Cocky (6 page)

Chapter Ten

By the time Blue and Chelsea arrived at Terrance’s house breakfast was over. Colleen and Terrance were snuggling by the pool and Jamie was watching TV in the living room. They had just walked into the house when Chelsea’s cellphone rang. She looked down and saw it was her manager Lauren.

“Hey, Lauren,” Chelsea said as she walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

“Chels, you beautiful darling, how are you this fine morning?”

“Um...I’m okay,” Chelsea answered. After the events of last night, it was hard for her to move back into chirpy LA mode.

“Great. So, we are really amping up for album release over here and we are starting to think of some advance press. Give them something to talk about before the full album drops.”

“Okay, so like interviews or something?” Chelsea asked.

“Even better. Have you heard of Ryan Baron?”

“Yeah, of course, everyone has.” He was the lead actor of the newest Young Adult dystopian craze. Chelsea hadn’t bothered to see the movie but it was about a group of teenagers in a dystopian world where people could read minds or something. Ryan Baron was the newest teen crush. His chiseled jaw, blue eyes, and black hair had graced the cover of half a dozen magazines last year and he was being considered for the next Batman.

“Well, his publicist told my publicist that he wants to meet you.”

“What?” Chelsea asked. It seemed too ridiculous; he had asked his people to call her people to ask her out. Chelsea wondered if that was supposed to impress her.

“He wants to meet you. The second movie in his trilogy comes out in about a month and your album drops in three. It’ll be good press.”

“We would have to be together for at least three months?” Chelsea asked. “I haven’t even met him yet.”

“Oh, honey, don’t worry about that. We would iron out all of the details for you. Honestly, this could be great for you. He might want the same girlfriend in the break between the movies, you know to really sell him as nice boy so moms and dads are okay with their teenage daughter’s pestering their room with his face. And he is hugely famous; this would be a big bump for you and it would stop all of those ‘she’s so lonely!’ articles before they even start. You know the ones, an unflattering picture of you with the words
crying herself to sleep at night
over your cheek. It’s horrible, but if you have a boyfriend and you go out for drinks a few times a month everyone will be happy.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Chelsea said. “I mean I want to say no; this sounds crazy.”

“Chels, everyone does it. Everyone, all the time. But there is no pressure, just promise me you’ll think about it. I’ll give Ryan your number; he can text you and we can see how you two feel about each other.”

“It’s just...there might be-”

“No, Chelsea,” Jennifer said, her chirpy voice getting colder. “Do not tell me there is someone else. We had an agreement, no boyfriends, remember?”

“But wouldn’t Ryan be a boyfriend?”

“Yes, but first he would be good for your career. Is this guy good for your career?”

Chelsea didn’t speak. The answer was no, Blue was terrible for her career. He was standoffish and rude and wouldn’t be able to stomach the paparazzi, oh and he also might be her stepbrother soon. No, Blue was not good for her career.

“I’ll take your silence as a no. Look, I’m not saying you have to stop seeing what’s his name. You just need to keep it on the down low. You would think of Ryan as your fulltime job and this guy as your part time job; one obviously takes precedent over the other.”

“Wow,” Chelsea said.

Her manager was referring to her love life as a job. Was this what it took to be successful? Was this the only way she could make her dreams come true? Chelsea had been taking dance classes since she was five and voice lessons since she was twelve. She had competed in pageants and school plays and talent shows. She had written countless songs and taught herself the guitar. So now she was being asked to pretend that she was in love in with someone; it was just another form of acting, another thing she had to do. But there was no way she could do it.

“Look, Lauren,” Chelsea said. “I’m flattered, but I have a bunch of family stuff happening right now, and I don’t know if I can deal with a fake boyfriend at the moment.”

“You have family issues?” Lauren said. Her voice had a dangerous edge to it.

Chelsea could easily imagine her in her sixteenth floor office. Lauren had a view of the ocean, but she kept her back to it all day, so if you were a client you had to face her and the view all at the same time. She was tough and she knew what she was doing and she scared Chelsea a little, but she was the best in the business and she had personally chosen Chelsea.

“Deal with your family issues, Chelsea. We have spent millions of dollars on you, between printing the album, planning the tours, and making merchandise. People’s livelihoods are depending on you. When you signed up, you said you were ready to put in the work. You said you were ready to put your career first. Now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. Deal with your family issues in the next two weeks, Chelsea, because you are due back to work on December first and nothing changes that date. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

“Give Ryan a chance and remember that everyone in your family is a grown adult, Chelsea. You can’t control them, and you can’t let them derail your career.”

