AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m not quiet or cute as I stumble around in the dark searching for my pants and shoes.
As quickly as I can, I make my way downstairs and to my SUV parked in her driveway. Dry swallowing pills is something I’ve perfected fairly quickly during my recovery, so I toss two in my mouth and lock my vehicle up before making my way back through Blaire’s front door.
Except as I’m heading for the stairs, a bit of light from an open door down the hall catches my attention.Did I wake Blaire up?
Yet when I walk into the room, that turns out to be an office, it’s not Blaire but a tall, thin blonde woman ransacking Blaire’s desk.
Before I can back away or yell for Blaire, the woman turns, her eyes popping wide a second before her crimson lips part and she screams her head off.
“Blaire! Blaire! Call the police! A crippled, homeless person is robbing us!”
What the hell?!
Obviously, she knows Blaire. I take a step toward her, but that only makes her scream louder.
“Hey, it’s okay. I'm Blaire’s…” I trail off, as my still tired mind struggles to land on the right word. Boyfriend? Boss?
Finally, I settle on friend, even though that feels wrong. “I’m her friend.”
Footsteps pound down the hall and then Blaire is standing in the doorway, her eyes on the other woman. “What are you doing here?” she demands.
“Lock up your jewelry!” The blonde woman shouts. She sniffs and lifts her nose, while jabbing a finger in my direction. “This horrid man is going to rob you.”
Blaire combs her hair out of her face, her shoulders sagging. “Mother! Lee is not gonna rob us!” she snaps.
Mother? This is Blaire’s mother?My hands tighten on the handle grips of my crutches.
Her mother’s narrowed blue eyes pin me in place as her slim nose wrinkles up as if I smell. “Then what is this unkempt man doing here?”
“It doesn’t matter what he’s doing here. What are you doing breaking in?”
“Breaking into my own daughter’s house, what a preposterous notion.”
Her high and brittle sounding laughter hurts my ears.
“The door was open. I simply walked right in.”
Feeling like shit for leaving her door open, I apologize to Blaire. “I’m sorry about that. I needed to get something out of my truck, and I didn’t even see her coming in.”
“It’s fine, Lee.” Blaire says, not taking her eyes off her mother. “But what isn’t fine is you showing up at,” she glances down at the phone clutched in her hand, “four in the morning, mother. What were you thinking?”
“You hadn’t sent me my money.” Blaire’s mother’s blue eyes glitter, turning as hard as diamonds.
Briefly, Blaire turns her attention to me, offering a tight smile before returning her gaze to her mother.
Studying the other woman, I can see a faint resemblance. They both have the same high cheekbones and long, narrow noses, but that’s about it. Blaire is all warmth while her mother is pure ice.
“Shit. I forgot.” Rubbing at her forehead, Blair’s unhappiness is painfully clear to me. “You could have called. How did you even get here?”
Blaire’s mother smiles and settles herself down in the office chair. “I took an Uber. You can drive me back after we make a few stops.”
Tension radiates off of Blaire. Swinging myself around, I make my way next to her and place a hand on her lower back. Leaning closer, and keeping my voice low, I ask, “Is everything okay?”
For a moment, her body sags against my palm before her spine snaps ramrod-straight and she inches away.
I return my hand to my crutch’s handle, unease bubbling angrily in my gut.
“Lee, I’m sorry, but I have to sort a few things out with my mother.” Her eyes look anywhere but at me and I can feel the embarrassment saturating the air.
