Wicked Flower (7 page)

She would come face to face with
him again.
Very likely tonight if Mrs. C’s was his first stop.
She felt dizzy. He could be there now.

I
actually have a house not too far from here. It’s uh, in Moonlight. We could
eat, talk. Have amazing sex.
Whatever you want.

What had she done?

More importantly, where could she
go?

Not there.
Definitely,
not there.

Too bad she didn’t have a choice.
She dug Mrs. C’s list out of her pocket and began smoothing her tangled hair.

Chapter Five

“Mom?” he called after opening
the front door. A gust of wind helped blow it open even further and he caught
the slab of wood just in time before it crashed against the inside wall. That
should be locked, he made a mental note. “Hello,
Ama
?”
he said, switching without thought to the Spanish his father had taught him as
a boy. “Mom?” he went back to, realizing she might not appreciate a reminder of
his dad.

Will walked up behind Stefan with
his one bag strapped across his shoulders. “Anyone home?” he asked. A boom of
thunder pounded loudly and dark clouds creeping across the blue parts of the
sky reminded him of the frequent childhood storms that had fascinated him but
kept him inside too often.

“Not sure. Door was unlocked so
I’m assuming.”

“This is where we’re staying,
right?”

Stefan searched the entryway to
the house which hadn’t changed in all these years. Same wood painted a creamy
brown color and the key rack still carved with a “C” hung as soon as you
entered. “That’s the plan,” he said. The whole point was to try and make up for
times past and get right with his mom once and for all. He hated that it had
taken her last fall to wake his ass up. Staying at his empty house nearby would
have been the asshole move to make. But he wouldn’t lie. He was glad to have it
as a backup.

“Hey brother, take a breath,”
said Will quietly with his hand on Stefan’s shoulder. Stefan did and felt his
shoulders relax.

Until he saw her
in the next second.

His heart sank to the pit of his
stomach.

Coming slowly down the stairs, she
was shorter and her hair that had still been mostly blonde seven years ago was
now all white.

“
Ven
paca
.”
Come here.

She hadn’t forgotten Dad’s
teachings either, what surprised Stefan was that she used them. Thrown off by
that, he set his bags down, wiped at his mustache which he forgot he had grown,
and went to her. She stayed on the last step which made her taller but not
nearly enough. He leaned over like he did when he was hugging Jaxon’s little
daughter back in Nashville.
“Hello, son.”
She kissed
his cheek and waited. He couldn’t move. Finally, she hugged him. Stefan made it
a point to lose his rigid stance, and his shock. “You look well, Stefan.” She
patted the sides of his arms.
“And your friend?”

If anyone should be complimenting
the other on their looks, it should be him admiring his mom. For having just entered
her seventies and making it through one of the harshest winters on record for
the northeast, she looked amazingly better than what he’d envisioned. Still had
a lot of her hair, it just wasn’t thick like his anymore and she’d always been
thin but seemed to have just enough meat on her bones. Her elbows poked out
from the short sleeves of her fuzzy coffee colored robe. Stefan remembered
she’d also asked about Will who cordially stood there smiling. God, what must
his mom think about the two of them and the ungodly amount of tattoos? He’d
meant to throw on a jacket like he always did the few times he’d visited, to
spare her the view. He hadn’t felt ashamed of himself or any of his friends in
a long time, but Mom was different. She didn’t see him like anyone else.

“Mom, this is my good friend,
Will Cordero. Will, this is my mom, Gina.”

“Will. It’s nice to meet you,”
his mom said in her northeastern accent.

“Mrs. Calderon.” Will dipped down
for a hug before Stefan could warn that his mom wasn’t the touchy feely type.
But she embraced his friend and smiled. “It’s great to finally meet one of my
son’s friends. Are you from California, Will?”

“Oh, no ma’am.
I was born not
too far from here, in Maryland actually. But I did meet Stefan in California.”

“And Stefan tells me you live in
Tennessee now. You boys really get around. How do you like it?”

“Very much,
ma’am.
It’s nice seeing the seasons change again. Kind of like right now.”

She smiled. Stefan didn’t know if
Will really
loved
their new hometown or if he was
just trying to be convincing for Mom.

Stefan was comforted to know some
of her strictness had mellowed and so far, it didn’t look like he’d need to go
hiding with his tail between his legs at the empty house. Even though she
didn’t go as far as to suggest
Will
call her Gina, there
was a warmth about her Stefan didn’t remember. Shit, maybe her added years and
frail health had done that. Kind of like that looming fortieth birthday had his
ass thinking about being a better son. She’d beat cancer in her sixties and
this damn osteoporosis now had shrunk her but she was still standing. Truth be
told, he’d been counting on her sternness to keep her going like it had when
Dad left them. He hoped she hadn’t softened up too much.

“Well, it’s good to have you both
here. Have you boys eaten?” she asked.

And just like that, it was as if
he’d never been asked to leave.

Like Mom had never looked at him
the same ashamed way she had his dad standing at the front door on their way
out. Dad had left her for another woman. Two years later, she’d asked Stefan to
leave because of a young girl who hadn’t known how to deal with being fourteen
and pregnant and had lied, throwing him under the bus, to save herself with her
parents and get rid of a responsibility he would have shared in.
  
 

Stefan wasn’t sure what he felt.
It was going to take more than a few minutes to sort it all out. But food was
always a good place to start.

He and Will answered on top of
each other.
“Starving.”
Apparently Will’s pizza hadn’t
done much for his buddy’s hunger. A sizzling memory of someone eating licorice
made his own gut twist. He had to stop thinking of that young woman. He stretched
his neck.

