21. Max
21
MAX
I glanced over at Theo as he maneuvered his tricked-out Land Rover into traffic. I hoped he didn’t mind the interruption to his evening, especially for something as distressing as my hysterical mother.
What we were doing was so opposite of what we’d agreed to. Getting involved in my mom’s drama was going to center Theo in my dumpster fire of a family, and I knew it was the last thing I should ask of him. I’d expected him to wave a speedy goodbye when he’d heard what I had to go do. The kindness in his offer to come along shook me to my core.
It seemed like he really wanted to help.
“Tell me what I’m up against,” Theo said. “Is Nick a big guy? Does he get violent?”
“No to both, thank God,” I said quickly.
But then I thought about all of the ways Nick’s behavior had been escalating lately. His confrontations with Rafe were getting worse because my brother seemed to be sick of his shit and realized that he needed to stand up to the man in defense of our mom.
“I guess I should say that he’s never gotten violent that I know of ,” I added, glancing at Theo. “To be honest, I’m not sure my mom would tell me if he did. She knows how I feel about him.”
Theo grunted.
I felt safe having him with me, even though I didn’t need his protection. Or at least I hoped I didn’t.
“Is there any way she can get out? I know you said there’s a financial implication, but I can’t imagine her and Rafe being there is healthier than the alternative.”
“This fight might be the push she needs to start thinking about moving on.”
“What’s their backstory? How did they meet?”
“Nick used to be a charmer. Handsome, funny … they met at a friend’s party and she was smitten. I think she was just looking for companionship. A good time to forget about her sadness, you know? But then he started looking after her, buying her things, moving us into his place so we didn’t have to worry about rent. She didn’t have to handle everything on her own anymore, and I think she liked that. They met when I was nine, were married by the time I was ten—and I was eleven when Rafe was born.” I paused, remembering the way my mom’s face used to look when she’d tell the story of how she and Nick got together. Her smile wasn’t genuine. “She’s never come out and said it, but I don’t think it was a love match. Not really. She was grateful to him and she liked the way he treated her—at first, anyway. And then Nick started tightening the screws and the next thing you know, she’s trapped.”
I glanced down at my hands and realized that my fingers were twisted so tightly together that they were turning white. I could feel Theo watching me, and it was a shock when he pulled my hands apart so he could lace his fingers through mine.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m sorry things have been hard for your family.”
I let out a long sigh and dropped my head back against the headrest. “We all have our shit, right? Except you. Your family seems really tight.”
He grunts again. “Yeah, we’re good now, but we had our own struggles. I lost my dad to a heart attack. Dropped dead, right there in the kitchen.”
He said it matter-of-factly, but I could tell that he was shoving down old pain.
“I’m sorry,” I brought his hand up to my mouth and brushed my lips against it.
His mouth went into a tight line. “My mom has always said my dad was her one true love, and that no one else would come close to loving her the way he did. So she never dated after he died. It was just the two of us—plus her sisters and my cousins, of course. Then when Jess lost her mom, we made up our own little pieced together family.”
I looked out the window and thought about all of the painful memories we kept to ourselves. I guess Theo felt the same way I did; it was easier to bury the hurt than try to work through it.
“There she is,” I said, sitting up a little straighter to point out the windshield. “Shit, she’s a mess.”
I could tell even from a distance that my mom was going to be hard to handle. Her blotchy face and smeared make-up meant that she’d been crying. But her defense mechanism was to swing harder in the opposite direction, covering up her sadness with fake, manic happiness, like the mascara smeared under her eyes wasn’t really there and everything was fine , just fine.
She was more dressed up than usual, which meant she was probably trying to turn a trip to the grocery store and the resulting home-cooked meal into a date. She was wearing a white flowy skirt, the type she favored because she says they “hide sins,” and a waist-length sleeveless blouse. Her brown hair was flipped out into choppy wings all over her head, probably because she kept running her hands through it as the tension between her and Nick edged up.
“What should I call her?” Theo asked as he parked.
“Renee.”
I realized in that moment that we were adding yet another layer of lies to our partnership. I’d never considered that Theo would meet my mom.
Damn it, she was going to love him.
I slid out of the car and speed-walked to her.
