Landon's Obsession: An Endless Series: Book 3 (Series 3) (62 page)

     Grief and regret covered her face but it didn’t mean
anything to me. She hadn’t shown any of this for Maya, only now when her plans
were revealed. “She was supposed to drink, get drunk, and think she’d cheated
on you. But Kris said she wouldn’t drink so he improvised. I never planned for
her to walk away thinking she’d been raped, and I didn’t know until you came to
us and informed us of her accusation.”

     “Oh my, God.” My dad’s anguished whisper caught my
attention…everyone’s attention. I looked over to see his face twisted in pain,
clutching his chest. “Nadine, how could you do this…ask Kris to do this? What
you did to Landon…to Maya…her mother…Nola. So many people.” He was gasping out
his words.

     Alarm shot through me. “Dad!” I rushed to his side just
in time because he stumbled and almost fell.

     “Daniel!” Mom screamed, rushing forward.

     Dad’s face was ashen and sweaty as I held his large
frame in my arms. He gazed up at me with sad eyes. “I’m…so…sorry.” He gasped.

     My throat closed up. Was he having a heart attack? God,
no. “You’re fine, you’re fine.” I chanted. “Call an ambulance.” I yelled.

Chapter Eighteen

MAYA

     Before leaving last night Landon had kissed me and said
he’d see me later to give me some late night sex. But Landon didn’t come back
last night. That fact didn’t worry me overmuch, but the fact that he didn’t
call did.

     I figured he’d gotten too tired and decided to crash with
his friends at
his
house.

     And he could have fallen asleep before letting me know
what he was doing.

     It hadn’t stopped me from texting in concern. 

     Landon had told me he and the guys didn’t drink during
the season so I shouldn’t worry about him driving around drunk, but what if
they decided to change their plans?

     Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of his friends’
numbers so I couldn’t call them and ask what was going on, because it was now nine
o’clock Saturday morning and I was getting really anxious. I didn’t want to be
that nagging girlfriend texting him constantly on where he was, and what he was
doing, but he hadn’t answered my
one
text from last night yet.

     If he was awake he would have answered by now.

     He was most likely still sleeping off a late night.

     But he had a game today.

     Had something happened to him? Had he been in an
accident?  

     I really might have to hit him for making me worry like
this.

     What if he was realizing the family thing was boring,
and this was the start of something worse to come?

     I internally smacked myself for pulling problems from
thin air.

     I definitely was going to hit him for making me worry.

     My phone beeped and I snatched it off the counter. Finally!
Landon had texted me back.

     Landon:
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Be
home in twenty.

    
I breathed out a sigh of relief, and as my worry
vanished my irritation took over.  

     I’d been in the middle of making breakfast and finished
that up as I waited for Landon. I was setting Nola up in front of the
television with her favorite cartoon when I heard the front door open. The
frown of displeasure on my face melted away when Landon stepped in the room
though. He looked terrible, like he hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, and not
because he’d been having fun.

     I hurried over to him. “What happened?” His haggard and
unhappy expression screamed that something had happened. 

     His arms wrapped around me tightly, almost desperately,
and he buried his face in my nape, breathing deeply. I returned the embrace
with vehemence, scared all over again.

     “Dad had a heart attack last night.” He murmured in my
hair.

    
My
heart
spasmed in pain for him. “Oh my,
God, Landon. Is he alright?”

     “Yes.” He sighed and squeezed me tighter, before
drawing back. He looked so miserable. “It was a Stress Cardiomyopathy. With
rest he should be fine in a few weeks. It won’t cause any permanent damage to
his heart.”

     “That’s good news, at least.” I rubbed his biceps in
comfort. “Is that where you’ve been all night, and why you look like you
haven’t slept?”

     He looked over my shoulder at Nola. “Yeah.”

     My heart pinched in slight hurt. “Why didn’t you call
me? I could have been there for you.”

     His sad gaze came back to me. “Kris was there.”

     I breathed in a shuddery breath and my gut twisted
sickeningly…his brother was back. Several questions ran through my head, but I
wasn’t going to bombard him with them now. “I still wished you would have called
me. Kris can’t hurt me anymore. I don’t like him, but I would have dealt with
him to be there for you.”

     He shook his head, and one corner of his mouth looked
like it was trying to rise. “You would have, wouldn’t you?” His finger brushed
over my forehead gently and his gaze, while still sad, seemed almost reverent.
“I didn’t want you to have to deal with it though, and I don’t think I could
have handled him and you in the same room together.”

     The thought of him and his brother in the same room
together worried me. “You didn’t put your brother in the hospital as well, did
you?”

     He frowned. “No, but it was close. I need to talk to
you about a few things.” Taking my hand he pulled me over to the chairs by the
back windows, far enough away from Nola that she wouldn’t hear. Nola hadn’t yet
noticed Landon because of the cartoon she was watching. He sat me down and
twisted the other chair so that we were facing each other and close enough to
hold hands.

     “Are you sure you want to talk right now?” I smoothed
my hand over his tired face. “You’re exhausted and look like you need to go
straight to bed. You’re not going to your game today, are you?”

     He gripped my hands in his and leaned forward, his gaze
intent. “Maya, we had a family discussion last night and a few things came to
light.”

     My brows rose at that revelation because he’d answered
one of my questions…He’d omitted some truths on where he was going last night.
Again, I decided to pass on confronting him…at the moment.

     “Okay, what things?” I asked instead.

     “Kris said he didn’t rape you…”

     I yanked my hands from his and jerked backwards into
the chair…away from him. “And you believe him now.” Bitter hurt and anger flooded
me.

     Alarm flashed over his face and his hands snatched mine
back. “That’s not what I’m saying! Shit, this is hard to tell you. The reason
you ended up in that pool house with Kris was because of my mother.”

