Chapter 24
Landon
The days passed by fast, and before I knew it, it was showtime for Romeo and Juliet.
The week before the play’s opening weekend, we had a parents’ night event where they came out to watch the performance.
We used our parents as a test run before putting on the show.
I didn’t even bother telling my parents to come.
I was still butt-hurt about them both missing my birthday, and seeing as how they’d been lately, I doubted they would’ve shown up anyway.
Needless to say, everyone else was extremely excited about having an audience. I supposed I was happy about it too. We’d been performing for Mr. Thymes for so long now that it felt stale. I headed to the theater to get ready for the performance as everyone else was chatting and excited backstage.
Shay hurried over to me, and she had the biggest smile on her face. It was good to see her smiling after the tough weeks she’d been going through. That was something I kind of wanted to keep happening—me making her smile.
She wrapped me into a hug; I loved that we hugged all the time now.
“Hey! How are you?” she asked.
“Nervous as ever,” I replied.
She grinned even bigger. “Good.” Right then, her phone dinged. She looked at the message, and I saw some color drain from her eyes.
“All good, Chick?” I asked.
She shook her head. “My dad just said he’s got some things keeping him busy tonight and he can’t make it.” Her eyes slightly glassed over. “Gosh. I hate him. I hate that I want him to be a better person, too. At least my mom and Mima will be here.”
“I’m sorry. If it makes you feel better, my parents aren’t coming either.”
Shay frowned and put a comforting hand against my forearm. “That doesn’t make me feel better at all.”
Me either.
“Hey, fuck them, right? Let’s not do this for them,” I claimed, taking her hand into mine. I kissed the palm of her hand. “Tonight isn’t about our parents. It’s about us. This is ours.”
She sniffled before pulling me into another hug. I felt her relax against me the longer we held the embrace. I liked that I did that to her. I liked that my hold could help ground her anxiety. She had no clue that she did the same for me.
“Thank you, Satan,” she whispered, her face buried into my neck.
“Break a leg, Chick.”
And she did exactly that. We performed the show for the audience, and I couldn’t explain the feeling of excitement I felt being onstage in front of people. I felt as if I’d finally done something in my life that felt right. I felt . . . home.
Is that what it felt like to have a passion?
To feel excited?
To feel alive?
I didn’t think it would’ve felt as good without Shay there beside me. My Juliet.
When we finished the show, we received a standing ovation.
We took our final bows, my hand locked with Shay’s.
While her eyes were on the audience, mine were on her.
I couldn’t stop smiling at her like a damn fool, but she had a way of making me do that a lot more often.
She had a way of making everything feel better.
Yeah . . . I definitely lost that little bet of ours. But if I had to lose a bet to love her, I’d lose said bet for the rest of my life.
After the show, I said goodbye to Shay as she went to have a celebratory dinner with her mom and Maria.
Maria made me cupcakes, because of course she did.
Maybe my parents didn’t show up to the performance, but at least I did have family there in a roundabout way.
Maybe not by blood, but by heart. And it was because of Shay and Maria that my heart was still beating.
That was until I reached my car and put my hand on the handle.
“Landon!” a voice called out, and I tensed up. I turned around to see Mom standing there with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Rome or something?” I asked, stunned to see her and still hurt by her abandonment at my birthday.
“Maria told me about parents’ night, and I flew in as fast as I could so I wouldn’t miss it.
I landed earlier today. The show . . . you .
. .” Her eyes watered as her hands grew shaky.
She looked broken down. Sad, even. And even though I was working really hard to hate her, I still wanted to walk over and wrap her in my arms to make sure she was OK.
Damn.
I wondered when that would go away. I wondered when I’d stop being a mama’s boy and be strong enough to hate her.
Never.
I’d never hate my mother.
“You were amazing,” she said. “You were astonishing on that stage, Landon. What you did was beyond words. I didn’t know you had that in you, but then again, it makes sense. I always knew you’d be good at whatever you decided to do. I’m so proud of you.”
I didn’t say anything because my mind was still spinning. I still wanted to hug her like the fool I was, I still wanted to hate her, but I was so happy to hear that she was proud of me.
“You missed my birthday,” I shot at her, and I hoped the bitterness of my tone hit her heart.
“Yes . . . I know.”
“I needed . . . I needed you, and you weren’t there.”
I’d never admitted to needing anything or anyone because I thought it would make me weak. Yet there I was—weak, broken, and still in need of that fucking hug.
I cleared my throat. “I needed you, Mom, and you still left me alone on the hardest day. Didn’t you know? Didn’t you know I needed you?”
“I did,” she said. She lowered her head and stared at the parking lot pavement.
“That’s it? That’s all you can give me? Because honestly, I’m going to need a lot more than that.”
“Landon . . . your father and I . . . he . . . we’re . . .” She swallowed hard and looked back up to me. “Your father is leaving me.”
