Chapter 39
"Mother," Lauren sighed heavily as she seated herself, tucking her shopping bags beneath the table. "Is something wrong?"
Ivy looked at her young daughter oddly.
"You've been so quiet. Is it Sam? Are you still having trouble letting him go, because Mother…if he's fool enough to let YOU go, I don't think you should waste anymore of your energy on him. That entire family's whacked from what I can see, and I think the less contact you and Ethan have with them, the better off you are."
"Lauren," Ivy shook her head, a slight smile on her lips as she picked at the food on her plate. "Lauren, Chinese was your idea, and you haven't eaten a thing."
"Stop trying to change the subject," Lauren said sternly. "And besides…you can't power shop on an empty stomach."
Ivy smirked in amusement. "Power shop? I thought shopping wasn't your 'thing'," she laughed.
Lauren rolled her hazel eyes at her mother in near-exasperation. "Fine. Have it your way. Don't tell me anything. But just a word of advice…I don't offer a shoulder to cry on to just anybody anytime," she finished with a half-smile on her lips.
"I'll take that into consideration," Ivy told her, closing her lips around the piece of sesame chicken speared on her fork. "Stop playing with your food," she said as an afterthought.
Lauren lay her fork down, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms around her chest.
Ivy almost flinched under her level stare. "Lauren," she warned, patting the corners of her mouth with her napkin.
Lauren uncrossed her arms and leaned forward with a full-fledged grin. "I hate shopping."
Ivy pushed her plate away with a sigh. "This was your idea…"
"Don't forget the limo," Lauren said with twinkling hazel eyes. "I despise that hearse, too."
"Then why insist…"
Lauren shrugged. "It gives me great pleasure to piss Grandfather off," she said matter-of-factly. "Amanda does her part. I thought…why not give him my own Lauren-brand of hell. I know he doesn't give a damn about me. About me, Amanda, especially Aunt Sheridan. He knows I know it, too. I don't know why he feels the need to pretend, but he does. He's funding this little expedition, Mother, so if you see ANYTHING you want, buy it. The more expensive the better. We're not leaving this mall until that limo's overflowing."
Ivy was speechless.
"Well…what are we waiting for?" she grinned. Grabbing Ivy's tray and tossing the remainders of their lunch in the nearest trash bin. "What do you think?" she asked, pushing a heavy lock of ash-blond hair back to reveal tiny gold hoops on her ears. "I'm thinking of trading these in for the biggest, gaudiest pair of diamond earrings the jewelry shop sells so I can have a pair to display on my armoire. A new bracelet might be nice, too," she said. Arranging her shopping bags on her arms.
Ivy gave her daughter her patented Cheshire cat grin. "Tessa might like a necklace."
"That's the spirit, Mother. I've never been one to get my Christmas shopping done early, but I'm thinking I need to change my ways. That mad Christmas Eve dash is always the worst," she winked. "Do you think we can buy Amanda a man while we're at it?"
"Lauren!"
"I guess NOT."
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"Blair's dead."
Antonio squinted against the sudden infusion of light into his cave of an apartment. "Amanda? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, his voice harsh with panic as he scrambled out of the rumpled bed and hurried to the only window to peek through the minuscule slats in the blinds. "Have you lost your mind?" he growled, grabbing his discarded jeans off the back of the ratty armchair next to him. "You could have been followed."
"I'm sorry. Dammit," she swore in a thick voice. "I wasn't thinking. I should leave," she said.
The jeans fell in a heap on the floor, and he was across the room in a flash, shoving the door shut and slipping the lock back into to place.
Amanda leaned her forehead against the cold surface of door beside her splayed hand.
He covered her hand with his, pressing her harder against the door, trapping her body with his own. "Don't. Don't run."
She shuddered against him, and tears escaped her closed eyes. "Blair's dead," she repeated. "She's dead."
He brushed her hair back from her face, placing tiny butterfly kisses against her tear-dampened cheeks without even thinking of his actions. "Shh," he soothed, feeling her relax and sag against him. He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her close, backing them away from the door. "Blair? Is she…"
Amanda's voice trembled as she answered him, and she sounded so tired. So weary of it all. "An employee at Crane Industries. She and my brother were having an affair. She…he killed her. There's no body. But I can't shake this awful feeling, Antonio," she said, twisting in his arms and raising glittering blue eyes to him. "And I found this," she said, closing her hand over his palm. When she pulled it away, there was a tiny, shimmering pearl in his hand.
His amber eyes were guarded. "You don't know for sure. This could have…"
"No," she cut him off, conviction in her voice. "She's dead, Antonio. She didn't show up at work today, and I talked to her landlord. He said he hasn't seen her since last night when she dropped her daughter off for them to babysit. He said the baby's been crying for her for hours. She's dead, and my cold-hearted bastard of a brother killed her just like he…oh God. I don't know how much longer I can do this, Antonio. I'm sorry for risking everything and not being more careful, but I feel like I'm falling apart. Everything's falling apart, and…"
He hauled her into his arms, holding her as tightly as he possibly could in an effort to ward off her fears. "Just a little longer," he whispered, almost a promise.
Just a little longer until they all burned in hell.
