“What are you doing?” My mother snapped at me. Without waiting for an answer, she yelled, “Go back to your room and go back to sleep. This doesn’t concern you.”
I looked away from her and directly at Mr. Cole. Be brave, Ariel Kimber. “What’s going on?” I asked in a quiet voice I could hardly hear over my heartbeat. Okay, so I wasn’t all that brave after all.
“My brother has been in a horrible car accident and he’s in really bad shape. I need to be there for his family right now and I need to be with my brother. The next available flight leaves in an hour and I need to be on it.”
My heart clenched painfully for him. How terrible.
“Do you need me to do anything for you?” I offered sincerely. “Do you want me to pack your clothes for you or anything? Are you hungry?”
“Ariel,” my mother gritted out through clenched teeth. “Go back up to your room right this second. I already told you, this does not concern you.”
Her hand twitched and I could tell it was due to repressing the urge to lash out, to strike me down. If he left me alone with her there would be hell to pay for sure.
Mr. Cole ignored my mother entirely and focused solely on me. Not smart, but I appreciated the gesture. “Thank you, Ariel. That’s very kind of you. I can pack my own luggage, but if you would make a pot of coffee it wouldn’t go unappreciated.”
“I can make coffee,” I said as I rushed around the island to get to the coffee pot.
“I’m coming with you,” my mother yelled, ignoring me. I could hear the steely determination in her voice. She wasn’t going down without a fight. I felt bad for thinking it, but I hoped he caved and took her with him. I did not want to be alone here with her.
“Ariel-” Mr. Cole started.
My mother cut him off. “Doesn’t need me. You do.”
I agreed with her wholeheartedly. If only her reasons weren’t selfish ones.
I flipped the lid on the coffee pot and found that I didn’t even have to make coffee because someone had already set it all up, I flipped the switch to on and turned back to the room. My hips rested against the counter as I stared at the floor, not brave enough to look her in the eyes just yet, or even in her direction.
“Fine,” Mr. Cole bit out. “You need to pack light, only one carry-on bag. And we leave in half an hour.”
My head snapped up and my mouth dropped open in shock. He’d given into her, I hadn’t expected this.
Her smile radiated triumph as she purred, “I’ll just go pack my things then.” She turned on her bare feet and strutted out of the room. She shook her hips and ass in a blatantly sexual manner that I found highly embarrassing.
“This is getting old,” Mr. Cole muttered under his breath, likely so I wouldn’t hear him. But I did hear and my stomach dropped at his words. He was going to kick us out on our butts soon, I could feel it.
With a start, I realized I didn’t want to leave. I hadn’t wanted to come and now I didn’t want to leave. I liked my bedroom. It may have had blank walls and a whole lot of empty space, but I had a beautiful new comforter and a kick ass window seat covered with a sea of pretty pillows. I had never had anything like it before and I didn’t want to give it up. I liked Marcus Cole a whole lot and I freaking loved the Range Rover he’d so generously given me. I knew, with enough time, I would come to love him as well. I could do without school and the majority of the people there, but I had made friends. Friends I couldn’t think of right then.
It would hurt to leave this place.
“You have the number of my cell phone, yes?” Mr. Cole asked.
I nodded. He’d given it to me on my second day here along with the number for the land line when he’d given me my own cell phone.
“I will text when we land on the ground and I promise I will keep in touch, letting you know what’s happening. Hopefully, we won’t be gone for too long.”
That was nice and I appreciated it. I had never met his brother so he really had no reason to update me on his health, but it was nice all the same. Maybe it was really his way of keeping tabs on me, it seemed like something he’d do.
Abruptly, he moved his hip away from the island countertop, straightened and walked out of the kitchen. Had I said something wrong? I didn’t think I had.
I stood there numbly, watching the coffee drip until he came back five minutes later. He dropped two black, matching pieces of luggage by the door to the garage. He’d exchanged his pajama pants for dark blue jeans but had kept the white t-shirt. I had never seen him in jeans and a t-shirt before. It was a good look for him, but I liked him in his business suits more.
He walked towards me and gently took hold of my right hand. He pried my fist open and pressed something into my damp palm.
He stared into my eyes intently. Whatever he was going to say, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.
“You have your debit card I gave you, this is for just in case you need it. Don’t tell your mother I gave it to you.” His eyes flashed with something dangerous in them for a brief moment before it disappeared, leaving the intensity behind. My eyes widened in surprise. I kept getting glimpses showing me his true feelings towards my mother and I wasn’t certain sure he liked her all that much. “I’m going to text every day and I expect a message back within half an hour or I will assume something is wrong and be on the next available flight back to make sure you’re alright. Do you understand me?” I nodded and he continued. “I don’t care if you have people over, just no parties. And I mean that, Ariel, no parties. The last thing we need is someone calling the police on you while you’re here all by yourself. When you leave and when you’re here, I want you to activate the alarm. That’s important. Every single time you open a door leading outside of the house, even to the garage, I want you to set the alarm. Do you think you can do that for me?”
He squeezed my hand as he patiently waited for my answer. Could I do that for him? He wasn’t asking for much and I knew it was cash he’d pressed into the palm of my hand. He was acting like a caring, loving, concerned parent. I’d never had one of those before.