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Mike straightens, his eyes meeting hers. He looks so relieved. I feel like I’m watching a chick flick just by listening to them. “You do?”
Charlie nods, a small smile taking hold. “I do. And I’m also sorry, Mike. I shouldn’t have done what I did. It was… terrible… uncalled for.”
“All I want is for us to be together.” Mike takes her hand and places it on his heart. “I don’t want to hurt you, Charlie. I never want to hurt you again.”
My eyes widen as I watch Charlie wrap her arms around Mike and pull him towards her, her mouth covering his. Mike’s hands stroke her hair away from her face and he pushes her up against the wall. Her leg lifts to his hips and he grabs it, holding it to him while he presses himself against her. My face flushes and that’s when my curiosity suddenly dies. I slowly ease the door shut, not wanting to interrupt them. Making out in the art studio probably isn’t the wisest, but who am I to stop them. With a sigh, I turn around and step down the hallway. It’s too beautiful of a day to remain cooped up inside. I’ll create my masterpieces on the grass and in the sun. The lighting is better there anyway. And tonight, I will definitely call Charlie and insist she tell me every detail of what happened between her and Mike.
Chapter 24
LUCAS
Ifidgetinmyseat while I wait for the video call to go through, hearing the same song repeat over and over again. Should I sit straight? Lean back in my seat? Should I have my hands on the armrests or in my lap? Lori’s face comes into view and I immediately straighten, gripping my hands in my lap while I watch her lean back in her seat.
“We received your chapters,” Lori says disdainfully, her expression looking more morose rather than perturbed. “They’re not at all what we expected. You clearly strayed from the outline.”
“I thought I could entice you towards something else,” I say with a weak smile, hoping to keep my voice from shaking. I have my parents support, I keep reminding myself, repeating it over and over again like a mantra. Somehow, it doesn’t stop the twisting of my gut, but my heart has stopped pounding frantically. “It’s a little project I’ve been working on. I think it will sell quite—”
“It’s not what we asked for.”
I flinch at Lori’s tone. It’s like a sharp dagger slicing through me. Her eyes darken, her eyebrows pinching together. I can practically see the vein sticking out on her forehead. Her hands lace together and she sets her chin upon them, staring at me through the screen as if I am physically there.
“Do I need to remind you, you signed a contract,” Lori continues. “And therefore, you owe us those four chapters.”
“I haven’t spent the money.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Have you read it?” I ask, feeling hopeful that if she reads the first chapter, I might be able to sway her toward something we both can agree upon.
My hopes are dashed when she rolls her eyes. She opens a drawer and slaps several pages onto her desk, rifling through the papers until she finds what she’s looking for. “Here we are,” she says while smiling bitterly. “‘She was strong, powerful, despite her small frame and the quiver in her voice’,” Lori reads, making me wince as I hear my own voice in her cruel tone, “‘but I liked how she stood up to us, how she wouldn’t back down, and deep down, I wanted to know more of her’.” Lori scoffs and shakes her head. “What is this bullshit? Some sort of romantic piece of garbage?”
I slam my fist on the armrest. “It’s not garbage. It’s written from the heart.”
Lori chuckles and shakes her head, and I watch on the screen while she grabs the pages I wrote and tosses them flippantly back inside her drawer. “This is not what we agreed on, Lucas. I specifically asked for stories about your family.”
“And this is about my family,” I insist. “It’s about my other family, the one that has always been there for me.”
“No one is going to want to read this crap.”
“You don’t know that. There may be at least one person that will wish to read my work. One person who will enjoy what I have to share with the world.”
Lori sighs and I watch the disdain spread across her face. If we were having this discussion in January, I would back done, listen, allow her to bend me to her will. However, after speaking with Rachel and my mother, having their support has given me strength. I won’t let Lori belittle me. Maybe this isn’t the gossip she wants to know, or the kind of literature her company publishes, but this story is entirely my own and I want to write it and share it with the world. No matter what.
“We had an agreement, Lucas,” Lori spits out, her hands clenching and unclenching as if she wishes to reach through the screen and wring my neck. “An agreement you signed. It’s binding, Lucas. Do you understand me? You can’t just one day wake up and decide you don’t want to do it anymore. That’s not how the world works. Besides, you’ve already been paid.”
I knew she was going to bring this up. In fact, I’m glad she did. I take out the check from my desk drawer and hold it up in front of the screen. “I never deposited it.”
Lori scoffs and rolls her eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”
As soon as those words spill from her mouth I take the check, ripping it into two pieces, and then four, and then six until they’re too tiny enough to tape back together. Lori’s eyes widen, her mouth gaping open as I release the flimsy paper. The both of us watch the pieces cascade down from my palm.
“Lucas—”
“I will not be writing the story on my parents and the Brent family,” I say, my voice stronger now. I push back my shoulders, holding Loris’ gaze through the screen, feeling the confidence burst through me.
“You are making a big mistake. We will sue you. Our lawyers will be—”
“I don’t care,” I say before pressing the red hang up image on the screen. My laptop goes black and a long sigh of relief escapes me as I lean back into my chair. I don’t know why I feel so relieved—why I feel like a large weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It’s not like much has been resolved. They can definitely sue me, but my parents will make it difficult for them, as they have made it difficult for many in the past.
