Page 77 of One Wild Ride

After I typed it in a young Simon Pegg looking confused showed up on the screen.

“How about we go make some snacks in the kitchen and sit and watch some of these shows?” I said.

She jumped up and clapped her hands. I liked her. Alexa was cute and funny. I wondered if, after today, I would ever see her again. I hoped so.

We started back down the hall and as I turned the corner I heard my mother’s voice. “But she should be a Hawthorne. She needs to be with me and Alexander.”

I came to a stop and gazed over at Alexa who cocked her head. “Be with you?” she whispered to me.

Did my mother want to keep Alexa for some reason? I feared that my mother was hatching a plan that now involved Alexa. “Come here,” I said in a low voice so my mother wouldn’t hear as I waved Alexa to stand next to me behind the wall.

“I understand that, Emma. We want that, too. She is meant to be a part of your family. But now is just not the time,” Alexa’s father said.

“I know, Douglas, but I had hoped . . .” my mother said.

My mother wanted Alexa to live with us. But why would she think her parents would allow such a thing?

“We have spoken with her.” I could tell instantly that it was Alexa’s mother by her thick Russian accent.

“Did you tell her about me? About us? About what will happen?” my mother asked.

“She’s too young. When she’s older. Then you can have the perfect family. And Alexa will also play an important role. We are still agreed on that?” Her father’s voice held uncertainty.

That’s when I heard the slight inflection in my mother’s voice. The smooth snake-like tone that told me these were selfish plans she made with the Dortons. Whether they were in on the plan or not, didn’t matter. In the end, my mother would do anything to get what she wanted.

She’s already killed, it wouldn’t surprise me if she did it again.

“You can rest assured that Alexa is one of the most important pieces in the puzzle. Where will Alex be without his perfect bride? With the perfect political family at his side,” my mother said.

I felt Alexa stiffen at my side and I glanced over at her. Her mouth dropped open and I moved my hand quickly to cover it. I knew she was about to gasp or scream or, more likely, cry.

Wrapping my arm around her side I ushered her back to my room. I let go of Alexa to hear her whimper as she fell back into my desk chair. I came to her side and bent down to gaze up at her tear-stained face.

“You can’t say anything, Alexa. Please. You don’t understand my mother. It will only make it worse if she thinks you know,” I said understanding all too well what happens when someone found out one of my mom’s secrets.

“Who am I going to tell? As you heard, my father wanted to make sure I would be married off to you. It feels like I’m living in the sixteenth century. Is this what wealthy families do? If so, I don’t want any of my parents’ money. They can keep it.” She waved her hands in the air.

I moved over to my bed and flopped down on my back. “I don’t know. It feels like it in my home. I’ve seen movies about that time period and royalty. There’s always intrigue and manipulation and murder. Just like being a Hawthorne.” I couldn’t stop the bitter chuckle that escaped my lips.

“What? Oh my God, Alex, that’s terrible. Do you think my parents are involved in all that?”

I rolled my head to the side and watched her. She’s so pretty, so innocent, and a part of me wanted to protect her.

“If they weren’t, then they are now. I used to feel lonely here, by myself. My mother never letting me out but now I think it was for the best. No one should ever get to know my mother. She used to be kind and loving, but that changed when my father died. Something snapped in her and she’s been on a mission ever since. I don’t know what that mission is but I have a feeling it’s not good.”

As terrified as I was for Alexa, I had grown used to what my mother did. A part of me was even happy. It felt good to confide in someone about my mother. I didn’t feel so alone anymore.

“We should run away.” Alexa stood and came to sit on the edge of the bed.

I sat up and scooted next to her. “Where? We won’t even be eighteen for several years. How would we get anywhere?”

Alexa frowned. “I don’t know.”

We sat in silence for a moment before I thought of something.

“How about when we are adults, we run off to a tropical island. Somewhere that no one will find us,” I said and smiled.

She turned her body toward me, excitement lighting her features. “Yeah, but we have to have money so we can leave without a trace. I’ve seen enough TV shows to know, you can only use cash to really disappear. You said your father died. Do you get an inheritance?”

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