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Suddenly, I need something a lot stronger than coffee, so I open the freezer and produce a bottle of vodka. “One of the many reasons I love you,” Saxon declares, offering me his mug. I pour a decent helping into his coffee and do the same with mine.
When Kellie comes barging through the back door, I suddenly wish I’d skipped the coffee altogether and just stuck to the hard stuff.
She almost falls flat on her face and does a double take when she sees Saxon standing topless in my presence. “So it’s true then?” She poses it as a question, but it’s more of an accusation.
“It’s true that you’re a meddlesome, infuriating woman who can’t help but baby her adult son? Yes, yes, it is,” Saxon quips, which infuriates her further.
“Don’t you be smart with me. How could you do this to your brother? And you…” She turns to glare at me something wicked. “I don’t know what’s come over you, but you must stop it this second.”
“Stop what?” I inquire, deadpanning her.
“This!” She gestures around the room with a dramatical flair. This would be comical if I wasn’t so flipping mad.
“I see Sam couldn’t wait to tell you all the gory details. Pointing fingers at Saxon, no doubt.” I put a stop to her rampage with my candor.
She soon recovers, dropping a bombshell of her own. “Sam was arrested last night. For drunk driving. Sheriff Marks had the good sense to call us. Luckily, he’s known our family for years and was kind enough to forget this little indiscretion ever occurred. This could have been very serious—”
“If you didn’t bribe your way out of trouble like you always seem to do?” I finish for her, sickened that she gets away with such behavior. She isn’t above the law, and quite frankly, her babying Sam has done nothing to curb his ways.
Saxon rests beside me, quietly drinking his laced coffee. He knows when to pick his battles, and this time, he’s staying out of it. This is between Kellie and me, and I plan on having it out with her, once and for all.
She tugs at her pearl earring, out of sorts as I have clearly rained on her martyr parade. “I beg your pardon. All I did was save face for this family. A little gratitude would be appreciated.”
“Gratitude?” I scoff, folding my arms. “For what? Punishing one child to save the other?”
She blinks once. “I did no such thing.” But I’m done with pretenses.
“Quit it, Kellie. I know everything. I know what you did to ‘save’ your kids.” I can’t help but air quote my sarcasm. “It wasn’t bad enough that you allowed a nine-year-old little boy to deal with a traumatic event on his own, but then you had to ruin his adulthood as well. Sam was also to blame for what happened, yet your favoritism toward him changed Saxon’s life forever. His possibilities were limited thanks to you and your ‘gratitude.’ So don’t you dare stand here and expect me to bow down at your feet.” I don’t feel any better at the end of my rant, but I’m glad to get it out in the open.
Kellie stands dumbfounded. “How da-dare you speak to me that way.” Her falter reveals I’ve hit a nerve. “What have you done?” She directs her question at Saxon. “You’ve once again managed to poison this family. I hope you’re happy.”
Just as I’m about to swoop on in, Saxon shakes his head, visibly disgusted. “At one time, I gave a fuck about what you thought of me, but now, I know you’re the one with the problem, not me. My entire life, I lived in Samuel’s perfect shadow, so in a way, I should thank you.”
A pickax could cut the thick tension.
“I should thank you for being the world’s shittiest mom because if it wasn’t for you, I’d most likely be stuck in this shithole town, doing the same nine-to-five boring ass job and watching the love of my life play happy family with that son of a bitch you call your son. I don’t want anyone’s pity because life is what you make of it, and I’ve lived an extraordinary life. So if it helps you sleep at night, then fine, blame me for every single bad thing that’s happened. It makes no difference to me because I stopped caring a long time ago.”
Tears well in Kellie’s eyes. I tilt my head to the side, contemplating whether they’re crocodile tears or the real deal.
“Darling?” Greg stops dead in his tracks as he pans the room. Kellie sniffles because I suppose the truth hurts. “What’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter is that Lucy is in love with Saxon.” Sam’s sharp voice cuts through the decay as he saunters into the kitchen. His black eye and cut lip remind me of last night’s brutality, and I once again can’t help but feel guilty beyond belief.
He avoids my stare and makes a beeline for the coffee. Helping himself to a cup, he leans against the counter, drinking like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“Is this true, Lucy?” There is no judgment behind Greg’s question, only curiosity.
Shuffling my feet, I nod. “It’s true.”
Saxon is wise to stay put. Having him come to my rescue won’t do us any favors. All it’ll do is incite more arguments and make him look like the bad, well, badder guy.
“I don’t understand how this is possible. When did this happen?”
“We didn’t plan it. It just happened,” I explain. Even though my response sounds like the world’s lamest excuse, it’s the truth.
“You just happened to fall out of love with one of my sons and in love with another?” Kellie mocks, not hiding her contempt.
“I don’t expect you to understand. I don’t understand it myself, but what I do understand is that I love Saxon. Very much.” I risk a look at Sam. He’s stone-faced, but the twitch below his right eye betrays his anger.
