CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE DASH

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

DASH

It's been three days since I leaked the photos to the public. It was the best decision I have ever made. After our yelling match in her parents' kitchen, which ended in us making up and being stronger than ever, I realized just what she wanted. She told me to prove it and that was exactly what I had to do. We were past the point of no return. We had tried to survive without one another, and it just wasn't working. So, why not dive right into what we both want? Each other.

After she left her parents' house, I went into his office and found that guy's contact information. I called him up and paid him a very pretty penny in order to leak them. Yep, it was that easy. To be honest, I didn't think he had the resources to release them that fast to the right people. But it worked. Now I'm just waiting for him to release a statement saying that I paid him to release them. I'm hoping he won't but only time will tell.

We just finished the interview, and I must say that for as nervous as Tabatha was, she did amazing. They asked us question about how long we had been together. They asked us what it was like for her to be seeing someone who works for her father. They also asked her a few questions about Rodger, but she refused to answer any of those. All in all, it went well.

What didn't go well was the phone call I got right after we walked out of Mr. Knight's office. My cell rang, and it was my mother. She said she had seen my face on the local news and wanted to meet this girl who I had my hands all over. To say I have been avoiding her is an understatement. But I can't hold out anymore. I have three days before my race, and we fly out in the morning for it. So here Tabatha and I are, pulling up to my parents' mansion. The same house where I first met Tabatha. The same house where Tabatha and I had sex. A shiver runs up my back, causing my body to jerk.

"What's wrong?" she asks, placing a soft hand on my shoulder.

I look over at her and stare into her beautiful brown, golden eyes. Her long hair is down and a little windblown from having the windows cracked, but I like it the best when it's a little messy. She has a black, sleeveless, button-down shirt on with a pair of white jean shorts and a pair of black high heels. She looks classy yet comfortable. But it won't matter what she wears, my parents will still hate her.

"Nothing," I say, picking her hand up and kissing her knuckles. "Ready?"

She nods and gives me a big smile. I wish I could warn her how awful this dinner is going to be; I would, but I don't wanna worry her. So instead, I let go of her hand and get out of my car. Walking around to the passenger door, I open it up and help her out.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" she says playfully hitting me on the shoulder. "If I remember correctly, last time I saw you here, you were nothing close to a gentleman."

I laugh. "I can't be bad all the time."

"Guess not," she says as I walk her up the stairs. I twist the doorknob and push one of the stained glass doors open. I walk right in, pulling her behind me. As I enter the kitchen, I can't help the smile that spreads across my face as I remember meeting her in here the first time. She was so feisty. Bitchy. And the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and now she's all mine.

"Hello, Erik," my mother says as she wipes off her hands and starts to walk toward me. I allow Tabatha to pull away in order to hug her. For us to act like we are actually a loving family.

"Mother…" I say but come up with nothing else.

She pulls away, and her gray eyes, I got my eyes from her, look from me to Tabatha. She smiles, but it's a half smile. That's all she knows how to give. "Who is your girl, Erik?" she asks already pushing me out of the way and stepping up to her.

"Tabatha," she says happily and holds out her right hand. "Tabatha Knight."

My mother stops midstride and turns to look at me. "Are you dating your boss's daughter?" she asks accusingly. But she knows the truth. She saw the headlines and the pics. She just likes to put on shows.

"I am," I say carelessly, and her eyes narrow on me. Here we go.

Tabatha goes to speak, but my father decides to join us. "Hello, son," he says giving me a pat on the back. That's as close to hugging we get.

"How was your trip?" I ask as I go to the fridge, grabbing Tabatha a water and myself a beer. She already told me earlier that she didn't wanna drink any alcohol tonight.

"It was great. Such beautiful real estate in Venus," he says, and I nod as if I would know.

"How's racing coming along?" my mother asks as if she cares. The three of us know she doesn't. Not really. She's just trying to look good in front of Tabatha.

"Great."

