Live In Position (30 page)

"How dare you!" She screeched. "I'll have you fired for this!"

"If that is what you wish." I sneered back to her and turned for the door.

Then I heard the smash and turned quickly to see Allison's coffee mug shattered on the floor at her feet. The remnants of her coffee puddle around the ceramic shards and her fluffy pink slippers.

"Oh Ms. Allison, did you harm yourself?" Mrs. Baker ran in and observed the damage.

"I'm fine." She snapped and Mrs. Baker froze halfway toward her.

"I, I'll just get this cleaned up." Mrs. Baker left and returned with a dustpan and a mop.

Allison and I were locked in a stare down, neither of us backing down.

"I suggest you pack your things!" She seethed at me.

"Very well," I spat.

"I can't believe you…that Collin hasn't dismissed you yet! My God, you tried to seduce my husband and now you are working your gold digging ways into my brother!" She was panting from the exertion of her screaming.

I took two steps closer to her and set my coffee on the table nearest to me.

"I told you before that I didn't try to do anything with your husband and I never would." I snarled. "I'm not a gold digger and do not want any of
YOUR
family's money, especially your brother's. So back the fuck up!" I screamed and narrowed my own fiery glare on her.

"I hate you!" She screamed. "It was fine until you!" She lunged for me and Mrs. Baker screamed.

We hit the marble floor and my coffee cup shattered next to us. I grabbed her flailing arms and held them to her sides while she struggled and screamed with all her might.

"You fucking whore! Let go of me! I hate you! I hate you!" She pulled herself up and drew her knees to her chest. "I hate you! I fucking hate you! Why did you do it?" She sobbed and wrapped her arms around her shins as she rocked slowly back and forth on the cold floor. "I hate that you did this to us!" Her sobs felt like they were ripping through me and for some reason I knew she wasn't talking about me anymore, maybe she never really was.

I slowly sat next to her and, after taking a large breath, I wrapped my arms around her small balled up frame.

"Don't touch me." She struggled.

"Shh…" I tried to soothe her. "It will be okay."

Her head shot up.

"Okay? It will be okay? Are you kidding me? How the hell will it be okay?" Her face was a mixture of anger and confusion.

I pulled her tighter to my chest and this time she didn't fight, she simply huffed in irritation.

"You have two beautiful boys who love you more than you seem to realize. If they would have lost you, it would have crushed them for the rest of their lives." I felt her shudder in my arms.

"You have a family, regardless of how messed up things are right now, you have them and they love you. Even when you're crazy, they love you." She tensed in anger for a brief moment.

"And finally…" I pulled back and waited for her to look into my face, "anyone who has the energy to be such a cold righteous bitch all the time, has the energy to get past this and come out stronger." She sniffed once and then sat silently.

"Oh god, what happened?" Larissa entered, surveyed the room and hurried to Allison. "I was gone for two hours, Allison. Two hours." Larissa looked panicked.

"It's fine." Allison pushed away from me and looked at Larissa as she wiped her face on her cashmere sleeve. "I'm fine." She took a deep breath and stood, straightening out her coffee stained clothes. Allison looked at me for a brief moment when I stood from the floor before turning and leaving the room.

Larissa watched her walk out and then turned to me.

"What the heck happened?"

I shrugged.

"She threw a tantrum." I grabbed a dish towel and began cleaning up the spilled coffee.

After an hour of sitting in my room attempting to focus on my book, I finally gave up. I had just put all of my things on my desk when I heard a knock. My heart leapt, it was possibly Victoria.

No, no, she would've just burst into the door. Maybe it was someone telling me she was home. I swung the door open quickly. With a gasp I spoke.

"Dr. Bishop?"

"Ms. Ashwood" his tone was cold and calculating.

So, we are back to this. I stood up straighter and swallowed the newest lump to form in my throat.

"What can I do for you?" I eyed him wearily.

The coldness melted with a small gleam that flickered in his eyes before he responded.

"Victoria will be arriving in twenty minutes."

I nodded.

"Okay, thank you." I started to shut my door, but he pressed the door back open and entered quickly. "What are you –?"

He pulled me to his chest.

"I can't do this."

His hold was tight, but not too tight and he smelled so, so, so good. Stop it Sophia! I gave myself an internal slap.

"Please stop." I whimpered.

"I know there are risks, but can't we just—"

"Hide me away?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't want you hidden." His voice hardened. "But for the sake of Victoria, that's how it needs to be…for now." He brought a hand to my cheek.

"So, we risk losing Victoria, risk your family finding out, and we risk hurting Victoria?" I pulled my face away from the touch I longed for.

"I don't care about my family finding out. It's only a risk until I figure out how to handle Grace, and Victoria would never be hurt by this." He looked at me with both confusion and despair from my rejections.

"You don't think it would hurt her if this," I motioned between us, "were not to work? If it didn't work and we ended, whatever this is, that she wouldn't be crushed worse when I have to leave?" He opened his mouth, but then closed it tightly. "I can't be a part of risking anything that has to do with her."

He shook his head.

"I can't be around you every day." If I wasn't used to the variances of his hard voice, then I wouldn't have been able to hear the want in his statement. "I can't do that anymore." I opened my mouth, but he shut me up with his mouth.

Those warm lips were attached to such an intense person. The contradiction of his cold mannerisms and his warm kisses and fiery touches were almost part of the turn on. It was like two different men sometimes. Once he pulled back I simply looked into his eyes and saw that small glimmer again.

"I can't risk her."

