Wicked Little Sins (7 page)

Through the doors of the funeral parlor, Ned sat alone. The showing had been quicker than he’d imagined it’d be. Family and friends said their silent goodbyes and shared hugs and words of strength with him. None of it, though, would heal his aching heart or remove his worry for his silently-suffering children. Charley had been shattered at the sight of her mother—rightfully so, she was barely recognizable.

Ned didn’t know what he would do now that it was over, his marriage gone. He knew his kids wondered the same thing. It would be hard for a man his age to start over. He thought back to the last day he had with Sandy. It was like every morning, he was up after her. Instead of coming down and kissing his beautiful wife, he snagged the newspaper and plopped down in his recliner. He’d tuned out her typical nonstop chatter about Charley, and he felt guilty he hadn’t listened to her. However, he had listened as her high heels clicked down the hallway and the jingle of the keys in her hand. That was his cue to lean a little farther back in his recliner, knowing she’d be gone for the day.  He’d heard the same words she spoke every day as she made her way out the door. ”Goodbye, Ned, have a great day, honey.” She’d always wait a couple extra seconds hoping he’d get up and kiss her goodbye, but he never did. In fact, he was too worried about the time he would have alone and rarely ever
actually
listened to her anymore. He figured this was what relentlessly pained him now. He kept going back to that day when Sandy came rushing in the door, in a panic and talking about her patient. He was becoming more and more aggressive and telling her things she didn’t want to hear.

              Ned leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, trying his hardest to recall the name. He knew it wasn’t Sam as the newspapers had reported. If he’d listened more carefully to what his wife had said, he might be able to help the police locate her
real
killer, and in so doing, allow Sandy to rest in peace.

Charley checked her email from her phone. She and her family had gathered at their favorite restaurant—the same little Italian place they’d eaten in just about every month as she was growing up. Her dad wanted to celebrate their mom’s life by having a nice meal together as a family. Charley was looking forward to heading home to New York, but she wasn’t looking forward to the loneliness returning home would bring. .

              She nodded to the waiter as he poured her one more glass of red wine.

              “So what are everyone’s plans?” Ned asked.

              Charley cleared her throat, resting her phone in her lap.

              “I have an important project coming up for a new book. It will probably keep me busy until close to summer,” she said with a sigh.

              Vinnie twirled his pasta on his fork, bored with the quiet dinner. Resting his elbow on the tabletop, he poked his breadstick into his spaghetti.

              “I’ve got finals and then possibly a hiking trip with a couple of the guys at school,” Ethan said. He was looking forward to spending some time in the wilderness. Now that his mom had been laid to rest, they could all get back to their normal lives.

              “When are you going back to school, Ethan?” Charley asked him.

              “Two days,” he replied. He was going to use the last of his time home to try and get more information about his mother’s death.

              “I have shows to do for a week, and then some recording to finish up for the album,” Everly said with a smile. The thought of getting back to the recording studio was enough to brighten her mood. She knew she’d never fully recover from losing her mom, but she felt recovery was possible now knowing that she’d been laid to rest. She would always miss her, but she had her memories to cling to.

              Quinn sighed, knowing anything she was about to say wasn’t as great as her sisters or her brother. She felt so pathetic compared to her siblings and she cringed as everyone waited for her to speak next. Jordan rubbed her on the leg, just letting her know he was there for her.

              “Oh, well, back to work. Maybe some casting calls,” she said, tossing her napkin on her plate, looking away from them all.

              “I really believe we are going to see her in something big soon,” Jordan tossed out.

              Quinn gave him the eye, wondering where he’d gotten that garbage.

              “Well, good for you,” Everly said, courteously nodding her head.

              She felt like a charity case and was silently trying to kill Jordan with her thoughts. He smiled and put his arm around her, totally oblivious to her thoughts.

              “It’s going to happen, and if not, remember I told you about Andrew there in LA?” Ned asked his scowling daughter. He knew his second youngest child was close to throwing a fit. He sometimes blamed himself for her selfishness and childish outbursts, but he had learned to deal with it over the years.

