Shadows (13 page)

"Dad, just tell me what you want to say."
Zipping my bag shut, I turn to look at him.

"Isn't this quick? You barely know him. Do you
know his family? Can you trust him?" My dad cares immensely for me
and I love him for it.

"I can't breathe with him around me dad. I
don't feel like I'm suffocating with him near me.” I wring my hands
together and look into my dad's eyes. “He's my
fireworks."

"Oh…I hope you know what you are doing,
Evelyn. This is a big step in any relationship, but especially a
new one. You know, your mom tried to tell me this was happening. I
didn't believe her. I swore up and down this morning, it was going
to be just you coming to the house today. If he so much as makes
you cry one tear, you let me know. Okay?"

"I'll let you know, Dad. I promise." Grabbing
my bag, I sling it on my shoulder. I'm sure Theron could use some
rescuing by now. I walk into the kitchen and my dad takes my bag
from me.

"I'll just put this in his car then." My dad
nods to Theron.

"Babe, can you unlock Badass for me?" Theron
stares at me like I've lost my mind.

"Unlock, what?"

"Badass." I shrug my shoulders. The name
seemed to fit to me.

"Did you name my car?"

"Yep." I have a huge grin on my face. Theron
laughs and shakes his head at me. He hits the button on his keys
and my dad walks out to put my bag in the car.

My mom walks up to me and squeezes me tightly
in her arms. "I told him you wouldn't be staying. He wouldn’t
listen to me. Enjoy yourself, Eve. Relax and have fun." Kissing my
cheeks, she smiles over my shoulder at Theron.

I look at Robert, but he doesn't say a word.
He's leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. I
think he's the only one who isn't okay with this.

"Bye, Robert." I give him a wave and Theron
holds my hand as we walk out of the house and down the driveway. As
I slide into the passenger seat, I notice Robert standing on the
porch.

"I love you, butthead. Call me if you need
me." He gives me a slight wave and walks back into the house. I
knew he wouldn't be able to let me leave without saying
goodbye.

The drive home is short and quiet. Simply
Three is playing through the speakers in the car. I really need to
download their album. They are absolutely amazing. As we pull up in
front of the guest house, I notice a black BMW in the driveway.
Theron parks the car and nervously looks around.

"Fuck. Not today." He runs his hands through
his hair, and my favorite lock of his hair falls back on his
forehead.

"What's the matter, babe?" Looking over at
him, I grab his hand. I can tell he's bothered, but I'm not sure by
whom or what.

"My dad's here. I'm really sorry, Eve. The
probability of this being a pleasant experience is very slim." He
steps out of the car, and walks around to open my door for me. I
take Theron's hand and I see a man in black suit standing in the
doorway of his gram's house. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm
myself. I'm so nervous. Theron's hands are sweaty and it's not very
reassuring.

Chapter 7

T
heron is pacing back
and forth in front of the fireplace. I'm not sure what to say or
do. I've already unpacked my bag, adding the clothes to the dresser
and closet I'm using in the spare room. Whenever someone is upset,
my mom makes them food. I'm not sure if it will help, but it's
worth a shot.

"Babe, are you okay? I could make you
something to eat, maybe a drink?" I watch as he continues pacing.
"Theron? Babe?" I touch his arm softly and he stops. He pulls me
into him and buries his head in my neck.

"You smell so good, Beautiful." Curling his
arms around me, he picks me up off the floor. I tightly wrap my
legs around him as we walk to the couch. He sits down and I
straddle his lap.

"You okay?" I chew the inside of my cheek. I'm
incredibly worried about him and I have no clue how to help
him.

"No, to be honest, I'm not okay. I hate him,
Eve. He blames me for everything that's gone wrong in his life." He
lets out a deep sigh as he closes his eyes.

"Babe…how can he blame you?"

