Crash (16 page)

The email made me feel cold all over. My eyes pricked with tears. “I don’t like it. I never wanted to hurt him.”

Will stared at me incredulously. “You realize he’s just manipulating you, right? You’re out in the world, living your life, and he thinks that it’s all about him. You must be doing this to hurt him, not because you’ve moved on. He’s a narcissist and he wants you to feel guilty.”

I rubbed my arm feverishly. “I need to tell him that it’s over. That we’re done.”

“You are over. You broke up almost a year ago. Don’t contact him; he’ll only send you more messages. If you ignore them, he’ll gradually stop caring about it.”

I feel like absolute shit and you probably have no idea. I could hear the despair in that line of text and couldn’t stand that I was making him feel bad about himself. We might have broken up, but I still cared about him.

He sank down to my level and held my arms. “Baby, listen to me. His problems are no longer yours. You care too much about what people think of you. He’s going to be pissed for a while. So what?”

I shook with tears, hating myself. “I’m sorry about this. I’m sorry you have to see these emails. I don’t want him and I don’t want to talk about him around you.”

“Okay,” he beamed. “I got a flight out of Genoa for this evening.”

I turned my face back towards the ocean and felt another tug on my heart. “Do we have to leave?”

He stroked my back. “Yeah, but Cinque Terre will always be here. You can always come back.”

* * *

It was another exhausting night of travel for all three of us. When Will’s town car arrived to pick us up from O’Hare, I collapsed into the car and almost instantly fell asleep. When I woke up, I felt a heavy, warm weight on my lap and realized that the cat had crawled onto my lap.

“We’re here.”

The car pulled into a driveway and stopped in front of a mansion that rivaled Luke’s in San Francisco. The red brick home was surrounded by color; plants and bushes of all types thrived around the house. The driveway surrounded a round pool where a large, golden fountain played. When the door opened, Tom dashed from the car to lie on the brick steps on the house, flailing his body in apparent ecstasy.

The light brown wooden doors opened and a woman in her fifties emerged, dressed in white capris and a sky-blue blouse. She beamed when William swept out of the car.

Here we go
, I told myself, watching his mother hurry down the steps to greet her son.

“My baby!” she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck.

“Hi, Mom,” he said without the same enthusiasm. Will hugged her, his face going a bit pink.

His mother tossed back her dyed blonde hair and looked over his shoulder directly at me, a question forming on her lips. Will glanced at me. “Mom, this is Natalie.”

I slid out of the car and took her proffered hand, “Nice to meet you.”

Her dark eyes scanned mine, as if she could detect any misgivings stirring inside them and I was reminded of William. His eyes had the same shape and color, and apparently he inherited her unnerving stare. Her lips lifted into a slight smile to soften the message that was:
Hurt my son in any way and I will destroy you.

“It’s lovely to meet you. You two must be starving. Come in, I’ll fix something.”

I cast a terrified glance at William, who smiled encouragingly and wrapped his arm around my waist as his mother led the way. “Relax, my mom is nice.”

The door opened to a magnificent foyer laid with cream-colored marble. Two sweeping wooden staircases with black railings led upstairs on either side of the circular room. The archways had beautiful, intricate crown molding. Ahead was the living room and to the left was a modern kitchen with granite counters. Inwardly, I laughed at the idea of his mother visiting my apartment. 

“This is where you grew up?”

“Yeap. It’s been remodeled several times over the years.”

“Wow.”

I could imagine him and his brothers running around as children, knocking over expensive vases and banging on the white grand piano I saw in the sitting room. Even as an adult, Will had so much energy. It must have driven his parents crazy.

“You’re looking a bit pale, William. Have you eaten anything today?”

Mrs. Pardini fussed over her son as he sat down at the kitchen table, smoothing his lapels and brushing his hair. His face bloomed and I sniggered at him behind his mother’s back.

“Mom, stop it.”

“When was the last time you got a haircut?”

“I have no idea.”

She bustled towards the kitchen counter and picked up her phone. “I’ll make a hair appointment for you.”

I bit my knuckles hard to keep from crying out with laughter. William was mortified. “Mom, sit down,” he snapped.