              Quinn laughed to herself. A job as the secretary of a law firm was not was going to make her happy. Most of the time, they hired young girls like her to sleep with them. And she wouldn’t be willing to sleep her way to the top for a little bit of cash. Working for a balding uptight man wouldn’t be her cup of tea either.

              “Why don’t you ask if he will hire
you
, seeing you haven’t worked in years?” she asked her dad.

              “That was uncalled for, Quinn,” Everly scolded.

              “I don’t need a reminder that I am failing in my career choice,” Quinn snapped back.

              Everly dropped her napkin and studied her little sister. She could be so hateful sometimes. Her dad had worked on the railroad for many years to provide for his family. The only reason he had stopped working was because he’d been injured on the job. Quinn seemed to forget that every time she got angry with him. After all, he was only trying to give her some guidance.

              “Acting is one of those things where you either have it or you don’t,” Vinnie said.

              Quinn shot him a glare. He threw his hands up, trying to play it off as nothing more than an innocent remark.

              “Quinn’s a good actor,” Jordan said, protecting his girlfriend. He wished he hadn’t opened his mouth.

              “Oh, I think we all believe you,” Vinnie said. Everly jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

              “I don’t need
anyone
telling me what I can or can’t do,” Quinn snapped.

              Charley downed the last of her wine. She didn’t understand why every encounter always ended up with someone getting upset. Was it that hard for them all to get along? She touched her dad’s hand as he sat there surrounded by the squabbling siblings, not saying a word.

              “Everyone shut up. Dad, I am sorry for my bratty sister. She doesn’t know when to stop talking sometimes. And Quinn, you do whatever makes you happy, you’re a grown woman. If you mess up it’s on you,” Charley said, shaking her head at everyone.

              Ethan ignored the chaos at the table. He was used to it. The family was forever upset about something. Ever since he could remember, his sisters clawed each other’s eyes out about everything.

Charley was the most tactful bitch. She cleverly wrapped her insults with praise or a smile.

Everly was the most sinister bitch. She would attack without warning.

              And then you had Quinn, the psycho bitch. She had no filter, just went for the jugular.

This was how he saw women. His mother liked to play it cool. She was the silent kind who could plant something in your mind without you knowing, but later it would eat at you. Having a psychologist as a mother taught the children that manipulation was an easy craft to master.

              “Hey, hey, let’s just enjoy our meal,” Ned said, gaining their instant cooperation.

              “So, I was thinking of taking periodic visits to come see you all. It would give me something to do,” Ned said.

              He noticed his children didn’t look too happy about that.

              “I’m sure Charley would
love
that. She has no life,” Quinn said, under her breath. She knew everyone could hear her, but she didn’t care.

              Charley bit her tongue. Her foot wiggled nervously under the table.

              Quinn smiled, looking away from them all. Jordan squeezed her thigh fairly hard, pleading with her to cool it. She watched as an eye-catching guy moved toward the table.

              “Charley?” he asked, studying the table, his eyes fixed on her. How did he know Charley, Quinn wondered.

              Charley seemed surprised to see him, and he looked happy to see Charley.

              “Hey there,” she said, beaming an uncomfortable smile at Adrian. Charley knew her family was watching her every move. It wasn’t often that men approached her out of nowhere.

              “Charley, don’t be rude, introduce us to your friend,” Ned said.

              Charley stumbled for words, nervously pushing her hair away from her face.

              “I’m Adrian, sir,” Adrian said, extending his hand to her father. He rested his hand on the back of her seat. Tugging at the collar of her shirt, she tried not to look so embarrassed.

              Everly gave her sister a kind smile, knowing she was embarrassed. This guy was really cute, she thought.

              “Hi, I’m Charley’s sister, Everly.” She stood to shake his hand. He smiled at them.

              “Well, I’m Ned, that’s Quinn, Charley’s other sister, then you have Ethan, her brother and Vinnie and Jordan,” Ned said. He was always eager to know anyone interested in Charley.

              “It’s nice to meet you all. I didn’t know I’d run into you here,” he said, looking back to Charley.