The line went dead and Chelsea fell back on her bed. She had no idea what she wanted to do. She wished she were like those girls in the story who went for true love headfirst. She wished she could be more like Lizzy Bennett and reject Ryan, her own personal Mr. Collins, without even having to question it. She loved Blue and she wanted to be with him, but she couldn’t help but think of what it might cost her.

“Chels?” There was a knock at the door and then her sister’s quiet voice.

“Yeah, come in,” Chelsea said.

“You all right?” Jamie asked lying down on the bed next to her sister.

“Ryan Baron had his people call my people,” Chelsea said.

“Oh my God! Ryan Baron is so hot. I’d die for those chiseled cheekbones. What did you say?”

“Jamie, he had his people call my people. I’m not on the auction block. He could have got my number and called me, but instead it’s this weird PR play and I don’t know what to do.”

“He might be cool. Maybe that’s just how super famous people do it. It’s not like they can go to bars. I think you should go for it.”

“Yesterday you were telling me to go for Blue.”

“Did something happen with Blue?” Jamie asked excitedly propping herself up on one elbow.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t what you think,” Chelsea told her sister everything Blue had told her the other night. She would need Jamie on her side if she wanted to convince her mother to leave Terrance.

“Oh my God,” Jamie said when Chelsea was finally done. “We’re in that man’s house; we’re sleeping in his beds.”

“I know.”

“Our mother is going to marry him!”

“I know. We have to tell her. We have to warn her.”

“She’ll never believe us. She always sides with her boyfriends. Maybe there’s some way we can prove it.”

“No, if we did that we would have to involve Blue and I don’t want to do that to him. I don’t want him to have anything to do with these fights. It must have been so horrible for him.”

“We’ll have to goad Terrance into saying something in front of Mom, then,” Jamie said. “It’ll be ugly, but at least it will be quick.”

“We’ll just have to hope that someday she forgives us.” Chelsea said.

She didn’t want to do this. She was going to break her mother’s heart and humiliate her all in one sweep. She could tell Colleen really liked Terrance, or at least the decent person Terrance was pretending to be. It was going to be terrible for Colleen to realize that Terrance didn’t really exist. Her mother deserved happiness; she didn’t deserve what was about to happen to her.

Chapter Eleven

Jamie and Chelsea emerged from the bedroom. Blue was staring out onto the patio, his arms crossed as he shook his head at Terrance and Colleen who were holding hands and walking to the house.

“You guys ready to do this?” Blue asked.

“Yeah, but we don’t have a plan or anything.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take the lead,” Blue said.

“Blue, you don’t have to do that-” Chelsea started, but then her mother and Terrance were in the room. They both looked startled to see their children staring at them from inside the house.

“What’s going on in here?” Colleen asked. “Y’all just standing around?”

“Hey, Dad,” Blue said, and his voice had a false nonchalance to it; he was just barely keeping his rage and anger under control. “I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve decided I want to do the fights. I’m ready.”

“What?” Colleen asked. “What fights?”

“I’m glad to hear it, but this is not the time, boy. Go to the garage and wait for me there.”

“Why?” Blue demanded. “Don’t you want your bride to know how you really made your money? He made it through betting on illegal fights,” Blue said, looking right at Colleen, “and he used to make me fight in them.”

“That’s enough!” Terrance yelled. “I will not stand lying in front of my bride and her daughters.”

“Oh, Jamie and Chelsea know. I already told them.”

“You’re disgusting,” Chelsea spit.

But Terrance’s face only hardened as he looked at her. And then it softened and he looked at them sadly.

“I am so sorry, my dear,” he said to Colleen, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I know I warned you, but it’s still hard when it happens.”

“What are you doing?” Blue demanded.

“I told Colleen about your penchant for lying. I told her how you used to use them on me when you were a child. You used to threaten to tell people I beat you and starved you. I know it was just a cry for help, son, but it was still hard for me. I thought we were past all of this, but here you are talking about illegal fighting pits? I run an auto repair shop for God’s sake.”

“Mom, you can’t believe him,” Chelsea said. “Blue is telling the truth.”

“And how can you tell?” Terrance asked. “Did he give you any evidence or proof of these fighting pits? Or was it just part of a tearful act?”

“There was a guy at the party who talked about the pits and he picked a fight with Blue over it,” Chelsea said.

“Chelsea, you are so naïve. Of course Blue got into a random fight; that’s what Blue does. He fights and he’s very good at it. I’m just sorry he ensnared you in his lie. Please don’t take it personally; it’s a problem he has.”

“I’m not lying and you know it,” Blue said through clenched teeth.

