Twisted Reality (Blind Reality #2) (26 page)

I
know Joey is standing there, watching me—along with Rob, Bronx, and now Rebekah—but I can’t move. Today is supposed to be a good day … no a great day, and yet the name that fell from my wife’s lips has the power to ruin it all.

“Babe,” Joey says again. I shake my head to bring myself back to reality. “The phone.” She points over her shoulder toward the house and, more specifically, the table where we put our keys and where, currently, the house phone which has my mother waiting on the other end, is sitting patiently.

Swallowing hard, I look at Rob and Bronx for advice even though they have nothing to say. The only one here who has even come close to meeting my mother is Rob and I saved him from that agony.

“Babe,” Joey says again, but this time she’s tugging on my shirt. “Is that your mom?”

Letting out a huge breath, I run my hand through my hair. “Yeah it is, but I haven’t told her where we live. I don’t know how she found us.”

“Okay, well she’s on the phone. What do you want me to tell security?”

“Shit,” I mutter, knowing full well that I can’t send my mother away and thankful we don’t have any of our spare bedrooms except for one available.

“Rob, go in the room by the garage and mess up the bed or something. I’m not letting my mom stay here.”

I walk into the house with Rob and Joey on my heels. Joey is standing next to me when I pick up the phone. Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose.

“You can let her in,” I tell the guard.

“Sure thing, Mr. Wilson.” He hangs up, sealing my fate. I lean against the table and inhale and exhale deeply, trying to calm my nerves.

“Is she that bad?” Joey rubs my shoulder, and while her touch usually calms me, it’s not doing much to push my anxiety away.

I nod.

“If we handled Jules, this should be easy, right?”

“She’s like Jules on crack,” I groan.

“Oh.”

Pulling Joey into my arms, I hold her as tightly as I can until the doorbell rings. Rob walks by, muttering something as he heads back outside.

“My parents don’t know about you, unless they watched the show. I meant to tell them, but you’ll see why I didn’t once you meet her. My father is just as bad, but in a different way. All they want is money, or the fame that goes with being ‘Joshua Wilson’s’ parents. I can’t remember how many times they’ve been remarried, but I know it’s over five.”

“You told me in the house.”

“Right.” I nod, taking her hand in mine. We walk the few steps to the front door. “Oh, and she wears nothing but gold and diamonds. They’re mostly fake, but she doesn’t care. God you’re beautiful,” I tell her before I kiss her.

Joey shocks me by reaching for the door. She swings it open as I stand behind her. My mother is looking away until she hears the door and turns slowly, taking in Joey before her eyes rise to meet mine.

“Did she sign a pre-nup?” My mother doesn’t wait to be invited in. No, she brushes past Joey, bumping into her as if she’s not standing right there.

I chuckle bitterly to myself and shake my head. Some things never change.

“Are you stupid? Is that how I raised you?” She holds her arm out toward us, indicating to the shawl draped over it, and eyes Joey.

“She’s not your maid, Mother.”

She scoffs. “I’m her mother-in-law.”

“Only on paper,” I say, hoping to remind her of where she stands in my life. It’s a shame, but not uncommon, for parents of actors to act like this. They have expectations that aren’t often met and expect to control every aspect of their child’s life. I think it kills my mother that she’s never been in control of my money.

“Well on paper I am everything to you.” My mother eyes me defiantly and I find it comical.

Joey leans into me for moral support—or maybe to remind me that if I kill my mother I will no longer know what it feels like to have Joey touch me, given that I’ll be behind bars for murder.

“To answer your question, no I’m not stupid, and considering you didn’t raise me I think I’ll leave that question alone. As for what’s on paper, you’re no longer the beneficiary on any of my accounts, Joey is and that isn’t going to change any time soon.” It feels damn good to say that to her and watch her face morph into something very few have seen.

“What about your father?”

I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of her question. Always trying to one up him, or telling me that if I do something for him I have to do it for her.

“He’s not either. Now tell me, who can I thank for your unfortunate arrival?”

“Josh,” Joey chides. Even after the backhanded comment my mother made about her, she’s still wants me to be nice. Unfortunately, I don’t care enough about my mother’s feelings to really give a shit.

“Yes, maybe you should listen to your wife about how you speak to me.”

“Give my wife an hour and she’ll be saying the same thing. So again, how did you find out where I live and what do you want?”

Instead of answering, she snubs her nose and walks into the house. I can’t imagine what she’s thinking right now. This house, by far, is nicer than anything she’s ever owned. Each marriage for her has been about social status and class. Each new husband has to have a bigger bank account than the last or he has to be younger with an influx of money coming in.

“Mother.” My tone is a warning, letting her know that I’m not going to continue to play this game with her.

“My daughter-in-law called me.”

I look at Joey, who blanches and shakes her head.

“Joey did no such thing. She didn’t even know your name until security called to let us know you were at the gate, so try again.”