              She nodded, not sure if she should stand up and face him.

              “Yeah, I like to eat.” She instantly grew warm. Adrian laughed at her awkwardness.

              “I’m still holding you to your word. You know that, right?” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

              “Okay,” was all she could spit out. This was difficult for her, especially with an audience.

              “What are you doing tonight?” Everly asked, interrupting the uncomfortable conversation. This guy was obviously interested in Charley, and she was flailing like a fish out of water. She had to help her.

              Charley shot her a freaked out glare.

              Adrian put his hand to his chin, acting as if he were actually pondering it. This amused Everly, he seemed to have a good sense of humor
and
he was cute! Vinnie stared at the side of her face. He was probably ticked off that she’d gotten involved in that conversation.

              “I
hope
I’ll be seeing your beautiful sister,” he said, looking at Charley.

              Charley gave a giddy smile, melting like putty in his gaze.

              “Is seven o’clock good for you?” Everly asked.

              “It’s perfect,” he said to her.

              Charley was bewildered at the date being planned right under her nose.

              “I will call you for directions, see you soon,” he said, patting her on the shoulder and leaving.

              As he walked away, he realized he’d patted her on the shoulder. What kind of guy does that? And he hadn’t even said goodbye to her family. He wasn’t doing well in the first-impressions department lately. At least the sister who never spoke a word liked him. He looked down and hoped she hadn’t burned a hole in his crotch.

              “That’s what you’re wearing?” Everly asked, looking at Charley wearing black dress pants and a red, button-up sweater. She didn’t understand her sister. She was beautiful. She was tall with legs to die for. She had big brown eyes that popped with her honey blonde hair. She had the perfect cheeks that required only a small dusting of blush to make her look gorgeous. And, according to all her guy friends, “a great rack.” And she never appreciated it…any of it!

              Vinnie sat up, looking at Charley. He nodded his head in agreement with Everly.

              “You’re going on a date with a guy, not a bunch of nuns, Charley,” he said.

              Charley sighed, looking in the hallway mirror at herself. She’d thought her pick was suitable. She wanted Adrian to get to know her—not her breasts or her legs. Everly came to stand next to her, knowing what she had to do.

              “Come with me,” she said, taking her sister by the hand. She was going to make her look fabulous. She knew Adrian would be blown away when she was done with her.

              “Ev, I don’t want to look slutty,” she argued as Everly dug through her suitcase ignoring her. She pulled out some scarves, jewelry, and a makeup case, busily making her way around the room.

              Charley feared the worse, her heart racing. She knew she had only an hour left before he’d be there. At least he didn’t know where she lived, she didn’t like surprise visits.

              Stepping out of her closet Everly unzipped a dry cleaning bag, revealing a white, almost sheer dress. Charley was startled at the plummeting neckline.

              “Charley, you’re not a slut to show a little skin. You’re beautiful, you can pull it off. You want to make a good impression, don’t you?” she asked, admiring her dress. She hoped she wouldn’t have to tackle her to get the dress on.

              “You never say those things to me,” Charley said, giving a small smile. She touched the dress with her fingers, trying to get a feel for what might be on her body in a few seconds.

              “I would have thought you always knew that I thought you were beautiful,” Everly said back. She tugged at Charley’s shirt and was surprised how quickly she pulled it off. Maybe she really
did
want to make an impression on Adrian.

              “You’re not one to ever really say much to me,” Charley said, pulling the dress down, it hugged her body a little too well, her small waist and full bosom on display for the world to see. She covered her breast with her hands, feeling a bit panic-stricken at how much cleavage was showing.

              “You look fabulous already,” Everly gushed, clasping her hands to her chest in excitement.

              Charley continued staring in the mirror. She never realized she had so many curves in all the right places. Everly fastened a silver necklace around her neck, the perfect accessory for her outfit. Charley fiddled with the round pendant.

              “It was a gift from a fan. I think it’s my most favorite thing,” she explained, watching her sister admire the necklace. Everly had always been proud of the snowflake pendant. She added tiny silver earrings, the little hoops adding a sweet look to her attire.

