The Bad Boy Next Door: Lance & Chastity (15 page)

In my dream.

A faint thought crosses my mind: if you die in your dream, you die in real life.

Fear takes hold and I fight for my life. I have to break Mom’s grip, or this is it.

“Fight her, Chastity!” Lance shouts, his face full of emotion.

I’m trying, but she’s too strong…

The color leaches out of my vision. My ears start to ring.

The world goes gray.

Then black…

“Chastity!”

I shoot up in bed like a sprung mousetrap, clutching my chest, convinced I have already had a heart attack and am now dying.

My bedroom is dark.

I can’t hear my heart.

Every muscle in my body is frozen with panic.

All I hear is complete and utter—

“Chastity!” A voice hisses outside my window, scaring me half to death. Make that three-quarters since I was already halfway there. “Chastity!”

I stumble out of bed and whip my drapes open.

Lance.

He’s sans crossbow and shaggy hair. But he still looks like Prince Charming knocking at my window, only this prince rides a motorcycle instead of a horse and is covered in tattoos instead of shining armor.

I sag with relief and pull the sliced up window screen aside. I stick my head out the window and whisper, “What are you doing here?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“I can,” I frown, “Get out of here! I was having a great dream!”

“It was about me, wasn’t it?”

“No!” What is it with men and their egos? “Would you leave already? My mom will shoot you if she sees you in our backyard.”

“Does she have a gun?”

“No.”

“Then I’m fine.”

“She has a crossbow,” I lie.

“Bullshit.”

“Get out of here, Lance! I’m serious.”

“Can we talk?”

“Not now! Try me in the afternoon.” I don’t know how much longer I can resist him. He looks incredible wearing nothing but jeans. I’m on the verge of inviting the sexy vampire inside once again.

“Why so late?”

“I have church in the morning. So if you would be so kind as to let me sleep, I might be able to stay awake. Mom hates it when I snore during the sermon.”

“I can go with you.”

“To church? You?”

He nods, “Sure. It might be fun.”

“
Fun
? Church isn’t supposed to be
fun
.”

“Why not?”

I shake my head, “Would you quit arguing with me and let me go to sleep?”

“Please. I really need to talk.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yeah.”

I take a deep breath. “Okay. Hold on a second. I’ll meet you out front. On the sidewalk.” I grab a bathrobe and tiptoe out of my bedroom. I hesitate at the front door. What will Mom do if she wakes up and finds me outside talking to Lance in our driveway in the middle of the night?

Who cares?

I’m eighteen.

I grin as I open the front door as quietly as possible and pad onto the front porch on bare feet. It sure is warm out.

“Hey,” he whispers from the shadows, sitting on the porch swing, his arm draped over the back.

There’s room for me on that swing. My desire to curl up beside him is intense. I would do anything to sway under the stars with him, talking until the sun comes up. But it’s too close to the house. “We can’t talk here. It’ll wake Mom. Let’s talk in front of your house.”

“Sure.”

He grabs my hand without a thought and walks me to the street.

I’m floored he’s holding my hand like we’re… I don’t know. But I like it. A lot. After last night’s disaster, I thought he’d never touch me again.

“How’s your sister? What’d the doctors say?”

“She’s fine.” I’m touched he cares. “Just needs to rest.”

He runs his free hand nervously through his hair. “Good. I’m really sorry about what happened.”

“Don’t be. It was an accident. And you saved her.” Images of Charity flailing spasmodically in the electrified pool prickle my brain. I shiver and bunch my robe together with my free hand.

“You cold?”

“Yeah,” I lie. Right now, I just want to be held.

He pulls me against his chest and I melt into him. His naked pecs ripple against my cheek as his arms wrap around my waist. We’re skin to skin. I feel his heat and hear his heartbeat and it’s wonderful. I could stand here all night. Who knew the sidewalk could be so romantic?

“Anyway, sorry about what happened,” Lance sighs.

“Your dad was drunk, wasn’t he?”

“Yup.”

“Where did he get the alcohol? We didn’t have any and he was at our house all day.”

“Did you see his AriZona Iced Tea bottle?”

“That’s right! Was it full of alcohol?”

“Yup. Whiskey.”

“I never would’ve known. With the label covering the whole bottle, you can’t even tell what’s in it!”

Lance nods, “He’s clever like that. Too bad he’s a total fuckup when it comes to everything else.”

“It’s not your fault. What he did, I mean. He’s your Dad. He should be watching out for you, you know?”

His face knots into a sour snarl. “Yeah. Something like that.”

“Chastity!” Mom hisses. “What are you doing out of bed?! It’s the middle of the night!”

Mother
fluffer
.

I guess she didn’t get the memo that I’m a legal adult and can do whatever I want now.

