Page 25 of Hard Rock Temptation
After that embarrassing interruption, we all left the studio. I had wanted to suggest we all stay and jam a bit, since it had been a while since we’d all just played around, but everyone already had their own plans.
I was only a little disappointed, because it meant Micah and I could have some time to ourselves, something we desperately needed. Time to talk, time to kiss, time to… maybe do other things, as well.
I tried not to let myself get carried away. Micah had only just worked through his feelings, after all. Still, now that we were officially together, the only thing I could think about was getting him alone, and all to myself.
“You really scared the shit out of me, you know,” Micah spoke up.
“What?” I looked at him, confused. “When?”
“When you teased about not forgiving me for my bland rhyming skills.” Micah grinned down at me and took my hand in his,swinging our linked limbs between us. It was such a youthful, childish action that I had to return his grin.
“Lyrics are like poetry,” I said. “There are no real rules. You just do whatever feels right.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a chuckle.
I started chattering away about creativity, self-expression, the importance of having an emotional outlet, and all the other factors that went into lyricism, with Micah nodding along, a soft smile on his face as he looked down at me.
Then I stopped short.
There was someone waiting outside the building. Someone I hadn’t seen in a long time. Someone I’d been purposefully avoiding.
“I thought I’d find you here,” she said.
A short woman with familiar red hair flowing down her back, unlike my bouncy curls, pushed herself off the shiny black sports car she’d been leaning on. Her face was marked with more lines than she should have had at her age but her green eyes were sharp.
“M-mom?” I stuttered. “What are you doing here?”
Micah immediately moved to stand in front of me, as if he could shield me from her gaze. His eyes narrowed as his hand tightened around mine. There was sick feeling rising in my stomach. In any other stressful situation Micah’s presence would have bolstered me. But not here. Not with her.
“I wouldn’t have had to show up like this if you just answered your phone,” my mom said, her mouth pinched in displeasure.
“I don’t tend to respond to accusations and threats,” I said, hating that my voice trembled.
“Threats?” My mom scoffed loudly. “When have I ever threatened you?”
“What exactly do you call it when someone says they’ll ruin your life if you don’t give them money?” I shot back.
Micah inhaled a sharp breath. His hand slipped out of mine to ball into a shaking fist, but he put his other arm around me and pulled me into his side.
I hadn’t told him about my mom texting. Too much had been going on between us. I didn’t want him to know. Truthfully, I’d planned on just ignoring the whole thing.
Until my mom showed up in person. I couldn’t ignore that, and she knew it.
“I paid off all your debts,” I said flatly. “You shouldn’t owe anyone anything. I don’t know what else you want from me.”
“Don’t you give me that backtalk,” my mom snapped, taking a step forward.
I flinched. A cringing ‘sorry’ bubbled up my throat, an instinct browbeaten into me. The word was halfway out of my lips when Micah spoke up.
“Kaylee doesn’t owe you anything,” he said. “You stopped having any say in her life the second you kicked her out.”
“Kicked her out?” My mom scowled. “You mean, when you took her away from me. You think I don’t know she moved in with you and those misfits?”
“Usmisfitsare the reason you’re no longer drowning in debt, Susan,” Micah shot back. “You should be grateful Kay did anything for you at all.”
I put a hand on Micah’s shoulder. I appreciated him supporting me, but I didn’t want to turn this into something bigger than it had to be. I couldn’t let it.
“I don’t want to have this conversation today,” I told her as firmly as I could.