"Mother," Lauren sighed heavily as she seated herself, tucking her shopping bags beneath the table. "Is something wrong?"
Ivy looked at her young daughter oddly.
"You've been so quiet. Is it Sam? Are you still having trouble letting him go, because Mother…if he's fool enough to let YOU go, I don't think you should waste anymore of your energy on him. That entire family's whacked from what I can see, and I think the less contact you and Ethan have with them, the better off you are."
"Lauren," Ivy shook her head, a slight smile on her lips as she picked at the food on her plate. "Lauren, Chinese was your idea, and you haven't eaten a thing."
"Stop trying to change the subject," Lauren said sternly. "And besides…you can't power shop on an empty stomach."
Ivy smirked in amusement. "Power shop? I thought shopping wasn't your 'thing'," she laughed.
Lauren rolled her hazel eyes at her mother in near-exasperation. "Fine. Have it your way. Don't tell me anything. But just a word of advice…I don't offer a shoulder to cry on to just anybody anytime," she finished with a half-smile on her lips.
"I'll take that into consideration," Ivy told her, closing her lips around the piece of sesame chicken speared on her fork. "Stop playing with your food," she said as an afterthought.
Lauren lay her fork down, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms around her chest.
Ivy almost flinched under her level stare. "Lauren," she warned, patting the corners of her mouth with her napkin.
Lauren uncrossed her arms and leaned forward with a full-fledged grin. "I hate shopping."
Ivy pushed her plate away with a sigh. "This was your idea…"
"Don't forget the limo," Lauren said with twinkling hazel eyes. "I despise that hearse, too."
"Then why insist…"
Lauren shrugged. "It gives me great pleasure to piss Grandfather off," she said matter-of-factly. "Amanda does her part. I thought…why not give him my own Lauren-brand of hell. I know he doesn't give a damn about me. About me, Amanda, especially Aunt Sheridan. He knows I know it, too. I don't know why he feels the need to pretend, but he does. He's funding this little expedition, Mother, so if you see ANYTHING you want, buy it. The more expensive the better. We're not leaving this mall until that limo's overflowing."
Ivy was speechless.
"Well…what are we waiting for?" she grinned. Grabbing Ivy's tray and tossing the remainders of their lunch in the nearest trash bin. "What do you think?" she asked, pushing a heavy lock of ash-blond hair back to reveal tiny gold hoops on her ears. "I'm thinking of trading these in for the biggest, gaudiest pair of diamond earrings the jewelry shop sells so I can have a pair to display on my armoire. A new bracelet might be nice, too," she said. Arranging her shopping bags on her arms.
Ivy gave her daughter her patented Cheshire cat grin. "Tessa might like a necklace."
"That's the spirit, Mother. I've never been one to get my Christmas shopping done early, but I'm thinking I need to change my ways. That mad Christmas Eve dash is always the worst," she winked. "Do you think we can buy Amanda a man while we're at it?"
"Lauren!"
"I guess NOT."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"Blair's dead."
Antonio squinted against the sudden infusion of light into his cave of an apartment. "Amanda? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, his voice harsh with panic as he scrambled out of the rumpled bed and hurried to the only window to peek through the minuscule slats in the blinds. "Have you lost your mind?" he growled, grabbing his discarded jeans off the back of the ratty armchair next to him. "You could have been followed."
"I'm sorry. Dammit," she swore in a thick voice. "I wasn't thinking. I should leave," she said.
The jeans fell in a heap on the floor, and he was across the room in a flash, shoving the door shut and slipping the lock back into to place.
Amanda leaned her forehead against the cold surface of door beside her splayed hand.
He covered her hand with his, pressing her harder against the door, trapping her body with his own. "Don't. Don't run."
She shuddered against him, and tears escaped her closed eyes. "Blair's dead," she repeated. "She's dead."
He brushed her hair back from her face, placing tiny butterfly kisses against her tear-dampened cheeks without even thinking of his actions. "Shh," he soothed, feeling her relax and sag against him. He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her close, backing them away from the door. "Blair? Is she…"
Amanda's voice trembled as she answered him, and she sounded so tired. So weary of it all. "An employee at Crane Industries. She and my brother were having an affair. She…he killed her. There's no body. But I can't shake this awful feeling, Antonio," she said, twisting in his arms and raising glittering blue eyes to him. "And I found this," she said, closing her hand over his palm. When she pulled it away, there was a tiny, shimmering pearl in his hand.
His amber eyes were guarded. "You don't know for sure. This could have…"
"No," she cut him off, conviction in her voice. "She's dead, Antonio. She didn't show up at work today, and I talked to her landlord. He said he hasn't seen her since last night when she dropped her daughter off for them to babysit. He said the baby's been crying for her for hours. She's dead, and my cold-hearted bastard of a brother killed her just like he…oh God. I don't know how much longer I can do this, Antonio. I'm sorry for risking everything and not being more careful, but I feel like I'm falling apart. Everything's falling apart, and…"
He hauled her into his arms, holding her as tightly as he possibly could in an effort to ward off her fears. "Just a little longer," he whispered, almost a promise.
Just a little longer until they all burned in hell.