              “Will you wear your hair down?” Everly asked. Without waiting for her answer, she unfastened the clip and fluffed her sister’s blonde locks. Now she looked more like a single girl looking for a good time. And less like a librarian.

              “And just a bit of lip gloss,” she said, handing it over to her. Charley rolled her eyes but did as she was told. She smacked her lips together, getting the thumbs-up from her sister.

              “Wow, Charley. Honestly, you are amazing looking right now. Vinnie!” Everly yelled. She was excited to show someone her creation.

              Charley groaned as Everly spritzed her with one of her floral scented colognes. Their choice in perfume was radically different, but she swore this was more suitable for the occasion. She hoped Adrian appreciated her attempts at being girly. She wanted him to be impressed.  And if that meant stepping out of her comfort zone, she was willing to do it.

              Vinnie made his way into the room, stunned by the vision that was Charley. She looked stunning. He’d always thought she was hot, but her attempts at trying to look sexy had been over the top. He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to think of something appropriate to say, he didn’t want to freak her out.

              “You look great,” he said, with a big smile. Everly eyed him, trying to make sense of his plain compliment. Taking notice, Vinnie stepped it up a notch.

              “He’s probably going to think you’re out of his league, you look that hot.” he said, pleased with that one.

              Everly sighed as Charley appeared to put the wall back up.

              “Vinnie!” Everly snapped. “He just means you look amazing, I promise.”

              Charley didn’t have time to panic because her phone started to ring. She shrugged off the panic answering it.

***

Adrian hung up his phone, taking one more look in the mirror at himself. He was nervous, and it both thrilled and
scared him.

              He studied himself in the mirror. He didn’t want to seem too dressy, but, casual could make the wrong impression, too. So after sifting through his closet he decided on brown dress shoes, dark designer blue jeans, a dark brown button-up dress shirt, and a white jacket. Running his hand through his hair, he grabbed a gray Irish cap, finally pleased with what he looked like, and gave himself two safe sprays of the cologne women always seemed to love. He couldn’t get Charley off his mind, and he was hoping this date went well.

              Grabbing his keys, he was out the door, his mind racing. What would they talk about? What should he not say? He was beginning to sound like a woman the way he was worrying, he chucked to himself. As he pulled out of the driveway, he opened the glove box in searchof gum. A pair o
f
blac
k
gloves fell out and he stuffed them under the seat. He was sure he had gum in there somewhere.

              “Here it is,” he said, grabbing a piece of gum.

***

              Charley nervously tapped her foot. Vinnie sat across from her, glancing her way every few seconds. It was obvious he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She was actually getting used to Vinnie’s ways.

              If Adrian didn’t get there soon, she’d probably faint. She hadn’t dated in nearly a year. She hated to admit it, but she’d just given up. The last guy she dated was a bank teller her co-worker had set her up with. She and Ian hadn’t hit it off. They had nothing in common. He liked extreme sports and jazz, but she didn’t. Besides his good looks, there wasn’t a single thing she liked about him. After a month of dragging it out, she decided it wasn’t worth it to date him any longer. . All she really wanted was a guy with a good personality—a genuinely kind person. Good looks were second to her anymore. She wanted someone with whom she could let her hair down and be relaxed around, someone who could accept her for who she was, including her tendency to be too rigid or strait-laced.

              Adrian brought his car to a stop in front of her house. He already knew where it was. He took a long, deep breath, trying to calm himself. He was about to see one of the most beautiful women he’d ever laid eyes on for the second time in a day. He looked down at the white roses that lay on the seat where she would soon be sitting, wondering if they were too much. Deciding they were, he shoved them under the seat. He didn’t want to come on too strong.

              It had been awhile since he’d been on a real date. Sure, he went out a lot with his group of friends, and someone was always sneaking some girl in on him. None of those girls ever suited him. He wanted someone to spend time with, to laugh with—someone who was more than hair and nails. He was beginning to think he’d never be able to find someone who met those qualifications. .