Stefan added, “I could cook you
something, Mom. What would you like?”

“Oh no.
Daniela
prepares something every morning. I’ll just take it out and we can reheat it.”

 
“Daniela?” he
asked,
the name vaguely familiar.

His mom’s eyebrows hiked ever so
slightly at his question. Was that the live-in nurse? He’d wondered whether his
mom had finally found someone compatible. He’d been sure to send her enough
money to cover those costs, even though she insisted her pension could handle
it. He hadn’t pushed when she’d said she didn’t need his help to find the right
person. Mom might be old but she wasn’t a pushover. She could handle her
business and he knew better than to suggest otherwise.

“Yes,” she said.
“My helper.
She’s out right now picking up my prescriptions.
Why don’t you boys put your things away and I’ll get plates out. We’ll set one
for Daniela, too.”

“Yes ma’am,” said Will.

Stefan nodded, unsure of the ease
of the situation but glad his mom seemed at peace.
Finally.
Maybe he could do this. Maybe his plan would work and she’d say yes to him and
the life he could give her in Nashville.

Upstairs Stefan motioned for Will
to follow him. Mom wasn’t the only thing that had shrunk in his absence. “Man,
I remember this place being so much bigger.” Will muttered something in
agreement but Stefan knew Will’s childhood had been spent in and out of
extended family’s homes, as close as a person could come to foster care.
And then to have lost his only brother in combat.
It fucking
sucked. They passed his mom’s upstairs room which he still thought was
ridiculous and dangerous. If she’d have taken the house he’d bought her, she’d
have a master suite downstairs and wouldn’t have to force herself up and down
the stairs every day. He’d read up on osteoporosis and knew the risks. Stefan
trailed his fingers along the wall, remembering more things that made no sense
to him. He’d always thought his parents had the perfect marriage until one day
Dad sat him down and explained he’d be leaving them soon.

Just like that.

Dad had fallen out of love with
Mom.

The kicker?
Dad had stayed
living with them until Mom finished her college degree. It sounded so kind.
So benevolent.
Well, it should have been messier.
Angrier, in Stefan’s opinion.
Heart ache should hurt, right?
There should have been fights with screaming and slamming doors.
But no.
Mom graduated college and then Dad had left quietly.
Stefan shook his head, vaguely aware Will was speaking.

“So how long’s it been since you
were here?” Will asked him, standing near an old wedding photo of Mom’s parents
that hung in a polished brass frame that had hung there for forever.

If it had been anyone else
asking, Stefan might not have answered truthfully. But this was Will and there
was no need to lie. “I’ve been back a handful of times for Christmas and
Mother’s Day in the last twenty years. Not nearly enough, man.” He wouldn’t
dredge up the reasons why.

“Didn’t you take time off from
the Play tour to come visit her? I distinctly remember feeling like a total ass
for like three weeks straight that year.” Will rubbed the bare sides of his
head with his hands.

“What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t tell any of us why
you had to go home so I just remember being stoked to spend the time off with
Honey. That was such a long ass tour. Then I found out like a year later why
we’d gotten the break and felt like shit that it was because your mom had
cancer.”

“That was a long time ago. I
can’t believe you remember that stuff. You shouldn’t feel bad.”

Will shrugged and that
characteristic sadness washed over his face right before he donned the same
smile he always did to cover it up. Will’s love for Honey scared the shit out
of Stefan. The effect was never-ending and Will’s wife had been gone a few
years now.

Hell, his dad had been gone a
little over twenty and Mom still carried the man’s last name. She was either
too proud, too stubborn, or even more hung up than Will. Or maybe like Stefan,
she had no idea what to do with love.

“It’s been too long. I’m an ass,”
he said, because it was the absolute truth.

“Hey, your mom looks good for her
age. She could probably kick both our asses. Moms are like that. She’ll be
okay.”

Stefan hoped so.

They passed by what used to be
Stefan’s room. He assumed from the purple, yellow and white daisy bedspread
that this was where the home nurse was now staying. Made sense since it was
right next door to Mom’s. The delicate white and yellow flowers had him
thinking about a certain yellow tracksuit he’d never see again.
Get over it,
he told himself.

“This is
gonna
be us,” Stefan said, pausing at the third and final room of the modest house. They
peeked in together. They both stared at the single bed. “Looks like you’re
finally
gonna
get your chance to cuddle with me, stud.”

Will hit him
hard.
The guy had ridiculously strong hands, especially when they were balled into
fists. At least Will didn’t have his sticks. “Don’t know what you’re talking
about. You know how many floors I’ve slept on? Toss me a pillow and blanket and
I’m good.”

Stefan could only guess. “Fuck
you. You’re not sleeping on the floor. I’ll see if Mom has an air mattress and
if not we’ll buy one tomorrow.” He’d go tonight but thunder had now joined the
lightning which flashed in the bedroom window. If they lost power, his Mom
shouldn’t be alone and the nurse had yet to come back. He’d be sure Will slept
on the bed tonight since it would be wasted on Stefan.
Too
much to digest for a good night’s sleep tonight.

“Oh, a shopping trip.
Sweet.
You know I love me some
Taggert’s
.”

Stefan grinned, remembering the
late night phone calls he often got from Will, always wanting an opinion on
snacks, candle scents, sheet thread counts, and teeny bopper books. A thought hit
him. Will spent a god-awful amount of time alone. “Hey man, you found a place
yet?”

“In Nashville?”

“Yeah.”

“Nah.
Not yet.
You?”
Will asked.