Wait . . . what?
She nervously shifted around in her shoes. “We’ve been struggling for some time now, ever since Lance passed away. We fought a lot over my brother’s death, and he blamed me for your struggles, for allowing Lance to stay with us all those years.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Sometimes I wonder if he’s right. Sometimes I wonder about the mistakes I’ve made raising you around my brother, knowing of his mental struggles.”
“Lance was a good man, Mom. He taught me a lot of good. Life was better with him around. With you both around.”
A weighted sigh slipped through her lips.
“It’s good to hear that, Landon. You have no clue.
But your father isn’t in love with me anymore and doesn’t wish to continue in this marriage.
He said he doesn’t feel as if we are a right fit, and therefore he’s leaving me.
It’s been in the works for a while now. I’ve been struggling, trying to find my footing.
When I married your father, I thought it would be forever.
So when he gave me a prenup, I signed it without a moment’s thought.
But . . . he’s taking everything, Landon.
He’s leaving me with nothing. That’s why I was in Hawaii, meeting with Katie’s divorce lawyer.
Then the girls were using their connections to land me stylist jobs in the fashion industry.
That’s why I started working again. I needed some kind of income. ”
“He’s taking everything?”
“Every cent. Plus, he called me a few weeks ago after you got in a fight and said he forbids you to go to school for acting. So I’ve been trying to save up to help pay for your schooling.”
“You’ve been doing that for me?”
“I know how much you don’t want to go into law, but your father is determined that you do for his own selfish reasons.
I’ve lived under your father’s shadow for so long, I don’t want that for you.
I want to be able to provide for you and give you the income to help with you going into the major of your choice.
That’s why when these jobs came up, I had to take them.
I knew I couldn’t lose out on such a big sum of money that could’ve been used to help you, and the deal I had around your birthday was for a big studio. I have enough for us to begin again.”
She was thinking of me. After all these weeks I’d spent being upset with her, it turned out she was thinking of me the whole time. She wasn’t abandoning me—she was fighting for me. She wasn’t going on these luxury trips around the world—she was hustling hard to provide for me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“The lawyer said it would be best to get all my ducks in a row before bringing you into it. They didn’t want your involvement pushing your father to be more vicious than he already plans to be.
I wanted to tell you sooner, Landon. I hated keeping this from you.
I hated holding this all in for so long, but .
. .” Her body began shaking in the chilled air, and I took off my coat and wrapped it around her.
I didn’t know what to say, so I said the only thing that really came to mind. “I’m sorry Dad’s a dick.”
She laughed and started crying. “It’s OK. But getting a divorce from the best divorce lawyer in all of Chicago has had me on edge.”
Without any more thought, I hugged her, and like always, I melted into her arms. “I’m sorry,” I said again, this time for her hurting. She cried into my shoulder, and I held her even tighter.
She pulled back a little, nervously laughing as she wiped away her tears. “I didn’t plan on crying.”
“You always cry.”
“Not always,” she snickered. “I got you flowers,” she said, handing me the bouquet, which was now smooshed from our hug. “They looked better before, I swear. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to give male actors flowers, but I’m your mother, so you’re getting flowers.”
I smirked. “Thanks.”
“Do you want to go home and watch some bad movies and stuff our faces?” she asked.
“One hundred percent.”
We got home, ordered in some food, and trashed the living room. We didn’t even turn on the television. We just talked for hours.
“So, this acting thing,” Mom said, smiling from ear to ear. “You’re into it?”
“I told Dad I was thinking of picking up a theater major next fall, but he shut down that idea.”
“Your father doesn’t get to control your choices. That’s why I’ve been working so hard—to give you that freedom.”
“I don’t want to put all that stress on you. That’s too much for you to do for me.”
“Landon.” She shook her head and placed her hands on my shoulders.
“Everything I do is for you. If you want to go into the acting program at your college, then we are going to get you into the acting program at your college. If you want to move to Los Angeles and dive right into Hollywood, I know people out there, too. It’s your choice. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
I nodded once. “I don’t even know if I’m good enough—”
“You’re good enough,” she cut in. “You’ve always been good enough to do anything.” She tossed a french fry into her mouth. “On another topic . . . is there anything there between Miss Juliet, or is that all acting?”
I laughed. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only to a mother’s eyes. The way you look at her . . . What’s the story there?”
Oh, if only she knew. “It’s a long one.”
“That’s OK.” She smiled. “We have time tonight.”
I told her everything about Shay, and she listened to every word eagerly. When it was time for bed, I gave her a hug and thanked her for coming home to make my show. I knew she’d be flying out come morning, but having her for parents’ night? That mattered more than she knew.
“Always. I love you, I love you,” she said, still holding me in her embrace.
“Why do you always do that?” I asked. “Why do you always say ‘I love you’ twice?”
She smiled. “Once for your heart. Twice to leave an imprint.”