Chapter 13

13

Shelby

I wake up in a panic.

As though I've slept through an alarm and I've missed the most important appointment of my life.

I throw the covers off my body and when I see that I'm still naked from the waist down, I freeze.

I cover my mouth…

That wasn't a dream?

So Faust waiting for me outside our son's bedroom and him grabbing me, picking me up and taking me to my bed… that wasn't a dream. Him kissing me and stripping me from the waist down…

His aggressive mouth and his tongue…

I gasp and part my legs and look down.

My inner thigh.

There's a mark.

A red mark.

A… hickey…

My toes curl.

Everything from last night was not a dream.

Including the part where Faust finished me off- twice - and then left the bedroom.

I turn and reach for the monitor to find Oakley's bed empty.

I spring up from the bed and scramble to find something to put on as I hurry toward the door.

Mom brain in instant panic mode.

Where's my son? Where's my baby?

I'm not even a single step from the bedroom when I hear Oakley giggling.

I touch my chest to calm my racing heart.

I find Oakley in the kitchen with Faust.

It smells like coffee.

Faust stands in the corner of the kitchen, holding a coffee mug with stick figures and the word MOM written on it.

I'm not sure if he chose that on purpose as a way to make me feel like crap, but either way, it works.

His eyes are angry, as always.

I look at his lips. I think about his tongue…

"Good morning," Oakley says.

I walk to him, smiling. I kiss the top of his head.

"Faust asked if I wanted coffee!" Oakley announces.

"He did what?" I ask.

Faust shrugs his shoulders and grins.

"Then he asked if I wanted to drink ketchup!" Oakley says.

"Well, Faust is a little bit crazy, huh?" I ask.

"But then he made me chocolate milk. It's way better than yours."

I look at the glass of chocolate and I can see why. It's rich and dark brown. Meaning Faust put way more chocolate syrup than I would.

"So what's for breakfast?" Faust asks. "What should we order?"

"You can order breakfast?" Oakley asks.

"You've never been to a diner or something, kiddo?"

I cringe. I feel three inches tall.

Faust looks at me. "Cup of coffee… and we take the kid to his first diner…?"

Just like that I have both Faust and Oakley staring at me, waiting for an answer.

It's like we're a family all of a sudden.

Which is what I've wanted all along… right?

Right?!

As I stand outside the apartment building, Bobby opens the door and looks terrified of me.

"Hey," he says.

"Bobby," I say.

"Um, listen, I'm sorry. About the music." He nervously runs a hand through his hair. "I should have known better. I should have been nicer to you and your kid. Just, uh, please don't let your boyfriend kick my ass. Okay?"

This sort of thing annoys me.

All those times I tried to be nice to Bobby and he was an ass. But all it took was someone of Faust's size to threaten him?

"I'm not promising a thing," I say to Bobby.

That makes him even more nervous as he walks away.

Out in the parking lot of the apartment Oakley is riding his scooter. Wearing a neon blue helmet with bright yellow spikes on top. In his mind he's fighting off dinosaurs and man-eating snakes.

In my mind I'm thinking about how nice it was to eat breakfast with Oakley and Faust.

Sitting in the corner booth of a diner, Oakley unsure of what to pick, Faust telling him to get one of everything. Why not, kiddo? Oakley constantly looking at me for reassurance.

I know that pisses Faust off. I get it.

I allowed this to happen.

The table full of food and the three of us eating as much as we could.

Faust was the only one to actually finish a meal.

Now my fridge is stuffed with leftovers from the diner, which is fine. Who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?

Everything about the adventure… me getting Oakley's booster seat for Faust's very expensive car. A luxury brand you'd see commercials for during Christmastime. As though someone would actually buy someone else a car for Christmas…?

Maybe. Maybe in Faust's seven-figure athlete world… yeah.

I worried the entire time that Oakley was going to put a handprint or footprint on the backseat.

After we were done at the diner, I scrubbed Oakley in the bathroom, not wanting any syrup anywhere near him. Even still, Faust's car smelled like bacon and syrup.

He dropped us off and said we'd talk again soon.

He then pulled me aside and asked if I was going to be stubborn about moving.

How in the world do you answer a question like that?

Faust ended up leaning down and I felt the scruff on his face tickle my cheek.

It sent a shot of warmth between my legs so hard and fast I almost groaned.

He whispered, ‘Let me spoil you and the kid for a minute… it's the only way I can even attempt to not be so fucking angry with you, sweetie.'

Then he left.

And now I'm standing here.

Oakley takes a turn too fast on his scooter and he hits the ground.

I run toward him as he climbs to his feet and kicks the scooter.

" Asshole! " he screams at the scooter.

"Oakley Matthew!" I bellow. "No more scooter. Get inside right now. You know better than to talk like that."

Oakley looks at me and narrows his eyes.

Oh, does he look like Faust now or what… minus the eye color.

Chills dance up and down my back.

I retrieve Oakley's scooter as he stomps his way inside.

He's a fierce kid, that's for sure. He hates to lose. He hates to be wrong. He hates not being perfect at everything.

He's Faust's clone.

"Are we going to live with Faust? Is it because he's my dad? Is that a rule? My one friend in school, his mom and dad don't live together. He gets twice the amount of presents."

I sit on the edge of Oakley's bed.

"Oakley, you know I've been writing a new book."

"Yes."

"When I'm all finished, I'll be able to buy a house. A nice house. You can even help me pick it out."

"Really?"

"Sure. We'll have fun. Until then, I don't know, maybe we should try someplace new."

"With Faust."

"It's not with him, Oakley. It's next to him."

"Next to him?"

"Like a neighbor."

"So I'll live with my mom and my dad will be my neighbor?"

"Yes," I say. "Can I tell you something?"

"What?" Oakley asks.

"I think that's really cool," I say with a grin.

"So we're going to move?"

"New apartment. New bedroom."

"I like this bedroom."

"Do you like when Bobby plays his music loud?"

Oakley shakes his head.

I frown.

Am I really going to use negative stuff to convince my son…

I lean forward and look across the bedroom.

It didn't have to be like this at all.

In so many ways.

I could have gotten my book written and published. Oakley and I could be in a bigger and better place already. Or better yet, I could have just told Faust…

I stand up.

Oh, fuck. His school.

"You can go to a new school too," I say. "Probably a better one. You won't have to deal with Miss Hanklin and her smelly breath."

"Really?" Oakley asks.

Poor kid.

He absolutely hates his first grade teacher.

This feels insane.

It's too much.

Too soon.

Way too…

My phone vibrates against my butt.

It's Faust texting me.

Not asking but telling us to come look at our new apartment.