Page 14 of Falkner
She’d been dependent on her for her entire life.Not really dependent on her, but more bullying her into doing things for her lifetime.When she thought back over the years a couple of times today, she could remember dates that her mother had thralled because she needed something or something done for her.Prom one year had been a bust because, as she was getting ready, her mom had an episode.She couldn’t remember what that had been about, but she’d been unable to go to her senior prom because of her.There were other things, too, like her birthday.Her mom would expect large gifts for her day, and even on Doone’s birthday, she’d get herself something nice and nothing for Doone.
“You’d not even have a birthday without me, so I get to celebrate the day too.You’d not believe what I went through to have you, honey.It was all labor from the time I figured out that I was going to have you until you were born.And don’t get me started on raising you.You were not an easy or even kind baby.I deserve this more than you do.”There was that word again.Deserved.Why she thought she deserved anything was beyond her.
Little things like that would pop into her head when she was thinking about Falkner, and she hated it.The memories were giving her a first-hand look at how she’d been treated all her life, and she didn’t like what she’d been made to become.Mommy’s little servant.The one who thought she was doing good for her mother because she had deserved it from her.Well, no more.She was going to make sure that she did get what she deserved and be damned what her mother had to say.The first thing was to do with Falkner.
She was going home to tell him how she felt about him.And it might not be the lasting kind of love; she really had no idea what that was, but she had fallen in love with the man.He’d been so good to her, never rushing her into anything and forever being there beside and sometimes in front of her when she needed it.The way that he calmed her, too, made her feel special.Not at all like her mother had made her feel.Damn it, she deserved—not deserved but wanted love and all that came with it more than anything else.
As soon as she got home, she marched her happy ass into the house, determined to do what she needed to do to prove that she could be loved, too.And that she could love.As soon as she saw him in the living room, she went up to him, pulled him to her, and kissed him for all she was worth.
At first, he didn’t kiss her back.He seemed sort of stiff, too, like he wasn’t sure what to do with this woman who was hanging onto him.Before she could pull back, however, not only did he pull her closer into his embrace, but he kissed her.Using his tongue to touch the inside of her mouth, he touched the dark corners that she’d forgotten about until then.
She did love him with all her heart.As soon as he pulled back, just a little, she wanted to scream at him how much she needed him, how much she wanted him, but he pulled back a bit more until there was a foot between them.She was confused and hurt and started to ask him what was going on, had she done something wrong, when he looked to his left.
“Your dad is here.”She shook her head and looked too.“I called him and invited him to dinner tonight so that you could talk.I thought it would be a surprise.”Falkner kissed her on the mouth and led her to the couch.
“Hello, darling.I was just telling Falkner here how much you seemed to have grown up.I guess you have.”She was mortified.Doone couldn’t look her father in the face; she was so embarrassed.Taking his hand when it was offered, he stood up and hugged her.Falkner mumbled something about seeing to drinks and left her alone in the room with her dad.
“I didn’t know you were here.I’m so sorry.”He told her it was all right.“I was going to tell Falkner that I think I’m in love with him.I had no idea that he called you.”
“It was good to see you’re so much in love with that young man.He’s a good-hearted person, don’t you think?”She nodded, still unable to look him in the face.“Come on now.Have a seat here beside me and let me have a look at you.You’ve grown up so much in the last five years or so.”
“Why did you leave us then?Mom told me that you couldn’t stand the fact that she had cancer and you ran off.”He just stared at her.“Why did you leave me with her if you knew what she was like?”
“When did she get the biopsy done?My insurance company never notified me of her having it done.They were so sure that it wasn’t cancer.”She asked him what he was talking about.She’d never had a biopsy done as far as she knew.“Well then, she doesn’t have cancer then.She had a lump, but they said that they were very sure that she just had a lump.It happens in older women.Your mom never had cancer, honey.Not as far as I knew.”
~*~
Falkner was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Meggie hadn’t ever had cancer.There were more, too, things that Robert had told them that made him think that Meggie was a far worse person than he’d ever believed her to be.
Also, she has a savings account with Robert that she drew from on occasion.It was a substantial amount of money, too.And she would draw from it about once a month to get her things that she had around the house.Also, to pay for things like entertainment when she went out to dinner and themovies.He had proof of her doing these things, too.As she had a card that she used, which told him what she was using it for.
Which meant that she was in the housing units for fraudulent paperwork that she’d filled out and had filed by Doone.They both could be in trouble with that.Then there was the food card, the insurance card, as well as other things that she’d been getting for free or at a heavy discount that she shouldn’t have been.