"My mom always gave me her undying attention.
I remember they would fight about me. He wanted to send me away to
school, but she wouldn't have it. I adored her. She was so
beautiful. Her voice was sweet like honey, and her skin was soft
and warm. She knew how to fix everything for me. I got teased a lot
when I was younger. She wouldn't stand for it. She pushed me to
stand up for myself. I felt like I could conquer the world." He
looks into my eyes as he winds his fingers through the ends of my
hair. "She started getting sick when I was around eleven or so. She
was diagnosed with cancer almost a year later. She fought long and
hard, but passed away the summer I turned fourteen. He blamed me
for her death. Towards the end she favored me, she didn't want him
around anymore. He was always angry and yelling about things. She
would try to calm him down, but it would never work. She quit
speaking to him and would only ask for me. I held her hand the
night she passed. I was completely heartbroken and left all alone."
Sighing he hangs his head down. I tilt his head up with my fingers
so I can see his gorgeous sad eyes.

"Oh, Theron, I'm so sorry. Was your gram not
there? Where were your friends?"

"Gram tried her best for me. She had seen what
my dad had become. She protected me to the best of her ability." I
lean in and kiss his forehead. Tears sting my eyes. My heart hurts
so badly for him. I can't imagine having to go through something so
awful on my own.

"And your friends?"

"I didn't have any. I had one friend a long
time ago and I wasn't able to keep them long. I used to sneak out
my bedroom window at Gram's house during the summer to see them. It
was the first time in my life someone accepted me for who I was
besides my mom. My dad quickly put a stop to it though."

I'm speechless. How can someone cast their
child away after such a loss? How can a parent put such heavy blame
on a child? Moving in so quickly makes so much sense now. He's
never been able to keep anything, so what he does have, he keeps
close. I sit quietly in his lap for a little while longer. I lay my
head on his shoulder and he holds me tightly to him.

His phone rings in his pocket and he looks up
at me. I try my best to muster a brave smile for him. Shifting me
off him, he walks away as he answers his phone. He's in the kitchen
leaning against the island staring straight at me. He doesn't say
much to the other person on the phone. After sighing a lot, he
finally ends the phone call with a rather harsh, "Fine!"

"How do you feel about making an appearance
over at my grams? My dad would like to speak with me. I can't
imagine this going well. You can stay here if you like. My gram
won't allow him in here." He's chewing on his bottom lip. I can
tell he's either nervous or scared, maybe both.

"I'll go." I say softly. I walk to him and he
reaches for my hands holding them both in between his.

"I'm sorry for anything he says or does ahead
of time. His opinions of things are not mine. Okay?"

"No problem." Standing on my toes, I brush a
soft kiss against his lips.

His arm is around my waist holding me close to
his side as we walk in the front double door of his gram's house.
The grandeur of his gram's house is unreal. Everything is so
elegant and perfectly placed. The front doors open into a beautiful
foyer with dark hardwood floors. A grand staircase curves along the
side of the wall leading to an open balcony at the top. The railing
is beautifully carved along with the trim in the room. There is a
small circular marble table in the center of the foyer with
beautiful floral centerpiece. To our left is a hallway with floor
to ceiling windows. There is a large entrance to another room on
our right. Theron takes my hand and guides me through it. We take a
small step down and I am now standing in a grand dining room. We
walk past the elegant table and chairs towards the back of the room
where it opens into a very large kitchen and family room. Modern
and classic elegance are perfectly matched throughout the house.
Isa and Theron's dad are sitting at a small breakfast nook
surrounded by more windows.

"Eve, it's so lovely to see you again. How are
things?" His gram is wearing a beautiful summer dress with a cream
sweater around her shoulders. Her hair is pinned up into a bun with
a few strands loose around her face. She always looks so beautiful.
She walks over to me and softly kisses my cheeks.

Returning her kisses, I give her a soft smile.
"I'm doing well, thank you for asking, Isa."