              He got out of the car looking toward the house, hoping she was as excited about this date as he was. He knew he was a good guy. He’d held the same job for eight years, wasn’t married, and he didn’t have children. He came from a wealthy family where both parents worked in the professional world and they’d sent all their children to college. Life had gone well for Adrian so far in his thirty years.

              “You’re the guy from the restaurant, right?” Ethan asked, watching him nervously approach the porch steps. He had been watching him from the driveway.

              Adrian reached to shake Ethan’s hand. Ethan tossed his cigarette, accepting the handshake.

              “She’s inside waiting--where you guys heading?” Ethan asked.

              “That’s the thing--I wasn’t sure if I should do dinner and a movie, or if there was something she liked more. I’m sorry, I’m really nervous,” Adrian said, ready to kick himself. He pleaded with his mind to calm down. He never was uptight; he was known for being the calm and collected one.

              “Charley loves art, music, anything classy and refined. Don’t be nervous. She’s a good person, and she’ll be happy with whatever you two do,” Ethan offered. Poor guy looked like he was about to run away.

              “Thanks, I’ll make a note of it. Anything I should know about your sister?” Adrian asked, hoping for some secret to dazzle her.

              Ethan thought carefully; he didn’t want to give away too much on Charley. He felt this was something a guy should be able to figure out on his own. Ethan knew he was trying, though, so he must really be interested in Charley.

              “She just lost her mother, so just be you. I’ve got a feeling you’ll be fine,” Ethan said, heading up the stairs with Adrian.

              Everly peered out the window and was delighted to see Adrian had arrived to pick up her sister. She felt like she was living vicariously through Charley. Vinnie was nothing but a played out record anymore. There was nothing new about him. She wasn’t excited to go out on a date with Vinnie, she knew
that
for sure.

              “He’s here,” she called out, running into the living room. Charley rolled her eyes at her sister, tensing up at the thought of seeing him in a few moments.

              Vinnie gave her a smile, enjoying every moment of it. He stared at Everly, completely blown away at her level of giddiness for someone else’s date. He took her out all the time. She was
never
this excited about their time together.

              “Should I stand up?” Charley whispered to Everly. Everly nodded, slapping at Vinnie as he tried to put his arm around her.

              Ethan and Adrian came into the living room. Adrian gasped when he saw Charley. She looked stunning, even more so when she smiled at him.

              “You look…amazing,” he said, coming to her. He took her hand and pulled her in for a hug. She didn’t falter, wrapping her arms around him.

              “Thank you,” she said tugging at his jacket. “You look nice, too.”

              “When I find the words, I’ll tell you exactly how beautiful you look,” he said, thinking about how good she smelled.

              Everly happily watched from the sofa, lost in a dream-like gaze at the two of them.

              “Have a good time,” Ethan said, breaking up the stare down. He liked this Adrian guy. He seemed to be genuinely into Charley, and he was happy about that.

              “Shall we?” he asked, as he presented the crook of his arm to her. She happily accepted his arm as he opened the door for her. He tried his best to not check out her rear as she headed out the door, but it was no use. She looked even more amazing now.

              “Nice car,” Charley said getting into his mustang. It was an older model Mustang that had obviously been well cared for.

“Thanks, it was my granddad’s. I restored it last summer,” he said buckling up.

              Charley sniffed the air, sending him into a panic.

              “Roses,” she said, eyeing him. She thought he’d think she was crazy. Having grown up around a flower-loving mom, Charley definitely had a nose for roses.

              Adrian let out a sigh as she pulled them from under her seat, petals falling on her lap. She tried saving the crushed mass that had been a beautiful bouquet.

              “I thought it was too much, so I tried to dump them,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

              “They’re beautiful. It would have been a good gesture. In fact, now it’s even more than that,” she said, smiling at him.

              “How so?” he asked.

              “Shows you over thought all this. Now I know I’m not the only one who was nervous,” she said, feeling a bit at ease.

              “You, nervous? No way,” he replied, with an overly dramatic look of shock. Charley’s laughter was music to his ears.