Page 16 of The Puck Secret

I smirk. This fucking girl, I swear she enjoys pissing me off.

Nova: In your dreams, Grim! Harold better watch his back because I am coming for his girl!

Grim: Oh Charmer, you couldn’t handle me the way Harold does

Nova: Oh yeah? We will see about that

Grim: Don’t tell me that’s a threat

Nova: No baby

Nova: That’s a promise!

There is no response to my last message, but it doesn’t surprise me. Grim likes flirting with me. Hell, she likes me flirting with her, but anytime I get close to this fantasy becoming a reality she shuts down. At first I thought it was her way of blowing me off, but now I know her a little better, I understand that she needs coaxing into things a little more. She might not even know my name yet, but I know one day I’ll be making her scream it.

I spend the rest of the morning hanging around with my mom and fixing a couple of things around the apartment for her. When she finally relents and slips off for a nap, I spend a couple of hours doing all of her laundry, cleaning up, and making a few dinners that she can eat throughout the week. I also make a note to grab her some groceries before the next time I come over, because she is running low and is too proud to ask.

She would never admit to needing anything but I have eyes, I know how hard she is finding it to keep up at work, and is worrying about how she is going to pay for her treatment. It’s why I did the one thing I thought I’d never do, I called my dad. I haven’t asked him for anything, ever. I never needed to, my mom always managed, and when I got accepted into Fairfield on a scholarship I thought I was set. I didn’t factor in the costs of living and partying, so when I was a couple of months into freshman year and my dad sent me a bank account that he topped up every month, I quietly accepted it. Hell, he had enough guilt to pay off that I wasn’t going to stop him, but this is different.

When I called him and invited him to my game this week, I could tell he was surprised. He didn't even notice how I could barely choke out the words. He just said some bullshit I barely heard, and that he would see me there. I already regret making the call, I don’t want to see him, I don’t want to ask for his help, but I have no other choice.

By the time my mom wakes up it’s pushing into the late afternoon, and I need to get home and study. When she sees that I have taken care of everything that was on her afternoon to-do list, she smiles.

“What did I do to deserve such a good boy like you, huh?” She makes her way to the freezer and pulls out a couple of lasagnas, passing them to me. “For you and the boys, lord knows you need a good home-cooked meal.”

Now it’s my turn to smile, “Thanks Mom.” I drop a kiss to the top of her head as she leads me towards the door. “I’ll drop by on your day off after class okay?”

She nods, pulling me in for a quick hug. “I’ll look forward to it, honey.”

I always feel guilty, leaving her behind in that tiny apartment to go back to the giant house that has far too much room for four college guys, but she doesn’t seem to mind it. In fact, she never complained once, even when we first moved there and had to share the small space, she just said it suited her and got on with it.

The walk back to campus is quicker than normal with all the tension from my day building up, and I feel my fingers itching to text Grim again in an attempt to calm myself down, but I can’t push her. She will come back to me later when she is ready, and like a fucking simp I will be waiting. What the fuck is happening to me?

Sundays are my least favorite day of the week, because every Sunday both Josh and I are required to attend family dinner at the Mayoral mansion. And I know what you are thinking, family dinner probably sounds sweet, right? All of us getting together and spending time with one another over a nice hot meal. Yeah that would be nice, except this isn’t that. In fact, the meal prepared by the chefs and served by servants is about the only thing I look forward to, because at least the food is good.

The rest is hell.

My parents barely talk to one another when there is no audience to fool, and my grandma just sits getting drunk on what she calls cheap wine. Most of the time is spent focused on Josh, as he desperately tries to keep everyone charmed with his stories from the week, and as usual my dad hangs off his every word. He has barely said two words to me since I entered, and it’s been the same song and dance between us for the past few weeks, ever since I walked out of his office after his ultimatum about Brad.

I’m not sure what he expected, but with the way he keeps looking at me, I am sure he is waiting for an apology. He will be waiting a long time if he thinks he is going to get one, and as Josh continues to tell them about the trick shot he pulled off in his last game, I pull out my phone under the table and read back over the messages from this morning.

If you would have told me a few weeks ago, that the best part of my day now would be messages from a handsome stranger whose face I have never seen, I would have laughed, but here we are. I pretty much start off every day with a text to my Charmer, and fall asleep to his words at night. I’m not sure when it went from casual to addictive, but it’s like I am high on the feeling each one of his messages gives me.

I still haven’t responded to the last message he sent after I showed off Harold, and I smirk at how bold I was in sending that picture. Flirting with him is fun, but that’s all it can ever be. I haven’t forgotten about the deal looming over my head, and there is no point dragging someone I could potentially like into that situation, and I do like him, more than I should. I know I shouldn’t, and I know it’s stupid, but with every message I fall further down this crazy hole with him, and right now it’s the only thing getting me through the day.

The distraction of my phone catches my mom’s attention as she purrs, “And what about you, Madeline?” Her question cuts Josh off mid-sentence, and he glances at me from across the table as I take a deep breath.

“What about me, Mom?” I smile sweetly, as I return her question, and she eyes me coolly.

“Your father tells me that you and Bradley Thorne are to be engaged.” She drops the bomb in the middle of the table as if she doesn’t expect it to detonate, but it goes off with a perfected calculation, claiming its intended casualties.

“What the fuck?” Josh curses, looking between me and my mom before adding, “She’s not marrying that tool, he’s a jackass who isn’t good enough for anyone, let alone her.”

My brother's words flow through me, spreading warmth through my chest. At least someone in this family gives a shit about me, even if it’s pointless by now. I can’t stop my eyes from flicking over to my father who is already watching me expectantly, waiting for me to correct the situation.

I clear my throat and attempt to clear the air. “Actually, Josh, Brad and I have been really good lately, an engagement to him wouldn’t be the end of the world, he comes from a good family.” The words taste like ash on my tongue, and how I manage to say them with a smile is a miracle. I sound like a different person, like my mother, and of course my brother sees right through me.

He looks at me like I have grown an extra head, because he knows how I feel about Brad, and there is nothing but confusion on his face right now. I can feel my dad’s threat from the other week hanging around my neck like a noose, so I ensure my mask stays intact and I pretend that Brad is Prince fucking Charming. That I actually don’t detest him, and that an engagement to him wouldn’t be the end of the fucking world.

---