Let The Fire Die
Chapter 21
"Courtney, Darling, will you please just pick some flowers out?" Drew said, glancing up from the emails on his PDA for only a second.
"Look, you asshole, you're making me marry you, so you will suffer through however long I want to shop for anything and everything. Understood?" I said, glaring at him, and causing a the few girls in the store to turn and look at us.
"Honey, people are looking, please relax." He said to me, anger flashing in his pretty eyes. "The pregnancy hormones are just making her a little irritable today." He said, smiling to the rest of the store and pretending to be the great guy that he was in front of everyone else.
"If you don't want to shop anymore, then you can just go, okay?" I said, waving him away and wishing that he really would go.
"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to leave you alone? If I do that, you'd probably have your little thug coming to get you within a few seconds." He said, leaning close to me, and smiling as though he were whispering nice things into my ears, and not threats.
"You already made sure he'd never come to get me remember? Most guys don't like being left alone to raise two children while the mother of the kids goes to marry some other guy." I said, just as my phone began ringing.
"You should answer that in case it's your mother." He said, walking over to the other side of the store, where the women waited on him.
"Hello?" I asked, after glancing at the number and not recognizing it one bit.
"Court, it's Bridge. I know I only have a few moments, so just play along and pretend I'm your mom. Okay?" Bridgette huffed out, sounding worried and talking fast.
"Yeah, I know. We're still flower shopping though." I said, glancing over at Drew as she stared at me blatantly, which all the salesgirls thought was adorable. If only they really knew.
"I'm coming to get you. I know that personally dropping off the kid was a way to get Duncan to follow you, but he's not biting it, and I can't leave you there to get hurt." She said, her voice suddenly choked with emotion.
"I can't believe you. Don't you think that's a little dangerous mom? I mean the ladders kind of high." I said, still trying to play along as though it were my mom.
"Yeah, well, you're the best friend I've ever had, and I can't let your life get ruined like this." She said, making me want to cry.
"Whatever you think is best mom. Well, hey I need to go because I think Drew's getting a little testy since we've been shopping for flowers so long. I think we might go out to dinner, and then I'll be home around 10, okay?" I said, trying to give her the message as sneakily as possible.
"I can't promise I'll be there at ten, but I'll try."
"Okay." I said, before sighing and hanging up, realizing that my whole life was hanging in Bridgette's hands, and that one false move by my mother could entirely ruin it.
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"What the hell do you mean, you're going to New York?" Duncan yelled as soon as I told him my plan.
"You don't understand what a prisoner she is up there! Don't you want her to be happy?" I asked, looking up at him, and wishing for some of Courtney's Duncan to slip out right now.
"You know that I want that more than anything. You know you don't have to ask that." He answered, sadly looking away from me and out the window.
"Then why are you trying to stop me from going up there?" I asked, reaching out for him.
"Because, I'm tired of constantly having to save her. My life is much simpler and much less dangerous without her." He said, sighing and looking into my eyes from a brief moment before the pain was too harsh and he looked away.
"Duncan, I can't believe you would even say that! I have a plane to catch if you don't mind." I said, turning and grabbing the little purse that I'd packed with money.
"No, Bridge, wait a second." He said, grabbing my arm, and looking at me with a pained expression that hurt my heart.
XXXX
At nine forty five, Drew dropped me off at my mom's house and I went immediately upstairs and packed a small bag with clothes and things that I would want. Suddenly, a light, quick knock on my door came, followed my mothers excited face in the doorway.
"He's here, honey." She said, looking at me happily, as she grabbed a pair of pants she knew I loved off the floor, folded them, and put them into my bag.
"Mom, Drew's over all the time." I said, trying to calm my beating my heart, as I lied straight faced to my mother.
"Courtney, Darling, do you really think I'm that dense?" She asked, looking into my eyes with a look of concern, before continuing, "Honey, I know Duncan's coming for you. I've known it all along. I just want you to be happy, and clearly you were happy with him."
"Mom, when did this happen?" I asked, looking at her in a light that I've never seen around her before.
"Ever since you came back. You've practically been like a zombie, with no emotions and just going with whatever everyone else says. That's never been you." She said, looking at me with a fondness and touching my arm, when her eyes suddenly lit up.
"What?" I asked looking out the window and seeing nothing.
"He's at your window." She said, smiling at me.
"Mom, he's not coming. Bridgette is. Apparently he doesn't want to help me any longer." I said, looking at the ground willing my tears to stay in as she walked to the window.
"Then how do you explain this?" She asked, pulling a wincing Duncan into my room by the ear.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, breaking into a large grin as I rushed to him and barreled him with a huge hug.
"You really thought I wouldn't come?" He whispered into my ear.
"It really sounded like Bridgette was going to come." I said, looking into his gorgeous blue eyes and wanting to pinch myself.
"Never." He said, looking down at me, and clutching me to him again.
"Uh uhm." My mother said, clearing her throat, making us both look up and at her, "If you two don't mind, you should leave."
"Mom, I thought?" I said, not even able to finish the sentence.
"I do, but your father, he still thinks that money is better than the happiness of his family." She said, looking sadly at me, "You write letters to me, you hear? And give me pictures of those pretty grandkids of mine."
"Mom, you know you could leave him, don't you?" I asked, looking at her, suddenly realizing how lonely and unfulfilling my mothers' life must be.
"Honey, we live in a high society. I was born and raised in it, and we don't do things like that. But you've always been different from these women, you've never given into anyone, and I don't want you to feel an ounce of guilt over this, understand?" She said, looking at me sadly once again, before giving me a watery smile.
"Mom, I love you." I said, rushing over and giving her a hug.
"I love you too, darling. Now you get out of here." She said, breaking the hug, passing me my bag and pushing me towards Duncan.
"Thank you." Duncan said, giving my mother a warm look before helping me out the window and then clambering after me, then we both disappeared into the darkness, leaving her looking longingly after us.