     I stared at him in rigid confusion. “I guess, in a
roundabout way…because of the party she was planning for you.” He shook is
head, and his look was so tormented that I softened and squeezed his hands.
“What Landon?”

     “My mother…she planned the whole thing; Kris…you…the
pool house…me finding you…she planned it all.”

     Confusion was still my main emotion, but my heart began
thumping erratically. “What do you mean?”

     His thumbs circled over the back of my hands…my
trembling hands. “Mother convinced Kris to get you into a compromising pose.
The plan was to get you drunk, but you refused so Kris improvised by drugging
you. He then stripped you and set the scene so it looked like the two of you
partied together…and then slept together.” He growled the last part.

     All I could do was stare at him in slacked-jawed shock
as he continued.

     “I was supposed to find you, assume you’d cheated on
me, and dump you…which I did.”

     My hands were shaking so badly now. “Oh my god.” I
whispered in disbelief. His mother had planned all that. Had she planned for me
to be raped? “Why would she do that to me? How could she let her son rape me?”

     Landon shook my hands slightly. “Listen Maya. You might
not have been raped. Kris said it was all a set up. He said he didn’t, that all
he did was strip you so it would look like the two of you slept together.
Either way I can never forgive him, but maybe he didn’t. Do you think it’s
possible he didn’t?”

     His mother planned everything.

     It was all a set-up.

    She’d been trying to break up Landon and me.

     It was possible I wasn’t raped.

     I couldn’t handle this.

     Pulling my cold hands from Landon’s I stood and backed
away from him. “I can’t think…” He stood up to come after me and I backed away
further holding up my hands in distress. “No! I need some space…I need to think…This
is just too much, Landon.” I bumped into the couch and scuttled around it
hastily. I had to get out of here. “I need to be alone.” Turning, I dashed out
of the room and up the stairs to my bedroom, shutting it behind me and locking
it.

     I paced my room in agitation. That family…I’d stepped
into that house and they’d set out to ruin my life. What had I ever done to
them except fall in love with Landon? I guess that was the part that was
unforgivable; the maid’s daughter falling for the rich son. It had ruined my
mother’s life, and I’d gone and followed in her footsteps.

     I’d had a promising future until they’d messed it all up.
My scholarship had been yanked because I couldn’t finish high school…because
I’d had a breakdown…from being raped and then dumped atrociously…because I’d
ended up pregnant and had no idea who the father was…all because some mother
thought I wasn’t good enough for her son. 

     Who the hell did she think she was? She definitely
thought she was better than me. But to put me in that position; having her son
strip me, lay down with me naked himself, and assume that he wouldn’t do
anything?   

     Could I believe that Kris hadn’t taken advantage of me?
Had he only planned to make it look like we’d had sex, and left me untouched?

     I searched my memories of that day. I’d been so sick
when I’d woken up next to Kris; both physically and emotionally. The drugs had
made me vomit, as well as making my body slightly achy. I’d been extremely
upset, and it had seemed so apparent that we’d had sex that I had never
questioned the situation. But had I felt like I’d had actual intercourse? I’d
been so new to sex I hadn’t thought to examine how I felt in that region of my
body. And now it had been too long ago for me to remember.

     The doctor had stated she couldn’t be certain.

     Maybe he hadn’t.

     Unfortunately, I would never be sure because I’d been
drugged. I’d love to take Kris’s word that everything had been an act, and that
he hadn’t raped me while I was unconscious, but waking up like that, naked,
with no memory had made me feel violated.

     And Landon’s mother had been the one to put me in that
situation; trusting, or not caring what her son did to me.  

     It confounded me that she could do that.

     I don’t know how long I agonized over these questions,
but it was many times, and tears ran freely. It wasn’t until much later that I
began to realize how all of this must be affecting Landon.

     He had thought only his brother had betrayed him, but
his mother had been the mastermind to the whole thing…trying to control his
life. But she couldn’t control everything; us meeting again, Kris’s ramblings
and Nadia hearing it, Landon deciphering the rambling, Nola, our enduring
emotions for each other.

     All of this had been hashed out last night at this
family meeting and Landon had learned the truth. Was it this truth that sent
his father to the hospital?

     Landon’s face had been so tortured. He must feel so
betrayed, and now he had his father’s health to worry about.

     Oh God! I can’t believe I’d run away from him after
telling him I wanted to be there for him. What must he be thinking…feeling?

     Jumping up from the bed I hurried to the bathroom to
wash my tear-stained face. I couldn’t do anything for my bloodshot eyes though.
Dashing down the stairs I was surprised to find my mom and Brian standing in
the living room.

     “What are you doing here?” I asked in a croaky voice.

     Mama surged toward me with tears in her eyes. “Landon
called us. He told us everything. I was just about to come up to see how you
were. How are you doing? I can’t believe what that woman did. No, actually I
can, but it’s still unbelievable.” She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me
tight, and I let her needing it.

     “I can’t believe it either.” I sniffed.

     Pulling back she held my arms examining me with tearful
intensity. “Landon said it was all set up; that your rape might not have been
an actual rape. Maybe you thought it happened because of what the situation
looked like?”

     I could see the hope in her eyes and wanted her to hang
on to that, even though I still wasn’t certain. I nodded, giving her a weak
smile. “Maybe.”

     Looking over her shoulder I shared a sad smile with
Brian and noted Nola playing a game on my tablet. Thankfully she was so
engrossed she ignored me. I wasn’t certain I could hide my distress from her.

     “Where’s Landon?” I asked searching the room.

     “He left.”

     My gaze arrowed back to mama. “He left? Why? Did he go
back to his house, or the hospital?” He needed to lie down and get some sleep.
He’d looked like he was about to keel over from exhaustion. Where ever he was I
needed him…needed to be there for him.