She closed her phone and her eyes narrowed. “There’s no need to take that tone with me.”

“Yes, there is,” he said, suddenly looking quite serious. “What’s this I hear about Dad selling Luke’s shares?”

My face burned as his mother scowled at him, casting me an irritated glance. “Will, you know we don’t talk about this sort of thing in front of—”

“I don’t care, Mom. Anything we need to talk about, you can say it in front of Natalie. She already knows everything anyway.”

I grimaced at Will’s mother, who was staring at me like I had suddenly grown two heads.

“You’ll have to talk to your father about it,” she said in a final tone. “No, William. Your dad doesn’t want me talking about it to anyone. Not even you.”

“Oh, come on!” He pounded his fist on the table.

“Tell me how you met your new girlfriend.” She smiled innocently.

Will looked pissed at her deflection. “We’re dating, Mom. And we met at a party.”

Under the kitchen table, my fingernails ground into my palms. It was so awkward. I did not want to be there. I could see her sizing me up, appraising my wardrobe and probably making searing judgments in her head. She pressed her lips into a firm line.

“I guess I’ll never get grandchildren from my youngest.”

My stomach dropped.

“Jesus!” Will got up from the table. “Fu—I can’t—”

And he stormed from the kitchen, leaving me there alone. His mother turned on the spot with a smirk not unlike her son’s and zeroed in on me. My jaw dropped. She needled him on purpose to get him out of the room.

Will, you bastard! Don’t leave me here alone!

“Don’t look so scared,” she said in an even voice as she sat down across from me. “You don’t have anything to hide, do you?”

“No, no. I’m just not used to all this.”

“What do your parents do?”

Ah, so the interrogation begins.
“My parents are dentists. I’m a graphic designer.”

“Oh, where do you work?”

My face burned. “Actually, I’m unemployed, but Will offered me a contract to design logos for Luke’s campaign.”

I was clearly going from bad to worse. Her lips whitened.

“And I suppose you thought my son would be a great career booster?”

“No!” A sickening feeling spread through my stomach when she smiled. “No, I swear to God, he contacted my agency and set up a meeting without me knowing. I never asked him for anything. He can tell you that himself.”

“Hmm,” was all she said. “Perhaps my son needs someone like you to keep him grounded. Someone unassuming. Humble.”

It sounded like an insult as much as a compliment. “Thanks. I didn’t even want to date him, at first.”

Why the hell did you say that?

I cringed as his mother gave me an extremely offended look. “What’s wrong with my son?”

“Well,” I began, almost laughing out of nerves. “You know, his issues.” My voice drifted into a squeak.

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

My blood churned. “His panic attacks.”

“What are you talking about?”

She had no idea what I was talking about. My mouth trembled. He never told his parents. No one knew anything. Jesus Christ. I was treading on very dangerous ground. Will probably wouldn’t appreciate me telling his mother about his emotional issues.

“Never mind. I shouldn’t talk about it.” But my insides rebelled. Shouldn’t I tell his mother? Didn’t he need help?
Stay out of it.

“If my son is in trouble, I deserve to know about it.”

“It’s really none of my business, but I think if Will wanted you to know, he would tell you. He’s just having a hard time coping with the accident.”

I swallowed hard at the venomous look on her face.

“Natalie, you seem like a nice girl, so I’ll return the favor and tell you this nicely. We don’t ever discuss or mention that incident in this house. Ever.”

A chill froze my lungs. It was clear that I wasn’t going to get her on my side if I ever wanted Will to get help. The whole family ignored it. No wonder he felt so alone. I looked squarely into her eyes, angry with her for ignoring his pain.

“He had a panic attack while he was driving. We could have died. He needs help and ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.”

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and I stood up from the table, walking away and never feeling so uncomfortable. Jessica had been here with Luke, and she told me that being there was one of the most uncomfortable experiences in her life. Now, I knew why.

I nearly ran into Will as I turned into the foyer. The dark look on his face told me that he heard everything.

Oh, shit.

“Come,” he said, gripping my wrist.

