Page 108 of Wilder Love
“Well, I’m waiting to hear how it did happen.” She tapped her foot on the tiled floor, her eyes flashing with anger. When no words came out of my mouth, she raised her dark brows to prompt me into loosening my lips.
I narrowed my eyes on Rae. Most likely, she’d conveniently forgotten exactly how it had all come about.
“Why don’t you make me one of those fancy coffees, baby?” Rae waved her hand at Remy, shooing her away.
“Dylan showed you how to do it,” Remy said, her gaze still on me.
“Honestly.” Her mom huffed. “You kids are so damn difficult. Can’t even make a cup of coffee for your own mother.”
My hands curled into fists and I wanted to scream at the woman and tell her that she didn’t deserve her kids’ generosity much less a cup of coffee. Instead, I gritted my teeth as she sashayed over to the coffeemaker and made her own damn coffee, making a big show of banging around in the cupboards until she found a suitable mug and then checking every drawer until she found the pods for the Keurig. Remy lost her patience and ended up making the coffee for Rae who disappeared for a few seconds only to return with a pack of cigarettes. She returned to her seat, so her daughter could wait on her and lit another cigarette, throwing a smug smile in my direction. An ex-con who had been through anger management sessions should not be entertaining the notion of wringing a person’s neck or wishing them bodily harm.
“Why don’t you tell Remy whatreallyhappened?” I said when Remy set the mug of coffee in front of her mother.
To my surprise, she told Remy the truth. “I didn’t know you were in love with him.”
Remy closed her eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t—”
“I saw him one night when I was coming home. He was riding a motorcycle, weren’t you?”
I nodded and waited for her to continue the story. One I’d like to forget. But here we were, almost eight years later, revisiting another bad memory.
“I wanted a ride, that’s all. But he said no.”
“You were drunk.” Obviously, that wasn’t the only reason I’d said no. But I could tell from the expression on Remy’s face that she understood without my having to spell it out.
“I followed him up the stairs to his apartment.”
“And then what happened?” Remy prompted.
Rae took a drag of her cigarette and a sip of coffee before she spoke. “It was all harmless. I can’t remember the details.”
Nobody needed to remember the details or even discuss them.
“Did you… God, Mom… did you make a play for Shane?”
“What does it matter? It was a long time ago. He shoved me away. I do remember that part quite clearly.”
“I didn’t shove you,” I said, forcing myself to remain calm and reasonable. “I removed your hands from my body and I put some distance between us.” The woman had palmed my cock through the fabric of my jeans. She had also grabbed my ass and rubbed her tits against my chest. The only reason I hadn’t told Remy was because I hadn’t wanted her to feel embarrassed. Which I knew she would have been. Remy wasn’t responsible for her mother’s behavior.
Rae ignored my reasoning. “Then he made all those false accusations about Russell. Told me I needed to start acting like a mother. As if he had any right to tell me what to do.” She laughed as if the mere notion was ridiculous.
“I’m sorry,” I told Remy. “I never meant to say anything. I was just…” I let out a breath, remembering how angry I’d been. “I wanted her to be held accountable for what had happened to you.”
She swallowed hard and lowered her head, her hands gripping the counter as if she needed the support to hold her up.
I went to her side and put my arm around her shoulder, trying to pull her close and comfort her. She shrugged me off and took a few steps away from me, her chest heaving, her eyes on her mother.
“I can’t anymore with you, Mom. Do you know why Tristan Hart targeted me? Why he bullied me? Because of you,” she said, her voice shaking with anger. “It was because of you. That’s how it started.”
“Now you’re just making things up. You can’t blame me for every bad thing that happened to you. I didn’t even know Tristan Hart,” Rae said dismissively, waving her cigarette in the air. Ash fell onto the counter.
“You came to our school. To meet with the guidance counselor. Do you remember that day? Tristan was the guy you came on to. He told me I was a whore. He told me I was just like you. And for a long time, I think I actually believed that I didn’t deserve anything good. And Shane… he was the best thing in my life. But I ruined his life. I crushed his dreams. I destroyed him. Because of me, he lost precious years with his father. Years he’ll never be able to… You need to leave,” she said, pointing at her mother. “You need to get out of this house.Now.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She took a final drag of her cigarette and added it to the other one floating in the soy sauce.
“Rae, your daughter—”
Remy grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at her. “No, Shane. You’re not getting involved. Not this time. This is between me and my mother and Dylan. Please leave.”