There was little to do about it now, just to turn herself in for the crimes.Dad said that he’d take care that Doone had representation at the hearing, as they were all sure that there would be one.But Meggie was on her own.Since she’d filled out the paperwork and Doone had filed it, they didn’t know what was going to happen to either of them.Dad told him that Meggie would be required to pay it all back at the very least.
“Good.”Robert was upset that Meggie had dragged Doone into her scheme, and he was also pissed off at the amount of lies that she’d told to get herself in the position that she was in with the government.“She deserves the book thrown at her is what she deserves.That damned woman could never tell the truth if she could think up a lie quick enough.That’s one of the reasons that I left her when I did.”
“The part that boggles my mind is the fact that she never had cancer.”Doone was taking that part of her lies the hardest.“All the things that she did to me to get herself cured of it make me so mad at her that I could easily strangle her.”
“How much did it cost you to have the vampire cure her, honey?”She told her dad the amount that she had to pay the woman for no reason.“I wonder what she thought when you paid her.More than likely, she thought it was a big joke on your part.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too.I paid Mom so that she could pay the vampire.I never met her.”Falkner could see where she was going with this, and it hurt his heart that Doone had been played by that as well.“She took the money and used it for something that has no value, I’m sure.Do you have any idea how hard I had to work to get that money?How much overtime and giving up vacation pay for that amount?Christ, when I think about it, my soul hurts with how she treated me.Her own daughter.Like I was nothing to her.”
“I’ll pay you back.Every penny.”Doone told her dad that it didn’t matter now.She had worked it so that it could happen, and now that it was over, all she wanted to do was to find her mother and ask her why she’d done it.“Well, you can bet that I’ll ask her.And I’ll make sure you get an answer too.She’ll say something like she felt she deserved it, and she thinks that will be the end of it.But it won’t be as far as I’m concerned.”
“You might want to ask her why she said you left us.She said that you found someone else and that as soon as it was found out that she had cancer, you told her that you couldn’t stand to see someone dying from it again.”He said that his mom had died from it, and he thought that no one should go through that.“So did you leave her…no, that couldn’t be it.You knew she didn’t have cancer.Why did you leave me?”
“I tried to get in touch with you all the time.After you changed your cell phone number, all I had was your mothers, and she said that you didn’t want to talk to me anymore.Something about the cancer was mentioned, but since I knew that she didn’t have it, that didn’t fly with me.I never wanted to give up on you, Doone.Never.But I couldn’t get in touch with you through your mother.”He could have, Falkner was sure, but he didn’t try very hard, was all he could figure.“Your mother filled you full of lies so that I knew I didn’t have a chance.However, had I known that she was using the non-cancer diagnosis, I wouldn’t have stayed away at all.”
“You could have done a lot of things to have contacted me.You knew that I worked at the hospital.I guess I could have contacted you as well, but it seemed to me that you left us both when mom said she had cancer.I can’t believe that I fell for that for all these years.I think that’s what bothers me the most, as to how well she played me into thinking that she was going to be dying at any minute.Then she hit on this vampire plan that gave me hope.That’s why I never questioned her health afterthat.I figured that with the vampire blood in her system, she’d live for a very long time.Maybe outlive me.”
“You were the biggest victim in all of this, child.I can’t believe that she did this to her own daughter.To think that she not only lied to you but stole from you as well.All your hard-earned money and time.”Her dad shook his head as if he couldn’t believe that she’d been so cruel.And she had been too.“When I can talk to her, you can bet that she’s going to get a piece of my mind.I’m going to divorce her after this, too.She never wanted me to go through with it before, but I see no reason for me to stick with her after all she’s done.”
“What reason did she give you for not wanting a divorce?I’m sure it was something that she’d had a reason for.”He told him that it was for Doone’s sake.He didn’t want her to think he was going on with his life without her.“That’s about as sorry an excuse as I’ve ever heard.Why did you go along with it if you could never get in touch with Doone?I mean, that was the sole reason for it, correct?”
“I guess I was holding out hope that she’d find me again.”He looked at Doone.“I guess she finally did, but not for reasons that I had hoped.Her mother did this to us.”
Falkner thought that neither of her parents deserved to be with Doone.They were both stupid as far as he was concerned.Meggie was worse, but Robert had his own excuses to stay out of Doone’s life that made just about as much sense as Meggie saying she had cancer when she didn’t.If it were up to him, he’d cut them both from his life.But it wasn’t, and he was going to keep his opinion to himself.Unless she asked him.Then all bets were off.
