Chapter 29
Ilose my grip on the pen once, twice. Sherry just sits and stares at me expectantly, waiting for me to finish signing the papers with my shaky hand.
The caveat to my parent’s estate stipulates that Marcus will take care of me until I turn twenty-two unless we both sign off on these papers, and he’s already done his part on every single one of them. His signature is scrawled across the bottom of each page and dated for a month ago. One month, that’s all it’s been.
He’s wanted to get rid of me this entire time.
Her phone buzzes, and her expression goes apologetic. “Sorry. I know that ringtone.”
It’s something familiar I’ve heard before and can’t place. Sherry answers the phone with “Hello, boss man,” and my heart starts to throb.
Marcus is on the other end of the phone. I grip the pen tighter and move on to the next page, the line empty and ready for me to scrawl my name.
I’m on the last one, and my eyes are blurred, tension spreading through every part of my body, but it’s worse in my jaw. I grind my teeth together, clenching hard enough to try and keep the cry inside.
I’ve done enough crying.
Acid eats its way through me as bile burns the back of my throat, but I somehow manage to scribble out my signature on the last bit, whatever Sherry is saying to Marcus turning to unintelligible syllables in my head.
Whatever they have to say to each other is none of my business.
Right now, the only business I need to focus on is the one right in front of me. Marcus wants our ties severed, and he has for a long time now. Was he thinking about it while he went down on me? While he demanded I suck him off? My cheeks heat, and my hand shakes on the folder.
Drawing in a deep, calming breath, I smile over at Sherry as she ends the call, and I slide the entire folder back to her.
“Here you go. All done,” I tell her.
My voice doesn”t tremble at least. It’s a win. Each word is solid and, if not cheerful, then resigned.
“Great! Now we can get these filed for you.” Sherry grabs the folder and tucks it under her arm.
Marcus hadn’t told me a single thing about any of this. It would have been nice to have a heads up that he wanted nothing more to do with me. After last night… He promised to do whatever it took to protect me.
He’d told me so many things last night, but nothing regarding the conservatorship.
None of it makes sense, not one bit of this whole damn thing. I know he said there was no chance of a relationship between us, but from the way he kissed me, I thought he’d at least continue with the guardianship. I was wrong. On all levels, I was wrong.
I can’t let Sherry see any of it.
Drawing back my shoulders, I show her nothing but confidence, but inside, I’m struggling not to shatter.
“Aw, honey, what’s the matter?” she asks, patting the top of my knee. “Have things been stressful with the movie?”
“Things are going okay with the movie. I’m lucky. My contract states I don’t have to be available for those long shooting days.”
“Oh, gosh, very lucky indeed! I’ve heard horror stories from people. What about you personally, though? Have you been well? Marcus says nothing but good things about your talent.” She chuckles lightly. “He doesn’t tell me any of the details, but I know he’s so proud of you. He said once that the part was made for you, that there is no other actress he’d rather represent.”
I swallow hard, my stomach swirling, my throat dry. More of those sweet, gilded lies he must tell everyone. He doesn’t mean any of it. “It’s been a learning experience for sure,” I hedge. “I went to several sets with my parents, but it’s a completely different experience when you’re on the other side of the camera.”
“Aw, honey. Are things not what you thought it would be?” Sherry presses.
Nothingis the way I thought it would be. Not Marcus, not my life, and certainly not my acting career.
I press a hand to my gut, but it does nothing to stop the churning feeling. “I guess I never got to really see the ins and outs when I was on set before. There are a lot of different moving parts to consider, as well as relationships with the other actors and actresses, you know?” I force my smile to broaden. “I don’t want to mess anything up, especially since the hype is already starting, saying the movie is going to be a contender for awards.”
It’s a little bit of truth from me and has Sherry nodding. “A completely different beast, huh?” she replies. “I’m sure it is, which is why it’s a good thing you have Marcus there to guide you.”
Hearing his name spoken out loud has me laughing, a little bit of hysteria bubbling up. I don’t have Marcus at all. These papers ensure the separation between us. I”ve been trying to come to terms with everything, but this newest betrayal, on top of the rest…
It’s too much.
He wants to get away from me?
I’m such a problem that he has to make our separation legal? Well, then, things are done. What he talked about the other night when he said we can’t be anything because he isn’t a good man? He must have meant these papers.
It’s a betrayal of everything we ever had, the relationship we started to build.
He doesn’t want me.
He’s never wanted me.
He’s only been using me to get his rocks off while he was waiting for me to sign these papers. I’m not sure why he waited—unless Sherry is right, and he’s just been so busy that he hasn’t had time to drop this latest axe on my neck.
Or maybe he was waiting for a moment when I’d reached another low point before heaping more pain on me.
Shit, I don’t know anymore.
He probably doesn’t care about me at all, and all the talk last night had been to get me to calm down, to keep me from shattering entirely while he takes care of business.
