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“I’m aware, Emory, but I’ll worry all the same.”
This time, her feet stopped their forward progression as she slowly turned around, however the haunted look on her face was not what I was expecting. I had no idea what happened to the confident teacher from moments ago, but I’d give up my last dollar for another glimpse.
“Do whatever you want, Luciano,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Spinning on her heel, she double-timed it the rest of the way to her shitty car, threw her bags in the back seat, and was sitting behind the wheel before I had a chance to blink. Seth followed suit and if it hadn’t been for Fia tugging on my sleeve, I’d probably still be standing there wondering what the fuck happened instead of following behind her car as she carefully wove her way through the streets of town.
“Well, I’d say you completely flubbed that up, Uncle Luc.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You like Ms. Daubson, right?”
“She’s your teacher and a good friend to River,” I stated matter-of-factly.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?”
“Shit, you’re worse off than I thought, Bruh,” she mumbled.
“Hey, watch your mouth. River will have my ass for letting you cuss. And I’m not yourbruh.”
“Whatever.” She sighed. “Maybe you need to talk to Rico or Uncle Gabe. They both landed their women.”
“Jesus Christ. Enough.” I ran my hand down my face, wondering when in the hell my love life had become the concern of a twelve-year-old.
“I’m just saying.” She shrugged her shoulders, but thankfully didn’t say another word the rest of the short drive.
Emory pulled into a driveway a few blocks from my apartment, while I parked on the curb at the street and watched as she walked Seth to the door. An older woman answered; her kind face dropping to a frown at the sight of the boy in front of her before quickly drawing him into her arms. After a brief conversation, Emory nodded to Seth and smiled, then shook hands with the woman and walked back to her vehicle.
As she grabbed for the handle, her eyes drifted to mine. I smiled gently, hoping to earn one from her in return, but she ignored the gesture. In the past, I would’ve felt the sting of rejection from her action, however, something deep inside told me that wasn’t what happened.
From my vantage point and my years of experience reading body language, it was easy to see she was drained. Whether it was from the events of the day or life in general, I had no way of knowing. But one thing was for certain…I was not a fan of the haggard look on my beauty. The problem was, I had no idea how to fix it.
EMORY
“I’M AWARE.”
Two words in the English language a girl didnotwant to hear from God’s gift to women. Sure, I’d been the one to make the reference to my size, but did he have to agree? There was no way to unhear it, much to my dismay. Then the bastard insisted on following me while I took Seth to his grandmother’s, like I was incapable of performing the task.
Asshole.
I don’t know why I thought he’d be different. When he came to my rescue with Mr. Jacobs, I’d been so caught up in my attraction to him I allowed myself to see something which wasn’t really there. Well, it was there, but the air of protectiveness I sensed flowing around him wasn’t for my benefit. It was for Seth, maybe even for Sophia, though she’d been in the car at the time.
Looking in my rearview mirror, I noticed he was still behind me as I left Mrs. Jacobs’s house. Whatever. I’d ignore him, just like I ignored the countless guards my father paid to follow me around growing up. They weren’t there for my safety, because you’d have to actually care about someone to want them safe.
Even before my father tossed his proverbial hat in the political ring, there was no great show of love in the Daubson household; at least none pointed in my direction. My brother, Maxwell, on the other hand, was treated as though he were the second coming of Christ. If he threw a temper tantrum, he not only got what he wanted…they gave him more. The only thing I ever received after mouthing off was a one-way ticket to my bedroom with a growling, empty stomach.
So, imagine my surprise when my mother told me I was going to summer camp. I’d been so excited I nearly wet my pants. It was a few months before I was set to start kindergarten and until then, I’d barely been around other children my age, let alone made any friends. Playdates were not part of the vocabulary when you were richer than Midas, unless it was financially beneficial.
“You’ll be gone for two weeks, Emory. Do try not to embarrass your father or me during that time.”
She walked around my room, giving her approval or denial on various outfits as our maids quickly packed my bags. I sat in the corner on a hard wooden chair, holding tight to the stuffed dog Gigi sent home with me the week before.
“Yes, Mother.”
What I hadn’t known until I returned home that first time, was while I attended “weight loss” camps each summer, the rest of my family spent those two weeks flitting around Europe. I was being starved and beaten down psychologically at the same time my parents unloaded obscene amounts of money to show Maxwell the world.
