quiet. I ran through everything I wanted to talk about and how to approach the topic. Mentally I'd prepared a script, that way I wouldn't get off topic or let my parents have control of the conversation. They were going to listen to me, whether they liked it or not.

When the cab stopped in front of my parents' place, I sat there frozen. Eric never said a word. He didn't push me to get out, just sat and waited for me to make the first move.

The driver looked back and asked if he was at the right place.

I shook off my worries. “Yeah,” I whispered.

Eric paid the driver while I got out.
He grabbed me around the waist and turned me to face him when I stumbled on the first step. “You don't have to do this, Carissa. No one will think less of you if you leave now.”

“
Yes, I do. I know you guys won't think less of me, but I will. If you and I are going to work things out, then I have to talk to them.”

I straightened my shirt and smoothed out my skirt before climbing the rest of the stairs.
Since I'd left, they moved into a loft off of Park Avenue. When we walked up, the doorman called Mom to let her know we'd arrived. She told us to come on up, the door was open.

Eric whistled when we walked in.
“Boy, your parents sure know how to live it up.”

I shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess so.” The first thing I noticed was how white everything was. The house I grew up in had been decorated in muted, natural tones. “Mom, I'm here.”

I heard her banging pots and pans. To my left was the living room, to my right a hallway. I went to the right
, following the banging noise. Down the hall we turned into the dining room, where Mom had her elaborate cherry dining room table, big enough to seat fifteen set with her best china. Apparently the party was at their house tonight. That explained why Dad was coming home early.

I stuck my head around the corner to see the kitchen. It was just as white as the rest of the house, with one exception; all the appliances were black
, giving the room a very sharp contrast. “Mom, why are you in here with the pots and pans? Where is Sheila?” She looked stressed. Her hair was frizzy and flying around everywhere. She had an apron haphazardly tied around her waist, and it smelled like something was burning. “Are you cooking?” No answer.

“Mrs. Stein.”

As soon as Eric spoke
, she jumped ten feet in the air.

“
Huh, who's—oh, Carissa.” A smile spread across her face, and she swiped her hair out of her eyes. “My baby girl is home. I've missed you so much.” With her arms spread open, she enveloped me in a very uncomfortable hug.

I stood there. When she didn't let go
, I patted her back with one hand. “Hi, Mom.”

“
Let's go sit.” At the sight of Eric, she stopped. “I'm sorry, I don't remember your name.”

Eric held out his hand.
“Mrs. Stein. It's nice to meet you again. I'm—”

I cut him off.
“Mom, when is Dad going to be home?”

She looked at her watch.
“He should be here any minute. Oh no, I must look a mess. You two make yourselves comfortable. I think there are some drinks in the refrigerator.” She patted me on the head. “Your father is so excited to see you.”

“
Ugh, she's so 'effin annoying,” I murmured to her back when she walked away.

Eric's eyebrows furrowed.
“'Effin? Since when do you censor your words?”

I waved him off.
“Since we stepped over the threshold of my parents' home. My mom would smack me if she heard me talk the way I do at times.” I bent in front of the fridge. “You want anything to drink? It looks like we have water and water.”

“
Nah, I'm fine. Why didn't you let me introduce myself to your mom?”

I grabbed a bottle of wa
ter and shoved the door closed. “Because I don't want to explain who you are twice, and before you say anything, yes, I will have to say something twice. My mom won't comprehend it enough to tell Dad.”

“
I have to be honest. I thought your mom would be more Real Housewife of NYC than she is.”

I choked on the drink I'd just taken
.

Eric rubbed my back.
“Didn't mean to choke you up.”

“
Mom is a mix of Real Housewife and Suzie Homemaker. She plays the perfect hostess for their parties, but when no one's around, the claws come out and the b-i-t-c-h comes to play.”

“
What do you mean? I've never had any problems with her when we talked on the phone.” Eric's lips tightened when he realized the mistake he made.

I balle
d my hands in fists at my side.

“
Carissa, I—I'm sorry.” He mumbled 'shit' under his breath.

I clenched and unclenched my fists.
“It's fine. This is why I need to talk to them. Otherwise, we're going to get into awkward situations like this all the time where you're walking on a tight rope afraid to upset me, and I'm ready to knock you off of it.”

Eric and I made our way back down the hall into the living room. Apparently
, when my parents moved, they replaced most of their furniture too. The room was decorated in a nouveau style with sharp corners and funky designs. It smelled of fresh paint and made me crinkle my nose. “Do you smell that?”

“
Yeah, smells like new paint.”

“
It gives me a headache. Come on, might as well relax.”

I flipped through Mom's most recent
Southern Living
magazine. I never understood why she had the subscription. It wasn't like she'd ever lived in the South. Hell, from what I knew, she'd never even visited. Eric sat next to me, twitching his thumbs, clasping and unclasping his hands. I placed my hand on his knee to calm him. A jangle of keys and a twist of the doorknob had my back straightening. Dad was home.

It wasn't that I was afraid of him, but Dad was the man of the house. Mom did whatever he said to do. If he said jump, she
asked how high. When I told them about Igor, Dad was the one who told Mom I was crazy. She believed him unquestioningly.

“
Hello?” There was uncertainty in his voice. I began to wonder if Mom had told him I was coming over.

I stood and walked to the corner of the couch. Eric started to follow
, but I shook my head and held a finger to wait. “Dad, we're in here.”

“
Carissa.” He stopped when he saw me leaning on the corner of the couch. “What are you doing here?”

That confirmed my suspicion.
“Mom didn't tell you we were coming over.” It wasn't a question. I didn't need him to answer.

“
Where is your mother, anyway?” He noticed Eric with a fleeting glance, and a nod.

Eric didn't acknowledge my dad
.

“
She's upstairs,” I answered.

“
Gayle, I'm home!” He started walking upstairs, shouting at Mom, leaving us sitting awkwardly on the couch.

He came back with a Coke in hand.
“So, what brings you by? I figured you didn't want to see us, considering you didn't bother to tell us you were coming home. We had to find out from Alec.” Alec's name was said with a snarl.

“
Yeah, about that, I was going to call, but Alec got to it before I did. Let's just say I wasn't happy with him.” I picked the magazine back up.

Shortly after that
, Mom came back downstairs. Her hair was fixed, and she'd changed into a pale pink sundress. She walked over to where Dad sat eyeing Eric and drinking his Coke. “Hello, darling,” she said, before kissing him on the cheek.

I checked my watch. We had a few hours before the show, but I didn't want to stay any longer than necessary.
“So, Mom and Dad I guess you're probably wondering why I'm here.”

The fact that Mom
sat on the arm of Dad's chair was a good indication that they didn't plan on Eric and I being around long. If they wanted to really spend time with us she would have sat on the couch, as prim and proper as ever. Now she was tense and from the creases across her brow—nervous. I had to get this over with.

In unison they responded,
“Yes.”

“
First, I want to introduce you to my boyfriend Eric”

They both looked to each other
. Dad's eyes turned down.

“
Yes, the Eric that you hired as my bodyguard. Except you didn't bother telling me, did you?”