“I don’t mean
her
,” my mother sneers as she points toward Joey. “My sweet Jules, she called all upset that you were cheating on her and that you left her pregnant and alone.”

I groan loudly, wondering when the hell my life is going to be somewhat normal for one day. That is all I want. One day where I don’t have to hear about Jules.

“I don’t even know where to start with this bullshit, Mother. First of all, you’ve never met Jules so you don’t even know what she’s like. Second, Jules and I were not together when I married Joey, not that it’s any of your business. Third, while she’s pregnant, the baby is not mine and I have the proof.” I take a deep breath and Joey places her hand on my back, rubbing smoothly. “If you’re concerned about Jules, I suggest you go to her place and spend some time with her. I’m sure you guys can bond over the antics you both use to get men.”

She waves her hand as if she’s dismissing me. “But you’re my son, clearly you want me to spend time with you. Besides, you were raised better then this. You love Jules. You should be there for her. It shouldn’t matter that the baby isn’t yours.”

Once again I find myself pinching the bridge of my nose. I have no doubt Bronx, Rob, and Rebekah are laughing at my expense as they listen to my mother. The only thing that would make this moment even better is if Matt and Jules show up. My life is turning into a freaking circus.

I’m trying to come up with a response that doesn’t hurt her feelings, not that I care. I know I should be excited that she’s here, but her intentions aren’t pure.

“You know what, Mother—”

Joey interrupts me. “We love for you to visit. You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner as well,” Joey answers for me. I want to scream because she invited her for dinner, but she did the same for Jules. Maybe I should remind her that her good faith intentions toward Jules came back to bite us in the ass. I’ll be sure not to let my mother wander around my house unsupervised. I wouldn’t put it past her to pocket something she thinks has value.

“Yes, that will be fine. Would you mind showing me to my room? I’m exhausted from traveling and need to freshen up.”

“Um …” Joey looks at up at me, her eyes full of worry.

“We just moved in and our spare bedroom is already occupied by Rob. You’ll have to find someplace else to stay.”

The shocked and hurt look on her face doesn’t bother me even though it should. I don’t care if we had all the rooms made up, I wouldn’t let her stay here. She never had time for me when I was growing up, I don’t know why I have to bend over backwards for her now.

“Well, I’ll be.”

“You should’ve called first. I could’ve saved you the drive up the hill if I knew you were in town. I’m sure there are vacancies somewhere.”

She brushes me off again and heads toward the patio. I have no doubt she’ll start drinking, forcing the issue that she won’t be able to drive later.

“So help me—”

“It’ll be fine, Josh.” Joey wraps her arms around my waist. “Remember, I love you and there isn’t anything she can say or do that is going to change that. And those people out there, they’re our friends, not Jules’, so even if your mother starts spouting crap about her they’ll shut her down. She’s outnumbered here.”

“She shouldn’t even be here.”

“You’re right, she shouldn’t, but clearly Jules is grasping at anything to keep you in her life. I feel sorry for her, honestly.”

“Me too.”

I kiss Joey lightly, wishing that we were the only ones in our house. “I’m sorry she’s here,” I tell her, looking into her eyes. She smiles softly and that’s enough to make things okay.

“We’ll deal. It’s what we do best.”

“Yeah, but I’m tired of dealing. I’m honestly surprised you haven’t left me yet with all this drama surrounding me.”

“Ha,” she says, laughing. “Next week when the cameras start following us around you can remind me why I’m still with you.”

I gently tug on her ponytail. “You’re getting the wedding of your dreams and you don’t have to lift a finger. In my opinion, that should make me the best husband ever.”

Joey rolls her eyes and laughs. “Come on, we have company that we have to entertain.” She drags me outside even though I come willingly. When we get out there, everyone is sitting around the table, about to eat.

“Oh, I have stuff in the refrigerator,” Joey says. Rebekah stands and offers to help. I want to run back into the house, but Rob and Bronx look at me like they need to be saved. Reluctantly, I sit down next to my mother.

“You have a very nice house here.”

“Thank you,” I say, honestly. The compliment is unexpected, but I’ll take it.

“Does she work and pay rent or does she just clean and give you sex?”

Bronx spits his beer out all over the table and starts coughing. Rob pats his back and any ounce of compassion I had for this women is now gone. The gasp coming from my right is from Joey, who heard everything.

“Actually, Joey owns the house.” Rebekah puts a bowl of potato salad down on the table. “She lets Josh live here.”

“Excuse me?” my mother says.

I look to Rebekah who smirks.

“In case you didn’t know, Joey is royalty as far as us Americans go.”

“How so?”

I roll my eyes at how my mother’s demeanor has changed suddenly.

“Well, I don’t know if I should really divulge Joey’s financial status. I mean that is really for her, you know, if she wants to tell you
who
exactly she is.”

I glance quickly at Joey, who is hanging her head. It’s only by chance that I see her laughing.