I followed him upstairs wordlessly as he led me into one of the guest rooms with our luggage already inside.

“Will,” I said, already falling apart at the grim look on his face. “I’m sorry. I was just angry—”

“I don’t know whether I should be impressed that you stood up to my mother or pissed that you told her something that was none of her business.”

I stared at his crossed arms and laughed. “Oh, come on. She’s your mother; of course it’s her business. You’re a family.”

“Natalie, not all of us feel that our parents are entitled to every detail of our personal lives.”

That stung. “Meaning what? That I’m a slave to my parents?”

He shrugged and smiled at me, too polite to agree with what I said. “Look, I understand why you did it. Just let me handle this my way, okay? I will tell them.”

“Fine.” I told him. “Um—I need to call my mom.”

Will chuckled and laid on the bed. “I’ll be quiet.”

I inhaled a deep breath to try and quiet the storm building in my head. It was always nerve wracking to call my parents. I dialed the number and turned my back firmly on Will.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom. How are you?”

“Natalie! Finally! We’ve been waiting for your call. How’s Europe?”

“It was great, actually. I’m in Chicago right now with Will.”

“Chicago? What for?”

I continued on without thinking. “He needed to see his parents.”

“Oh, so they get to meet you before we get to meet your new boyfriend?”

Shit. “No, Mom. It’s not like that.”

“What’s their house like? Are they filthy rich? What kind of cars do they have?”

My dad’s voice suddenly entered the conversation. I pressed the phone against my face, hoping that William couldn’t hear a word.

“Tom!”

“It’s a big brick mansion,” I said, ignoring their gasps. “Listen, I’ll be home soon, I think.”

“Thanksgiving is in a few weeks. We want you to bring Will over!”

“No, Mom. We’ve only been dating for a few weeks.”

“If you don’t bring him, we’ll ask Ben to come over. He’s visited us twice, Natalie. Asking where you are—what your boyfriend is like—”

“What?” I shrieked. “Do not invite my ex for Thanksgiving! I don’t want to see him!”

What the fuck is wrong with them both?

“Then bring Will over. Okay, we’ll see you soon!”

Click. I stared at the phone in stunned disbelief. All they talked about during the whole conversation was Will. His family and their wealth fascinated them. They didn’t even ask me how I was doing. They didn’t care about the designs I made on the trip.

“Are you okay?”

I faced Will, who was sitting up on the bed and looking at me with concern. I clenched my phone and was seized with a desire to hurl it across the room. “I can’t believe this. They’re going to invite Ben for Thanksgiving if you don’t come with me.”

“So don’t go.”

My heart hammered. “I can’t just not go—I’d never hear the end of it. She would call me ten times a day to bitch at me. Please, please, Will.”

A small sob shook my throat and he slid off the bed, looking frustrated with me but gathering me in his arms.

“I’ve never asked you for anything. Please come over on Thanksgiving, and they’ll shut up about you. They just want to fawn over you.”

“I don’t mind meeting them, Natalie. The only thing that bothers me is the reason why you want me there.”

“What do you mean?”

“You only want me there to appease your parents.”

I pulled away from him. “That’s not true!”

“Then why the reluctance?”

“Because you’ll hate it. They’ll suck up to you because you’re rich. I don’t want you to think badly of them.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Is that all? I’m used to that. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

I stammered thanks as he grabbed my waist and I hotly remembered the time alone with him in Cinque Terre. He kissed me and warmth spread to my toes; his tongue flicked inside my mouth and I felt my muscles unknotting.

His hands wandered down my jeans and I kissed him more urgently as desire shot upwards the more he touched me. He slipped under my jeans and played with my panties, squeezing my bare flesh. I heard myself moan and I knew he was remembering that night, too.

“William!”

We sprang apart as his mother called for him outside the door. He grimaced and tried to shift his pants so that his erection wasn’t so obvious.

“Yes?”

“Your father is here.”

“Okay, I’ll be down there soon.”

We heard her walk away.

“He has the worst timing.” Will slid his arm around my waist and planted a kiss on my neck. “I’ve got to talk to him and you have got to come with me.”