"Right. Well, now that we got all this formal
crap out of the way, why don't you and I take a walk to the
library? I will leave the arrogant jerk to speak with his son."
Once again my mouth hangs open. She has such a way with
words.

"Mother, that was uncalled for." Theron's dad
stands and straightens his suit. He glances at me with a look of
disgust before turning to Theron. "We have things to discuss and I
have more important issues to deal with, so if we can get
started."

Theron holds up his hands to cut him off.
"Don't. If you want to speak to me you will do it respectfully.
Obviously, it's important and worth your time if you have decided
to make yourself present." Theron turns me towards him, softly
grasping my shoulders in his hands. "Beautiful, feel free to go
with my gram. She has a library full of books waiting to be read.
You will feel right at home. I'll deal with him and then I'll come
find you. Okay?" Kissing my forehead, he gives me a small
smile.

"Come on, Eve. I'm sure you will love it." Isa
stands and shoots her son a despising look. Hooking her arm into
mine, we walk out into the dining room towards the
foyer.

"You have such a beautiful home." I give her a
soft smile and she pats my hand as we continue down the hallway
towards a very large dark mahogany door. Isa pushes the door open
and immediately I notice the cathedral ceiling and marble
fireplace. The wall to my left is adorned with huge arched windows
with dark leather chairs placed perfectly between them. The
fireplace and the other walls are covered in books. There are two
leather couches in the center of the room with a light colored
marble table between them. I'm in heaven. My hand is covering my
mouth. I look at Isa and she has a huge grin on her
face.

"I knew you would love it. Theron's told me of
your love for books."

"He did? I didn't realize I told him." His
gram gives me an odd look. She opens her mouth as if she might say
something else, but she shakes her head instead. I'm taking in my
surroundings slowly walking along the shelves, my fingers brushing
over the spines of the books. "Amazing, just amazing."

"I'll leave you to it. I don't trust Thomas
and Theron in the same room together. Thomas may be my son, but
other than being blood, I'll deny him as family. He was always such
a crude business man, and I never questioned him. When his
crudeness and cruelty started coming home with him from work, I had
my say with him. He's a spoiled man, and I blame myself mostly for
that. My husband worked incredibly hard for us and I was able to
give Thomas a life most dream of. I didn't intend to raise him
feeling entitled. I've always been kind to others, no matter their
situation. After Elizabeth died, Thomas became unbearable. I
stepped in and protected Theron as best as I could." She wipes a
tear from her eye. I'm not sure if she's crying because she's hurt
or angry, but I know it's Thomas' fault.

"I'm sorry, I didn’t know."

"Most don't. I'm going to go check on them
now." Frowning, she walks away. There's definitely a lot of drama
between Theron and his dad. I feel his gram knows more, but doesn't
want to say anything.

I walk around looking the books some more
before grabbing one off the shelves. I take a seat in one of the
dark leather chairs. I brush the cover with my fingers and open it
gently. It's old. I bury my nose in it and inhale the scent of
pages.

"Wow. Are you sniffing that book?" My eyes are
huge as I look over to the doorway. Theron walks over to me taking
the book from my hands and he laughs. "Of all the times I've been
in this room, I have never in my life, witnessed someone sniffing
the books." He holds his other hand out for me and pulls me up from
the chair.

"I don't like being laughed at." I try my best
to give him a mean glare, but his smile is contagious.

"I'm sorry. I promise not to do it again, but
you surprised me." He lays the book on the table as we leave the
library. "I ordered some pizza for dinner tonight. I hope you don't
mind.” Before I can respond, I hear yelling coming from the foyer.
I look over at Theron, fear is emanating from him. He drags me
behind him as he picks up his pace almost running down the
hall.

"Get out. I won't tolerate your arrogance in
my house. You're a cruel man. I did not raise you this way. What on
earth has made you so hateful?" Isa is pointing at the front doors
for Thomas to leave. The anger in his face changes into and
devilish grin as he sees Theron approaching.