Page 7 of Free-Falling
I glare at him. If he says one more fucking thing, I’ll knock him out. “YOU PAID HER!”
“Don’t raise your voice, Jagger!” My mother points her dainty manicured finger at me.
“Mom, this isn’t the time for one of your lessons, okay? You paid my girlfriend, the woman that I, that I…” I can’t even finish the sentence. “I did what you asked yet you fucking paid her to leave, huh? Do you guys hate me or something? What have I ever fucking done to you, that you’d, you’d?” I stopped talking and released a frustrated growl.
“If you’re going to behave like an animal, get the fuck out of my house!” My dad acts like he gives a shit.
I narrow my eyes, smirking even. “You think I give a fuck how you see me? You forced me to marry a girl who doesn’t even fucking like me. She has or rather had a boyfriend. One that she loved and what now. You place me with a girl I hate just so you can do whatever it is you’re doing? Do I look like I’ve got a damn dollar sign on my forehead?”
“You don’t hate her, honey,” my mom softly says. “I know you don’t. You don’t remember how you first treated her when she was being picked on? You’ve known her all your life and now you say you hate her?”
I glare at my mother. “That’s not even important right now. Answer my question, mom.”
My mom blinks, her hand trembles as she smooths her already perfect hair. I think I know her answer before she gives it, or do I? “We didn’t think you’d fall in love with her!” My mom blurts out.
My head jerks back as if she’d slap me. “What?”
My dad turns his blue-eyed glare on my mom. “Are you serious Michelle?”
My mother turns to him. Eyes blazing. “Seriously, Arthur. Just tell him the truth.”
“Fine!” My dad’s voice raises higher. My dad looks at me from his leather seat. “We paid the stupid bitch to be with you. Yes, three years ago. She’s been getting paid since she first got with you. No, we didn’t tell her to sleep with you and no one said anything about you falling in love. She did her job.”
I feel like whatever I’ve been standing on is no longer there. Nothing makes any sense. It’s all confusing. “What?” I ask. That’s all I can make out.
My mother looks to the floor. She does that when she’s guilty of something. “We didn’t know you’d love her, baby. I didn’t know you could even love anyone. We thought she was just meant to be a distraction. After you… you,” she cleared her throat. “Almost walked out of our lives for good, after you closed yourself off from us, we needed to know. I needed to know that you were okay. You shut us out, Liam!” She yells out my middle name.
My mom only calls me by my middle name when she knows she fucked up. “No! You don’t get to do that to me! Don’t twist this shit, mom. I’ve been with Layla for three fucking years! Mom! Three! Does that mean anything to you, motherfuckers! This is some bullshit. Layla wouldn’t do that to me, she would never.”
“She did it because your last name is fucking attached to hotels and shit. You’ve got more money than you pretend to have and she knows that. The amount I gave her doesn’t even put a dent in my bank. So you tell me, Jagger? Who the fuck do you think you are, talking to us like that? You sound ungrateful. Be grateful that the broad you married isn’t after your money.” My father says.
I chuckle. “Me? Ungrateful?” I laugh harder. “If you weren’t my dad, I’d deck you but because I respect my mother, I won’t do that to you. That broad isn’t marrying me cause she wants to. She was threatened, just like I was, so save me the bullshit we love you speech. Fuck this. I’m done.” I turn to walk out.
“Liam… Liam, please. Please don’t leave, we’re sorry.” My mother says.
I stop but don’t turn to face my mother. “Mom, I love you, I really do but I don’t want to speak to you right now. I’ll call when I’m ready.”
“Let him go, Michelle! He’s being a big bastard about it all.” My father says.
I growl, turning to walk towards him, and my mother stops me. She places her hand on my chest; I look down at her, she’s right under my chin. “Honey, please walk away.” She whispers. “For me.”
“I’ll call you when I’m ready to forgive, mother.” I lean in giving her a kiss on the forehead.
I walk out of the huge estate that I grew up in. As I get to my car, I pull out my cell dialing Layla. I didn’t even have to wait because she picks up on the first ring. I hear the sniffles. “I’m sorry, Jagger. I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“Where are you?”
“If you loved or love me like you say you do, you won’t look for me. You won’t because if you do then they’ll kill me. They know where I am and what I’m doing. Please believe me, I love you, Jagger. I’ve always loved you.”
“You lied to me, Layla! You made me love you and you got paid for it! And now I’m supposed to believe you with this shit!” I roar the second I’m in my car.
“Jagger, baby, please listen to me. I’m sorry. I really am.” She’s crying harder now.
“I need to go.” I hang up. I chuck my phone to the passenger seat and punch my steering wheel, yelling every profanity I could come up with.
I feel hot tears on my face, and that catches me off guard. Why the fuck am I crying? I’m grown as hell, I don’t cry. I clear my throat and wipe those crappy tears away and drive off, not caring about anything else. I don’t need these fucks in my life and even as I drive; I know that I’ll stay married because that’s what I have to do.
When I reach my destination, I park and head up to my home. When the elevator dings, I walk in, finding a drunk Ainslee as she watches some TV show. She turns to me the second I sit down. For once, I think reality has hit us both about our situation.
