I can only imagine it being a matter of minutes before Ms. Clarkson runs her mouth. But I’m fine with it in all honesty. I rather she knows anyway so Molly and I don’t have to sneak around, plus I’m not one to want to continue on with this loveless marriage anymore. It’s time to call it what it is and face it as Trish and I should’ve done long ago.
Molly’s eyes begin to tear up.
“Are you scared of her?” I ask as I take a step closer to her, pulling her in my embrace as her head brings to rest on my chest.
I hate seeing her upset like this.
“I won’t have any place to go. She’s going to kick me out when she finds out, and then I’ll lose my job, too. I like my job even though I’ve only been there one day. I like the girls there. And without a job, how will I ever find somewhere to live? I’ll be out on the street…” Her voice trails off.
I make my mind up right then and there.
“I’m not going to let her kick you out of the house, baby girl. This is my house,” I remind her.
She doesn’t look quite like she has trust in me, but we’ll work on that. I’m sure she thinks guys say stuff like that to women all the time. But I’m no guy, and she damn well should know that.
She damn well will know it.
“You will see,” I reinforce. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” I kiss her tenderly, and her soft lips push back.
7
MOLLY
“She was right, I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to believe that something so horrible was going on behind my back,” my mother says as she opens up the basement door, interrupting our kiss. She’s so angry that she doesn’t bother to yell or raise her voice. That quiet, calm fury is the worst kind of anger from her.
I pull my mouth away from Dean’s lips.
“Mother…” My voice trails off.
She remains standing in the doorway, her face red with fury. Mr. Andrews is staring at her. Not a word has been spoken. I don’t know what he’s planning on saying to her, but he doesn’t look ashamed. He doesn’t look like an apologetic man who has done something wrong.
After what feels like minutes later but it’s only a matter of seconds, the silence breaks.
“Before I even knew that Molly was your daughter, I was drawn to her. I can’t pin it, but there’s something strong between us. You have to understand that this wasn’t planned. Plus, Trish, who are we kidding? We both know we moved on from this marriage long ago,” he tells her. His voice is controlled and matter-of-fact; his tone calm as ever.
“I’m leaving, I’m not going to put up with this. Oh, and you’re damn right Dean about this marriage being over! I’ve been having an affair with Greg for the past four months anyhow, so suck on that, you daughter fucker.” My mother quickly turns and heads up the stairs, shutting the door behind her.
For a split-second, I think Mr. Andrews might run after her, try something to fix all of this. But he doesn’t. He stays right here. He moves closer to me, and I feel relief washing over me.
“I didn’t know if you were actually going to stay. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you went after her. She is your wife,” I point out to him, even though knowing that my mother has been cheating on him for months. I still felt as if there could be a chance that he doesn’t want me as he thought he did before.
“She’s not the one that I want, though. She’s not my baby girl, you are. And it’s been coming to an end for a long while now, we both knew it. I think that’s why she started an affair and is leaving instead of staying here and fighting with me,” he explains to me.
I never imagined they were having this many problems in their relationship. It certainly didn’t seem so when I had first arrived, although, their affection did seem fake to me. At the time, I’d felt guilty about flirting with my boss. Finding out that he was my stepfather made me feel even worse. But beyond guilt, I also felt envy. The way they held each other when I arrived earlier… I wanted it to be me whom he was holding.
“You will see everything is going to be fine. We’re going to be fine,” he whispers against my ear. A moan escapes my lips, pressing my ear against his mouth, seeking that rush I felt while he was inside of me.
We hear the house door slam, and I know that it’s my mother. Then, the door slams again, but I know that my mother wouldn’t come back into the house after leaving. I saw it with my father.
When she had found out that my dad was cheating on her with his secretary, she gathered her things, slammed the door, and never looked back, not even to come and get me.
“Ms. Clarkson must’ve gone with her,” he whispers.
The house is now quiet. I quickly get up from the bed.
“Where are you going?” he asks me, rising from the bed to stand beside me.
“I’m going to go upstairs and take a shower. Then I’m going to go to bed so I can be ready for work in the morning. Just because I’m fucking the boss doesn’t mean that I’m going to slack when it comes to my work.” I wink at him, giving him a warm smile upon seeing a sexy smirk come across his face.