“Mom, please tell me you believe me,” Chelsea begged to her mother. This whole thing felt so surreal. Chelsea didn’t have any proof to what Blue said; she had seen the bruises and his anger firsthand. But Terrance was right; she had no proof. Now she was asking her mother to believe her over Terrance.

“Well, Chelsea, it’s not you saying anything is it?” Colleen asked. “You’re just repeating what he said and, honestly, illegal fighting pits? In Snowbird, Idaho? I don’t think so. Terrance has warned me about Blue’s lying, so enough of this silliness. Honestly, I thought you girls would be happy for me, but instead you’re acting like teenagers again. I love Terrance and he loves me and if you can’t support that, I think you should leave. You can stay at the house for the rest of your trip.”

“Mom, please listen to us,” Jamie pleaded.

But it was too late. Colleen had already turned around and headed up the stairs. “I’m going to take a shower,” she called down. “If your attitude hasn’t changed by then, I don’t want to see you. I’m so disappointed in you girls. I had told Terrance so many wonderful stories about you.”

They all watched as she walked up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom closing the door firmly behind you.

“At least tell me that little display was worth something. You’ll fight?” Terrance asked Blue in a quiet voice.

“No!” Blue shouted. “I’m never doing one of this fights again. I’m going to college on the GI bill and I’m never going to see you again. I’m never going back inside that ring.”

“Please, Blue?” Terrance said. “The GI bill? College? You were never the smart kid; you were the tough kid. You were the kid who pushed back,” Terrance pushed hard against Blue’s chest, but Blue froze and refused to hit back.

“Leave him alone!” Chelsea said. She took a step towards Blue, but he threw his arm out and kept her back and out of Terrance’s reach.

“You’ve got a girl fighting your battles now?” Terrance now. “She’s not even a tough-looking girl. Although I do look forward to calling her my daughter.”

“You’re disgusting,” Chelsea spit.

“Your mother seems to like me well enough. And as for you,” he said turning to Blue. “You think you can just walk away from this? Do you think I’m asking you to go back into the ring for my own monetary gain? I’m thinking about you. They know you’re back in town and they want you to fight, Blue, and you know how they get when someone refuses them.”

“Who’s them?” Chelsea asked.

“So you didn’t tell her everything.” He turned to Chelsea and continued. “The fights have, what you might call, sponsors. They host the event, gather up like-minded men to attend, and bet and they take a cut of ticket sales and the pot. These are not nice men. They are bad and violent. They are criminals and drug dealers and people with almost no moral conviction and Blue is pissing them off. If you skip this fight they’re gonna come for you, Blue. You really think you can survive that? These men have a lot invested in these fights. You can’t just walk away.”

“Bring it on. I’ve been to war, I’ve been to the desert, and I’ve killed men and I’ve watched them die in front of me. You think a bunch of convicts from Idaho are going to scare me?”

“Oh, I think they will,” Terrance hissed. “You still have a few days to change your mind. Be smart for once in your life, Blue.” Terrance turned and walked away from them; he headed up the stairs as Jamie, Chelsea, and Blue watched him go.

“Is there any chance anyone recorded that on their phone?” Jamie asked.

“No, because that would have been the smart thing to do and we are not smart,” Chelsea said shaking her head. “She didn’t believe us.”

“We knew she wouldn’t,” Jamie said.

“Yeah, but it still hurts.”

“I’ll go get our stuff and pack the car,” Jamie said, leaving Blue and Chelsea alone.

“Thanks for trying,” Chelsea said. “It really means a lot to me. I know it wasn’t easy.”

“It felt pretty good, actually,” Blue said with a smile. “It was good having you there to back me up”

Chelsea couldn’t help but smile and when Blue leaned towards her she didn’t pull away, but she kissed him feeling his warm lips against hers.

“You gonna come with us to the house?” Chelsea asked.

“Only if you’ll sleep in bed with me,” Blue said.

Chelsea nodded and looked up sadly up the stairs. Her mother was up there with a monster. She was a princess trapped in a tower and Chelsea didn’t know how to rescue her. She didn’t want to have to trade her mother for Blue; she wanted them both; she needed them both. She needed to show her mother that Terrance was a dangerous and bad person. She wasn’t going to leave her here alone with that monster.

They carried their bags to Blue’s old car from high school and filled the trunk. Chelsea used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and she looked up at the window she knew was her mother’s. How could her own mother think Chelsea would lie about something like this? How could her mother think she didn’t want her to be happy? Couldn’t she see Chelsea wanted her to be happy with the right person and not this jerk?

She gave a halfhearted wave but couldn’t tell if her mother saw it. She then opened the passenger side door and slid into the seat. The three of them were silent as they drove down the driveway and left the house behind them.