After everything we’ve been through, after everything that’s happened between us…
I stare at Sherry and watch her mouth move with words I haven’t heard. I haven’t been paying attention through the heartbreak and the anger.
“I’m sure whatever you’re going through, it’s going to work out in the end. You’ve got the looks and you’ve got the talent.” Sherry reaches over to drop her palm to the top of my hand. “You’ve always been an enterprising little thing, and you’ve got more strength than you give yourself credit for. The things you’ve gone through, Empire, are above and beyond what anyone should have to endure.”
“Thank you,” I return softly.
How nice it would be to just let go and lean into her, to let Sherry wrap her arms around me and work to believe her when she tells me, as she inevitably would, that everything will be okay.
I’m not sure I’ve ever believed that.
I certainly don’t now.
“Well, as much as I hate to leave you, this old lady’s got to get to work. Too little time for the sheer number of things I’ve got going on.” She pushes herself to her feet with a groan, as though the sound is the only thing propelling her upward. “Not to mention, the boss is going to call again if I don’t get my happy rear back to the office. You take care of yourself, Empire. I can’t wait to see you on the big screen! You’ll do great, sweetheart. I see big things in your future.”
I wait until Sherry’s out the door before I make myself move. It’s super rude to leave her to see herself out of the house, but my legs refuse to uncurl from where I’ve folded them beneath me. My arms hang useless at my sides, propped up only by the couch cushions.
Marcus doesn’t want me.
Now, it’s legal.
Once the papers are filed, I’ll no longer be his responsibility, no matter what he said about forcing me to take future roles.
He’s a liar. He’s a bad man.
It’s way too hard to get myself moving, to walk woodenly to my room. Staying in the house is impossible—not when Marcus will be home any minute. He’s been gone the entire morning. What are the odds I’ll be able to avoid him?
I stop at the front door and watch Sherry sway her hips toward her car. She barely spares the house a second look before she slides into the front seat and flips the key in the ignition, the engine roaring.
Marcus has got to know I signed these papers today. I wonder if he’ll want to talk about it, or if it will be a relief to finally have everything done.
It’s a conversation I want to avoid at all costs.
Sherry’s car turns down the driveway and out of sight. Only then do I jog to my room on feet plagued by pins and needles. There are several suitcases in the closet, ones I’ve taken on trips around the world with my parents. I grab them down from the shelves and lay them open, one right after the other, on the floor.
I’ve got my own car. I’ve got money in my bank account only accessible by me, not to mention a box of cash Mom insisted I keep hidden, just in case. Her paranoia is paying off.
My heart beats out of my chest as a slight sheen of sweat drips down my spine and along the rest of my back. Nerves, I tell myself. Nothing but nerves, because I have no idea what to do or where the hell I’m going to go, but I know I’ve got to leave.
I’ve got no place else.
Okay…not true.
My dad kept a small, one-bedroom bungalow up the coast a little bit, something he’d bought with plans to make into a getaway when the spotlight was too much for us to handle. We’d never gotten around to going, but he always said he’d fix it up, make it livable, someplace we’d share together, like our little secret.
It’s surely on the legal documents, but after today, it’s not going to be a Marcus problem. It’s all on me at this point. No guardian. No nothing. I’m a free adult except for the movie contract, and things will surely be a little up in the air there while production regulates itself after Parker’s death. Right?
Doesn’t matter, I think breathlessly. None of it matters. Only escape. Only getting myself as far away from Marcus as possible. How would anyone expect me to look at the man who broke my heart and make it out of there unscathed?
I throw open the dresser drawers and start tossing some of my favorite shirts into the suitcase without bothering to fold them. Pants follow, then underwear, tank tops and a couple of different pairs of shoes. I fill one suitcase and then another, until all three are stuffed, the zippers straining.
I’ve got to get the car from the bottom of the driveway, and my chest tightens with each passing second.
Don’t let him come home. Not yet. Don’t let him find me.
I park in front of the door and lug the suitcases out one by one until the trunk is packed and I’m ready to go. A couple bags of snacks follow, just in case I don’t feel like going out for a while.
Now, where did Dad leave the keys?
They’ve got to be in the office…unless the lawyer has them, which I doubt. If I have to break the cottage door to get inside, I’ll do it, as long as I’m long gone by the time Marcus gets back.
I don’t want to see his face.
I can’t see his face.
I hiccup over a sob, determined not to cry again. I’m not a fucking child, and it’s time for me to stop acting like it, giving into this horrible gut-wrenching feeling inside of me. I fill the rest of the suitcase, not that I’ll need much, and head out to the car with the keys in hand.
I don’t want anything to do with him, his life. None of it. I can’t handle it if things will always be this chaotic.
Not after everything. And if I can make it work at the bungalow, then I’ll never come back.