Page 103 of Fractured Rhythm

I didn’t miss Holly’s gasp at my side. I’d rarely spoken about the woman who’d given birth to me to anyone. What was the point? She’d abandoned her family years ago. She wasn’t a part of my life and no part of me missed her.

It’d taken more than a few years to get to this point, but all I felt was a twinge of pity and a healthy dose of anger.

“I’m not high.” Her posture was defensive.

“Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you. It’s been so long. You look good.”

“And you want something from me. I’m not giving you anything,” I said, standing my ground.

“Why do you have to jump to that? Maybe I just wanted to see you.”

“Please. You always want something. Did you try getting money from my father again?” I knew that he’d given her money in the past. They may have divorced years ago, but Linda Steel would always have at least a few claws sunk into my father. It was probably one of the reasons that Jamie had only given our father a small amount of money in his will. He’d known it would’ve ended up in the hands of our mother if he’d given our father more.

“I deserve some of the money Jamie left you. You know he paid off your father’s house, but I got nothing.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I advanced on the woman who looked too much like me. I hated that I saw a part of myself in the disaster that stood in front of me.

“Cassie. What can I do?” Holly said softly, through clenched teeth, at my side.

At least my mother had caught me when we were past the building. Having it out with her in front of the main doors to my office building would lead to a scene I had no desire to have.

I turned to my friend, her eyes filled with concern and questions. “Nothing. Sorry. Hopefully, she’ll leave soon,” I said before I looked at my mother again. “Please leave. I’m not giving you anything, and you sure as hell don’t deserve anything from Jamie.”

“I don’t need a lot. I’m sick,” she said, her voice soft, but still with a raspy edge that spoke of her hard life, a life she’d chosen.

“Of course you are. Yeah, I’m still not giving you anything.”

“I have cancer,” she said, and I tried to read her expression, to see if she was bullshitting me for a handout.

I shook my head. No. It didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter. I refused to get sucked up into her world.

“If that’s true, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you,” I said, standing my shaking ground. A part of me remembered that she was my mother, but I shoved that aside. I had to.

“You would let your own mother die? You have a shit ton of money. Jamie’s money. Would he want you to leave me to die?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Don’t you dare bring Jamie up and what he might’ve wanted. You know what I wanted? A mother who wasn’t a drugged-out mess. A mother who didn’t get her teenage son hooked on heroin, which led to his death.” I let out a bitter laugh. “But we can’t all have what we want. Now, leave me alone.”

My heart raced erratically as I waited for her next move. How the hell was this happening right now?

“I’ll tell the world his secrets,” my mother said.

I scoffed. “What secrets? He was hooked on heroin and he OD’d. The entire world knows that. They know his secrets. There’s nothing else you can do that you haven’t done already.” Was she for real?

“You always were a sanctimonious brat. You think you have the perfect life. I’ve seen the pictures of you and Sebastian. You think you can hold on to a rock star? They’re all the same.”

“He’s not some rock star.” I paused. Why was I falling into this trap and trying to defend myself to her?

“Looks like he’s just like the rest. Left you here so he could do whatever he wanted in LA.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Guess you haven’t seen the pictures that popped up on Scoop this morning,” she said.

“The gossip rag? No. I don’t read it because it’s all garbage. Why am I even discussing this with you?” I muttered more to myself.

“Your Sebastian was photographed with two women all over him at some party last night. Guess he’s like every other rock star. Probably bored playing house with you.” The vitriol coming off of this woman was palpable.

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