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What a despicable woman. She wasn’t going to give him or her a choice at all. If Sean wanted to be here, she insisted he date Marie, whether either of them liked it or not.
Marie nodded mechanically. “Sure.”
“Pick her up at six. Plan to have her home by nine. Something appropriate, like a movie and dinner.” She opened the door for him. “Please drive home safely.”
She was going to dictate the type of date they could have? “Thanks again for dinner.” He walked out the door, waving goodbye before she shut the door.
Sean hurried to his car, getting in it and driving off. Not to abandon Sang, but holy crow! His heart was racing.
Sang was so miserable in there. Carol was turning everything upside down.
Had she asked Marie if she liked him?
Was it even a good idea that he was playing along with it?
He drove, a little too fast, and absently headed home. Where else was he going to go?
Along the way, he replayed the night over in his head. He should have spoken up to Carol. He should have insisted Sang could make her own decisions.
He’d date Sang. He was only interested in her.
But they were still playing the stupid game. Cater to Carol. Fake the smiles. Sang does whatever she wants to do.
It was all wrong.
Unkind
SANG
I wished I could have warned Dr. Green what Carol was up to.
Not that Carol had warned me. It was just obvious when she’d picked out the dress for Marie and spent far more time on her makeup than she had on mine. Then she asked us to stay upstairs while she “interviewed” him.
My father had retreated to the living room after dinner. I hadn’t had a chance to talk with him about schools...or anything. He kept disappearing to his computer or to another room. Too afraid to speak to me? After what I’d said to him last time he was here? I was more frustrated with him, and I didn’t know if I should just talk to him with Carol around or just avoid him completely.
Jimmy started picking up dishes from the table. I moved to the dishwasher and opened it, ready to put dishes in. As much as I wanted to just go to bed and call it a night, I wanted to at least continue to make an effort at being on her good side.
She was interested in the private school, at least. That was something.
When Sean finally left, Carol returned to the kitchen without Marie. “Sang,” she said quickly. “Go upstairs and take off those clothes and hang the dress up. Wash your face. Jimmy, scrape and stack the plates for Sang to fill up the dishwasher with when she gets back. When you’re done, you go wash up.”
What about Marie? Perhaps she had been sent to hang up her dress, too. Carol wasn’t going to make her clean up?
I scooted out of the kitchen, my nerves rattling through my whole body. My heart was beating too fast.
Trying to force Sean on Marie.
Marie...she’d looked so humiliated. There was nothing I could think to say. Sean was trying so hard to be polite.
I wasn’t sure what was said at the door, something about taking her on a date.
I went upstairs. Marie’s door was closed.
I knocked softly and waited.
Marie opened the door and looked out at me. “This is stupid,” she whispered.
I pressed a finger to my lips reflexively but spoke in a whisper, too. “Take the date. He can take you to see your mother. He won’t mind.” Carol was forcing us into things we didn’t want to do. However, why waste the opportunity? Luckily for her, it was one of the guys and not some stranger.
She nodded, still frowning. She backed up and closed the door.
It was strange to be negotiating with her like this. In the past, it was always a risk. She could say a few words and I’d be in trouble.
With Carol, it was different. There was nothing to win here. If Marie really wanted to be free of her, didn’t want to stay, I might be her only choice.
I stared at the empty hallway, then closed my eyes, trying to find a moment to myself to think. I hoped she wouldn’t tattle to help herself.
I couldn’t keep pushing her like this. Making her date Dr. Green? Forcing her to wear a dress and smile? It wouldn’t be long until she got too agitated.
I stood against the wall, and closed my eyes.
A wave of dizziness fell over me. I opened my eyes again, waiting for it to pass.
My stomach was a little too full of cake and ice cream. I finished the bowl to please Carol, but it was too much. Plus I was super tired. I’d been resisting sleep, but I wasn’t going to be able to do that again tonight.
I went to my bedroom and knelt to enter the attic space.
It was completely dark inside. The air tasted of a mix of scents, but the strongest was moss and berries.
I crawled inside a bit, shutting the door to find myself in complete darkness.
Hands found me instantly, long and thin fingers wrapping around mine. I couldn’t see, but I knew it was Victor. It seemed like forever since I had seen him, even if he had been around just a couple of hours ago.
He kneeled next to me near the door, leaning in close.
His kiss rested on my lips before I could say anything.
His hands took up mine and held them in his, holding them tight.
I shifted back until I was on my butt, overwhelmed but suddenly forgetting where I was. I appreciated this. I wanted a kiss. I wanted to feel him.
I felt so far from them.
He backed up a touch, but close enough I sensed his nose hovering over mine. “You did fine,” he said quietly.
“What did she say to Sean? I couldn’t hear most of it.”
“She said you were too young to date. You were only interested in your studies.”
I choked and coughed. “What?”
“I don’t know if she was just saying that because she didn’t like him, or if she’d turn any of us away if we tried to do the same thing.”
I sighed. “I’m worried. If Sean’s not good enough for even Marie, is she going to start bringing strangers here to date her...or me?”
“We’ll get you both out.” He brought my hands to his lips and kissed the knuckles. “princess, hang in there.”
I wanted to stay with him, but I had to get everything settled downstairs so I could come back to him. “I’ve got to go clean up,” I said quickly. “I need to wash dishes.”
“Come back when you can,” he said.
“Hide in the back,” I said. “Just in case Jimmy comes up here before me. More than likely he will.”
“I promise,” he said. He bent forward and kissed me again on the lips. Long. Slow. Soft.
I closed my eyes, wishing I could stay. The whole dinner and charade had knocked the confidence out of me.
He released me and helped me gather some pajamas.
I left him to go to the bathroom. I stood at the sink, staring at the makeup for a minute.
Not me.
Not what I wanted.
I wished I could be strong like Mr. Blackbourne and the others wanted me to be.
This was getting so hard. I wasn’t myself anymore.
I turned on the sink, letting the water run over my hands, and scrubbed my face. I took a little time, needing to calm down. My nerves had my body shaking.
It could have been so much worse. I had to remember that.
Once I was finished, I went downstairs quickly.
Jimmy was at the sink alone. From what I could hear, Carol was in the laundry room.
Jimmy scraped the dishes free of food and used the scrub brush to soap them. The goop in his hair had dried enough to make the tight curls of his hair shine. He looked up at me as I came closer. His dark eyes softened.
“I can take over,” I said quietly.
He smiled, small and sympathetic. He held a soapy dish out to me. “Rinse and put in the dishwasher?” he said in a quieter tone. “I’ll help.”
My lips trembled, finding some solace in him, despite h
is mother. Silently, he shared how he was sorry for what happened.
It was hard to dislike him.
I would have said I’d do the dishes alone to be nice, but it kept him from poking around and discovering Victor.
I took the dish from him and used the sprayer to rinse it.
At first, we worked quietly. The smell of dinner that evening was washed away with the soap we used. I appreciated the quiet moment.
If I was normal, I would almost like this. He was very nice.
He handed me one of the dinner plates, and it was slippery. It was one of the nice dishes Carol had brought, so I was trying to be extra careful. I held on carefully, until an uncontrollable shivering took over me the instant he let go.
It seemed to jump from my hand.