Tabatha places her arm in the crook of mine, and she smiles brightly. "His first race is in a few days. You guys should come."

She sounds so proud of me. So happy to see me succeed. The amount of faith she has in me almost hurts. I've been the one to push myself. Some call me cocky; I call it determination. No one else has ever wanted me to succeed or ask what I wanted to do with my life. Not until Mr. Knight. And he didn't even ask. He just offered me my dream. But I would give up that dream for my world. Thankfully, she chooses to stand beside me.

"I believe we will be out of town," my mother says as she gestures for all of us to sit at the table.

"Didn't you just return?" Tabatha asks, and I can see my mother's eyes narrow on her.

"They travel quite a bit," I inform her as I pull out her seat.

"Oh," she says softly. "That would be fun," she adds with a smile. "I've always wanted to travel the world. Do you have to travel for business?" she questions as she places a napkin on her lap.

"For pleasure," my mother responds. Tabatha looks over at me with a look of confusion on her face as if to ask why can't they cancel their next trip to see you race? I give her a soft smile and then reach for my beer.

I just take a drink when my mother speaks. "How is Valerie, Erik?"

I start to choke on it, and I slam my fist into my chest thinking it will help, but it doesn't. "Busy," I say through a cough.

My mother frowns as she sits across from me. "We had dinner with her parents yesterday. They said she's been going through a rough time." I bet she is. She's probably hiding out thinking she is gonna get her ass kicked next. "You should call her." She looks over at Tabatha. "Maybe offer her to go out to dinner with you guys. I'm sure she'd love to meet Tabatha."

"We've met," Tabatha answers flatly as I try to regain my voice.

My mother gives her a big smile. "Isn't she adorable? She is the best." She goes on and on as I burn holes in her with my eyes. They always thought I would marry her. That's only because they found it convenient. They are best friends with Valerie's parents; therefore, we were destined together.

"She's…something," Tabatha says with a fake smile of her own. And I grab for my beer again. This is exactly why I have been ignoring my mother.

***

We walk into Tabatha's house after dinner, and I follow her up to her bedroom. I was hoping to avoid any question regarding my parents, but I know it's not gonna happen.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

I sigh. "Not really," I say pulling my shirt up over my head.

She undoes her shorts, and I watch carefully as she shakes her hips side to side as she pushes them down her tan legs.

"Come on," she continues as she walks over to her side of the bed. "You looked uncomfortable the entire time we were there. Maybe talking about it will help you."

I undo my pants quickly, ready to release my achingly hard cock. "Just nervous about the race."

"You're lying," she says matter-of-fact, and I laugh. She knows me too well. Or maybe I'm just that easy to read.

"What do you wanna know?" I ask her as I climb in beside her. Maybe if she asks the questions then I won't have to give certain details.

She cuddles up next to me and places her warm palm on my chest. She softly runs her fingertips soothingly in little circle as she takes a deep breath. "You guys aren't close."

If she meant it as a question, then that is not how it came out. It was clear that she saw the distance that I have put between my parents and myself.

"No," I say simply.

"Why not?"

I sigh. We've decided to go all in. I've lied enough so I'm going to be honest with her. That's what this relationship is all about, after all. "My parents never wanted a child. They married young, but they had big goals. They wanted to travel the world—spend a few years at a time in other countries. My parents had only been married for six months when they realized my mom was pregnant with me." I swallow and catch my breath. "I guess my grandmother, my dad's mother, had found out that they were expecting and was beyond the moon excited to be getting a grandchild. They felt obligated to keep me."

She sits up quickly and looks down at me. Her long brown hair falls down the left side of her face and softly touches my bare chest. "Oh, my God, Dash. They were going to…"

"Give me up for adoption," I finish before her mind wanders too much. Her bug eyes start to fill with tears, and I hate that she pities the life that I might have had. And I hate the odds that I might not have found her if my parents would have had their way.

