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I read through the series of texts that had come through. Her parents had sprung a last-minute family holiday on her, and they were going to be somewhere in the south of France, and her phone was blocked from making international calls. She’d only be getting back the day before she was due to go to boarding school. So I wouldn’t even have a chance to see her before she went away.
With an effort, I swallowed down yet another fucking lump in my throat and then went to find Mr. Lowry.
“Now you’re living in my house, there are a few things you need to be aware of.”
Seated on the edge of an uncomfortably hard black leather sofa, I stared down at my hands as Mr. Lowry continued to speak.
“First of all, part of the agreement with your mother was that you’d cease all contact with any persons involved in your previous life. Think of it as a fresh start. The opportunities that you’ll have here are endless.”
“I don’t get to see my mum again? Or my friends?”
His lips thinned, and he frowned at me. “Your mother is an alcoholic and a prostitute. I know she was your mother, but no child of mine will be allowed anywhere near that environment. The same goes for your friends. You’re young; you’ll make new friends easily enough.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but he held up his hand. “This is non-negotiable. Besides, your mother has already agreed.” The hardness faded from his expression as he sighed. “You’ll thank me for this later, Zayde. I know you can’t see it now, but I’m only doing what’s best for you. And me. I…I’d given up hope of having a legacy, a son who could follow in my footsteps and one day join the board of Alstone Holdings. But now I have you, and I’m going to do everything in my power to give you as many advantages as I can. On that note…”
He began to reel off a list of things while I sat frozen on the sofa, my head spinning. There was something about a tutor to get me up to speed before the school year began, something about someone teaching me how to behave in a “proper” way, a whole list of staff members and trainers and chefs who would all be in and out of the house each day. I was given codes for the doors, information about where I could and couldn’t go, and strict instructions not to have any friends over unless they were pre-approved by Mr. Lowry himself. The same with going out—it could only be to pre-approved places, at times that we’d agreed to in advance. On Monday, he was opening a bank account for me, and I’d be given a generous allowance, as long as I toed the line. He finished up with a reminder that my surname was now Lowry, the same as his, and he was taking care of updating all my records. I was no longer a Smith.
It was like my past identity had been wiped away. I no longer existed.
While I sat there, unable to bring myself to even speak, Mr. Lowry glanced down at his shiny Rolex.
“Ah. My business colleague will be here shortly. He’s got a son the same age as you, so I asked him to come. Get to know him before the new school year.”
Great. Forced friendships. Another thing to add to everything else that I still couldn’t get my head around. I didn’t want new friends. And I definitely didn’t want to be subject to all these rules that he’d given me. I’d been independent all my life; I was used to taking care of myself and hanging out with my friends wherever and whenever we wanted. But Fallon…she lived in Alstone. Maybe I could get to see her when she was home from boarding school. Maybe there was one thing in my life that didn’t have to change.
The doorbell rang, right on cue, and I followed my dad through the house just in time to see a short lady with light brown hair and a grey uniform answer the door. A maid? We had a maid? I felt like I’d been dropped in someone else’s life.
A tall, muscular guy who looked to be around the same age as my dad walked in, followed by a boy with messy black hair and a sullen expression on his face. Yeah, he wanted to be here just about as much as I did.
“You boys go into Zayde’s room.” My dad was already striding away, followed by the other man, leaving me standing in the hallway, staring awkwardly at the boy. I shifted on my feet as he glanced everywhere but at me. Better get this over with. Clearing my throat, I took a step forward.
“Hi. I’m Zayde Smith—uh, no. I mean, Zayde Lowry.”
He finally looked at me, interest sparking in his eyes. “Zayde? Cool name. I’m Caiden Cavendish.”
One of the best things my dad had done for me was to introduce me to Caiden, and I knew he’d be out there right now working to fix what he could. The tabloid newspaper had dragged my dad’s name through the mud, but I knew that Michael Lowry would never sit back and let them tear his reputation to shreds. The article had done a good job at attempting to discredit him, and Alstone Holdings by extension, but we wouldn’t go down without a fight.
My mum, though… Fuck. The way the article painted her…the problem was, so much of it was true. Her death hadn’t been due to the pain of losing me, though. I knew that deep down, but as much as I fucking hated to admit it, the article had planted a seed of doubt in my mind. Had my leaving contributed to her downward spiral?
No. She’d always been the same, prioritising drugs and alcohol over essentials like fucking food and electricity. If it hadn’t been for Creed and the jobs he’d given me, I’d have gone hungry way more than I had.
The day my dad had informed me of her death was still burned into my mind.
A tragic accident.The words echoed over and over in my head as I lay on my unmade bed, curled into a ball, my chest aching with a suffocating, heavy throb that refused to go away. Yeah, it was tragic, alright. My mum, who I hadn’t seen since I’d left my previous home behind, was gone. My dad didn’t believe in sugar-coating the truth, so I’d heard the full story. She’d been celebrating her thirtieth birthday by going on a massive bender, using the money my dad had given her, and at 3:25 a.m., she’d been coming out of a club, drunk and high, and had run into the road and been hit by a van. She’d died on impact.
Despite the fact that she hadn’t cared enough to say goodbye to me the day I’d left for good, despite the fact that she’d never been warm or loving towards me, despite the fact that I’d mostly been left to my own devices ever since I could remember, she was still my mum.
The ache wouldn’t go away, so I put my nail to my arm. I knew by now that I shouldn’t, that it was wrong to do this, but it was the only way I knew to make it better, even though it didn’t last. Three days after I’d heard the news, everything was a dull haze, like I was living in a fog, and the bursts of sudden, bright pain were the only things that could penetrate it. The only thing that would quiet my mind, just for a moment.
There was a knock at my door, and I yanked my sleeve down, hiding the evidence of what I’d done to myself. Rubbing my hand across my face, I rolled over on my bed. “Come in,” I croaked.
A dark head of hair appeared, followed by a body, and then Caiden was in my room, looking everywhere but at me. Leaning against my desk, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Uh. Do you wanna go for a bike ride?”
“I don’t—”
“I cleared it with your dad. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“Okay.” It was probably better than another day of lying here staring at nothing. My dad had been in to check on me a couple of times, and some of the staff members had left me food, which mostly remained untouched. But other than that, I hadn’t seen or spoken to anyone. As I swung my legs over the side of my bed, pulling up into a seated position, the mark on my arm rubbed against my jumper, and I scratched at the itch through the fabric. Caiden’s eyes darted down to my arm. His jaw tensed, but he didn’t say anything. He turned to head out of the door, and I followed him.
