CHAPTERONE
There is nothing quite like coming home to discover your entire world has changed. I was only gone for one summer.
One fucking summer.
A few months of bliss away from my mom’s neurotic ways and zero contact with her because I needed the break. Not that she wanted to hear about my time with my dad and his new family anyway.
But getting off of the plane to find a message from her saying that she’s away on her fucking honeymoon, with a new address for me to go to when I land… I didn’t even know she was dating someone, let alone getting married.
Freaking married!
I pinch the bridge of my nose while I wait at the baggage claim, wondering how the hell this is my life.
My phone buzzes again and I almost don’t want to look, but the type-A part of my brain will not let me ignore it.
Mom:
Oh, and sweetheart, Chase has had you enrolled at Saints U for college rather than the community college we had you planned for! It’s closer to the new house and will be much better for you. Wasn’t that nice of him? Can’t wait to see you! We should be home in two weeks. Sorry I won’t be there for your first day.
I take a deep breath and hold it, trying to find some of the zen I thought I’d built up while being away. Times like this, I really, really wish I could just live with my dad on the West Coast, but his new wife just had twins, and she already has three young boys from her previous marriage. That is not the sort of chaos I can cope with.
Then again, maybe without the havoc my mom causes in my life on a regular basis it would even out.
Not that they have space for me with the twins around now. Spending the end of summer sleeping on the couch wasn’t exactly the highlight of my trip.
When Dad left, he didn’t take me with him because he didn’t have a house or a job, or at least thats what he said. Personally, I think he’s a little too much like mom, and is more than a little selfish. I had to beg him to let me stay with them this summer because I needed to get away from mom.
I’m sure he only agreed because his new wife made him.
I shake my head, trying to get out of my funk. I’ve got this. I can totally handle this.
Please, God, let me be able to handle whatever the fuck this new situation my mom has gotten us into.
Grabbing my luggage, I head toward the exit, juggling my suitcases as I go down the escalator. As I step off the moving staircase, I spot a guy in a suit and hat holding a sign with my name printed across it.
If this doesn’t screamTaken,I don’t know what does.
I might have watched one-too-many movies with my dad over the summer, and his obsession with that movie is real.
I shuffle toward the driver, hoping to fuck this isn’t me being the stupid white girl in a horror movie heading to her death.
“Uhm, hi? I’m Briar Moore.”
Wow, I don’t even sound awkward or anything.
S. O. S., save my goddamn soul from my internal sarcasm.
“Good afternoon, Miss Moore. I’m Tobias Adams. Your mother asked me to collect you since they were away. I understand she told you about the new residence?”
This guy is eloquent, I’ll give him that. He doesn’t even double take at my ripped jeans, fading band tee or my beloved but worn thrift store boots. Obviously a professional. He leans forward to take my bags after I answer his question with a simple nod, and my eyes go wide when I see the gun on his hip.
Who the fuck did my mom marry?
Before this we lived in a shitty two-bedroom apartment in the city, and even with my part-time job on top of school, we barely managed to make ends meet. Which I’m all too aware of because I was the one who handled our rent and bills. My mom isn’t great with numbers… or much of anything, to be fair. The divorce definitely ended better for my dad than it did my mom. Not that I blame him for leaving. My mom is… well, she’s fucking batshit crazy most of the time.
I follow behind Tobias as he leads me out of the terminal to the waiting town car, and once again I wonder who the hell my mom has married. Not that I’m about to ask thearmeddriver. It’s more than a little weird for me not to know, but again, my mom isn’t the sort to quibble about suchtrivialdetails.
Tobias opens the car door for me and I slide inside along with my backpack, feeling weird as fuck about letting him put my luggage in the trunk. I watch through the heavily tinted glass as people pass, the car getting more than a few stares from tourists entering the city.