"Is that why you are the way you are?" I frown, confused by her question. Her eyes drop down to my chest, and she whispers as if she's ashamed to say what she is thinking out loud. "Do your own thing. Never abide by authority?"

I actually give her a soft smile. "A child knows when they are not wanted," I say truthfully. As a young child, I remember all the fights my parents had over me. "My grandfather and grandma—my father's parents—pretty much raised me until I was ten. They are in all of my childhood memories."

"What happened?" she asks, and I reach up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"It was a week before my tenth birthday…I remember sitting at my grandparents' house eating breakfast before school. And the phone rang. I sat there and watched my grandma's face turn white, and I knew it was bad. She started crying and then hung up the phone. She never said one word. She didn't have to. I knew what the phone call had been about." I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "My grandfather was big into oil. He owned a ton of offshore rigs around the world. I mean, the guy was a billionaire. He loved what he did, but it also cost him his life."

"I'm so sorry," Her voice breaks, and that's when I notice the tears running down her flawless face. "You and your poor grandmother." She hangs her head. "I can't even imagine what that must have felt like."

"I can't even begin how to explain what it felt like," I say truthfully. "She was never the same after that day."

"Do you still see her?"

"She died shortly after he passed away." She sniffs and more tears runs down her face. "It was like she just gave up. Like she wasn't strong enough to go on without him."

She lies down on my chest and wraps her arms around my neck. "I'm so sorry," she cries into my neck.

"It's okay." I push her hair out of the way and rub her back.

She sits up quickly and wipes her eyes. "Then what happened?"

"My grandfather left my grandma everything. But then she passed and she had split what he had left her between my parents and myself."

Her eyes widen. "I bet that pissed them off."

I shrug as well as I can lying down. "They already had money. My parents are in real estate and have always made more than enough."

"So, what did you do?"

"What was there for me to do?" I ask. "I was twelve when my grandmother passed. By then my parents thought that I was old enough to be left home alone. So, they continued to go where ever they wanted, whenever they wanted."

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"I was in school. And like I said, a child knows when they are not wanted. So I stayed behind. I learned to do things for myself. And when they were home, it was a constant fight. They tried to tell me what to do, and I just didn't give a fuck. I'm not saying it was right; I'm just saying that I didn't need them. I got my money from my grandparents on my eighteenth birthday. I bought my house that day and moved out. It was the best thing I've ever done."

"I'm so sorry, Dash."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"I know. But still…"

"Stop." I reach up and pull her back down into me, wanting to feel her warm body. "It wasn't all that bad. I had Blake, and his parents were cool about letting me stay over there sometimes." I know there are kids out there who had it much worse. I was never beaten. I was just ignored.

"It sounds awful. Your parents should have been there for you. They should have cared about you more," she says into my chest. And I hate that she is right. I loved my grandparents more than I loved my own parents. The moment I watched my grandmother answer the phone and I saw the look of terror, the look of heartbreak on her face, I wished that it had been my mother or my father who had died, not my grandfather. What kind of person does that? A sick bastard is who. I would have gladly given up all that money in order to have them back. I went into a deep depression. My parents lived as if it was no loss to them. But they never really saw them anyway. Me, on the other hand, I lived with them. Then I had to go back to my parents' house. A place that I should have called home, but it felt foreign. It was cold and quiet. No one was there to wake me for school. Or to help me with getting ready. I was in a dark place for quite a while. My father only showed up to pick me up from the police station or to tell me to get the fuck over their death.

I guess you could say, as I have gotten older, our relationship, what relationship there is, has gotten a little better. But I can still go months without talking to them. Weeks without even thinking of them. And as true as it is, I know it's sad. But that's just how we are and nothing will ever change that.

I lean my head up to look down at Tabatha cuddled up next to me and I smile when I see her eyes are closed. I lean and place my lips on her forehead, giving her a good night kiss. I lie back down and close my eyes thinking of her. She reminds me what it's like to be wanted. To be important. To be loved.