“Hey sweetie,” she said, her eyes filling with tears when she spotted me. “Sorry to drag you out over this little fight.”
We embraced and I felt her tremble a little.
“Stop, it’s fine. You know I’m always here for you.”
“Are you okay, Mrs. Simon?” Theo asked when he caught up to us.
“It’s Dawson,” I muttered. I never got used to us having different last names.
My mom frowned and glanced between us, running her fingers beneath her eyes to try to clean herself up. “And who are you?”
“Mom,” I began haltingly. “This is Theo Barnes … my boyfriend.”
A genuine smile lit up her face as she took him in. “Oh my, I had no idea! Well, it’s so nice to meet you, Theo. I do apologize for the circumstances.” She sniffled a few times and ran her fingers through her hair. “And please call me Renee.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” he replied. “Do you need anything? Some water? Tissues?”
She laughed. “I am sort of adrift, no purse or phone or anything. Silly me. Water would be wonderful, thank you.”
She smoothed her hair again as Theo walked toward the store.
“Maxie, you didn’t tell me you were involved with someone,” she whispered. “And so handsome !”
“We can talk about that later,” I scolded gently. “Right now, we need to worry about you. What’s going on? Why did he leave you here?”
“Oh, the usual silly stuff. The recipe I wanted to cook called for risotto, but he wanted rice instead. I said it wouldn’t be as good because shrimp risotto is totally different from shrimp with rice , and he lost his temper a little, right in the produce aisle. I shouldn’t have argued with him. I can’t do anything right.”
My heart fractured for her.
“Where’s Rafe?” I asked.
“He’s at a friend’s. This was supposed to be a date night for us.” She gave me a half smile. “So much for that. Can I borrow your phone? Nick didn’t pick up when I used the nice man’s phone to call, but he knows your number so he’ll answer.”
I dug through my bag and handed it to her. “Sure.”
I wasn’t confident that Nick would pick up if he saw my number either. He hated when my mom leaned on me for support because he knew how I felt about him. She dialed then paced in small circles, biting on her lip. It killed me how Nick managed to siphon her confidence away.
“He’s not answering,” she said, handing my phone back with a wan smile. “He might be out taking a walk.”
We both knew that Nick never worked off his frustrations with physical activity. More than likely, he was stewing and waiting for her to come home, so he could yell at her for making him leave her at the store.
Theo came striding across the parking lot, and it was hard for me to keep from staring at him. He was just so … magnetic. He looked like he was ready to solve all of our problems, either with muscle, money, or both.
“Here you go, Mrs. Dawson, I mean, Renee,” he said, handing a plastic bag to her. “Water, tissues, and some trail mix, just in case you need a pick-me-up.”
She looked in the bag then teared up again. “Thank you, that’s so kind.”
I rubbed her back. “Why don’t we head back to my place? Give you both more time to cool down. Sound good?”
My mom glanced between me and Theo. “What time is it?”
“Close to eight,” Theo answered.
I could tell she was weighing what to do. The obvious choice was to come to my apartment with me until it was time for Rafe to get home. But I knew that she was concocting a way to make it sound reasonable to go back to her abuser.
“You know what? Nick is probably getting worried about where I am. Maybe I should just get back there so he’ll know I’m all right. Can you take me home?”
I frowned as I glanced at Theo. I could tell by his expression that he didn’t agree with her decision either.
“How about I take the two of you to dinner first?” Theo suggested. “You’re hungry, aren’t you Max?”
He winked at me.
“Starving. That’s a great idea, T.” I turned to my mom. “Sound good?”
“No honey,” she gave me a sad smile as she shook her head. “That’s sweet of you, but I really should go home. Can we go?”
I sighed.
“Of course, of course, I parked right over there,” Theo said as he pointed across the parking lot.
We walked to his car in silence. I knew exactly what was going on in my mom’s head, the mental gymnastics required to turn the fight with Nick into something that she could handle, an issue she could fix. But Theo’s thoughts? No clue.
Maybe he was wondering how he could get rid of his high-maintenance hired girlfriend and her delusional mother.
Although the way he kept watching me with kind, worried eyes made it seem like saying goodbye was the last thing on his mind.