"You won't." He assured me sternly. "Nothing will stop me from keeping Victoria safely in my home."

I shook my head.

"You can't be sure that—"

"I can." He hardened his tone and straightened his body before releasing me from his hold. Before another word could be spoken, he was gone.

The chime of the doorbell brought me out of a daze that I fell into. Then excitement flew through me like wildfire and I scurried to the door. Yes, I really scurried.

My feet hit the first floor just as I witnessed Dr. Bishop opening the door and motioning someone in. There she was, Victoria. I started to smile, but then furrowed my brow at the expression on her face. She looked tired and sad, almost depressed. I was immediately concerned.

"See, right on time." Grace boasted to Collin as she fluttered her eyes at him and released Victoria's hand.

"Yes, thank you." He said curtly and then glanced to Victoria. "Did you have a nice time?"

Grace's head shot down to look at Victoria. Victoria glanced up to answer her father, but caught sight of Grace's look and she simply nodded that she had. My furrowed brow morphed into a scowl.

I cleared my throat lightly and Victoria's head snapped to me. I winked at her and a large grin spread across her face. Squatting down to the floor, she ran toward me, tackling me with full force.

"Have you been practicing football or something?" I laughed. "Geesh." She giggled. "I missed you." I whispered and hugged her tightly.

She latched on to me when she heard Grace's voice.

"Are you going to come give mommy a kiss goodbye?"

"I don't want to." She whispered to me.

"Then you don't have to." I whispered back. We stood from the floor and started walking toward Victoria's room.

"Victoria?" She yelled after us. There was a long pause. "Collin, can you please speak with her about her behavior?"

"If she doesn't wish to tell you goodbye, then I won't force her to." He said calm, cool, and collected.

"Well, you should do something about that god awful slut. She is the reason she has such atrocious manners." Grace spat and then I heard the front door shut.

Victoria and I reached her room. I started going through her bag and cleaning it out. "So, how was it?" I asked in hopes she would tell me she enjoyed herself, but part of me knew that wasn't right.

"It was fine." She said quietly.

"Sweetheart, you know you can tell me anything right? If something is wrong, then I want you to tell me about it." I was pleading for to spill whatever was bothering her.

She only nodded.

"I'm going to get changed." Her voice was still too quiet, too different.

I put her clothes in the dirty laundry basket and placed her empty bag in her closet. Then I sat on her bed and waited for her to come out. When she exited her bathroom she looked minimally better than before she entered.

"You ready to talk to me yet?" I raised my brow at her.

She sighed.

"I don't like it there." Victoria sat on the bed next to me.

"Did she do something to you?" She shook her head. "Victoria, if she did something then I need you to tell me, okay?" I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and held my breath.

"She didn't do anything, nothing at all." There was a spark of anger in her voice.

I gave her a confused look.

"Grace wasn't there the entire time Sophia." She cried out. "I spent the time with a strange woman named Karen. She watched me." Her arms crossed her chest.

"She just left you? Where did she go?" Victoria opened her mouth, but that's not the voice we heard.

"Grace left you where?" Dr. Bishop's voice boomed.

"Nowhere daddy" Victoria shook her head.

"What did she do to her?" Dr. Bishop looked to me for answers.

"Apparently, Grace left her with a babysitter named Karen the entire time she was there."

He turned to Victoria.

"She didn't spend any time with you at all?" His brow furrowed and his tone was harsh. Victoria flinched.

I put my hand on Dr. Bishop's arm, but looked at Victoria.

"You aren't in trouble." I reassured her. "It's just that she is supposed to spend time with you. That was the reason she wanted to see you."

I pulled my hand away from Dr. Bishop's arm when I realized I lingered too long.

"I apologize for being so harsh Victoria." He sat next to her on the bed. "I'm not angry with you."

"You're angry at Grace?" She asked with a curious look. He nodded. "Do I have to go back?" Her eyes were searching his face.

"For now yes." Her face fell. "I will talk with the lawyers tonight." He kissed the top of her head and left the room.

"Are you okay?" I asked, kneeling in front of her.

She shrugged.

"I didn't even get my own room."

"What?"

"I had to sleep on the couch." Her eyes met mine. "She only has one bedroom."

"Oh."

That witch couldn't at least share a bed with her daughter. Well maybe
it's better she didn't. Lord knows what contagious disease was in the bed of that skank.

"I'm hungry." Victoria looked at me sheepishly.

"Come on. Let's get you something to eat." I smiled widely and when she took my hand I had never been happier. She was home, where she belonged.

It took me two days to get her out of her rut. When she finally came around, it was just as it were before she had left. William and the boys were over, as usual, but they seemed to spend an unusual amount of time with Allison. Rather, Allison seemed to join them more often than she had before.

When the week came to a close I could see the tension written all over Victoria, knowing that she was supposed to go with Grace the next day. I tried to keep her mind off of it, but wasn't able to do it any longer when Grace showed up to take her again. The tears were the same as before, as was the retreat to my room. Knowing how miserable Victoria was with Grace had me curled into a ball on the couch in my room. I kept the room dark and the TV off, letting my tears dampen the couch cushions.

I ignored the random knocks that occurred on my door over the course of three hours. That was until the door opened and Dr. Bishop stepped in. Quickly I wiped my face with my sleeve and groaned.

"I really can't do this right now." My voice was thick from lack of use and crying. He sighed heavily and left my room. I thanked every star that he actually backed off. The last thing I needed was to be his 'emotional outlet'.