Lance releases me and we turn to face her as she strides down the driveway, belting her ankle-length robe around the ankle-length nightgown she sleeps in.

“What are
you
doing here?” Mom demands of Lance.

He smirks. “Doing where? We’re on the sidewalk in front of
my
house.”

“
Your
house. It’s a rental,” Mom scoffs with disgust and rolls her eyes. “Chastity, get inside.”

“No,” I bark.

Record needle screech.

Mom cocks her head, “What?” Somehow, she manages to enunciate every letter in the word.

“I said no.” I say it firmly but calmly.

“You get in that house right now, young lady.”

“I’m not young. I’m eighteen.”

She whips her eyes at Lance. “This was your idea, wasn’t it? Telling her she can do anything she wants now that she’s all of eighteen?”

He shrugs calmly, “She can.”

“Not while she’s living in my house, she can’t.”

“Yes I can, Mom,” I say stridently, struggling to stay calm.

Her eyes bug and a crazy smile wrinkles her mouth. “Ohhhhh,
that’s
right. You’re an
adult
now.
Alllllll
grown up.”

“Well, no, but—”

She ignores me. “I imagine you know everything now. Your ignorant mother has nothing of value to add to your life. You probably have your own apartment lined up already so you can move out any day now and start paying your own bills and do everything else on your own. Does that sound about right?”

“What are you talking about, Mom? I’m not moving out. I—”

“You’re acting like you’re ready too. I would
hate
to do anything to stand in your way. I’m just your useless mother with her useless rules that you don’t need to obey anymore. Isn’t that so?”

“Mom, I—”

“I also imagine your job at Marble Slab will cover the cost of health care
and
rent
and
utilities
and
grocery bills
and
—”

“Mom! Stop!”

“Me stop? You’re the one who won’t stop.” Her eyes dare me to disagree.

She didn’t waste any time making me look like a foolish little girl in front of Lance. A grimace creeps onto my face. I can’t help it. Mom is nuts.

“Go inside, Chastity. It’s very late and you need your sleep. We have church tomorrow.” She turns toward the house as if it’s a foregone conclusion I’ll follow her.

“No, Mom!”

She spins around. “No? No what?”

“I’m not going! We can skip church for once. Charity almost
died
. Luckily Lance saved her.” I throw that in just to spite her. “It was a really long night and we should sleep in. For once. We’ll go to church next week. When Charity is up for it.”

“We will, will we? Now you’re the parent too?” She gasps comically, pressing arched fingers to her chest, completely unaware of how prideful she’s being. “I never realized eighteen automatically qualified you to do your mother’s job.”

“I’m not trying to do your job. I’m just trying to talk sense. You do what you want in the morning, but I think Charity will thank you if you let her skip church and sleep in. Come to think of it, you seem like you could use some rest yourself. You’re acting a little crazy.”

“Oh, that’s just terrific.” She shakes her head. “Are you parenting
me
now?”

I huff. “No. I’m just saying—”

“Then I suggest you not try and parent your sister either. And since you’ve been an adult for all of four hours, maybe you should leave the parenting to me for the time being. We will
not
skip church in the morning. Not after the mercy the Heavenly Father has shown us tonight. We need to show our gratitude. I’ll allow your sister to stay home so she can recover after the… incident, but you and I should be there bright and early so
you
can pray for your sister and
I
can pray for you.”

“For me? Why?”

Her eyes snap toward Lance, “If you can’t see it, then all the more reason for you to be in the house of the Lord on
his
day so you can reflect on your latest transgressions and ask Him for forgiveness.”

“What are you talking about, Mom? I didn’t even do anything. You make it sound like I’m some sort of criminal.”

“You may not be a criminal, but when you lie down with wolves…” She grins.

“Lie down? What’s that supposed to mean?” I growl. She didn’t find out about me and Lance, did she? Charity wouldn’t have told her, would she? No, she would never do that. Besides, she didn’t have time before she got shocked. Who else knew? Gina from church? Did she pass Lance on her way back to the patio? Did she follow him and listen in on the whole thing? She could have. Maybe she told Mom? I don’t know.

A superior smile eases onto Mom’s face. “I thought you were eighteen. I thought you knew everything.” Her sarcasm is over the top. She snorts self-righteously, “Whose idea was the music anyway? It wasn’t mine. I distinctly remember we agreed on no music. Was it your idea, Lance?” She glares at him.

I cringe. She’s right on both counts. I jump in before she starts attacking him. It’s the least I can do. “He may have suggested it, but I agreed to it. I said it was okay.”

“You said it was okay,” Mom nods gleefully. “Because you’re the parent. I forgot. I’m just nothing, right?”

I chew my lip, gathering my thoughts. “If you’re the parent, why didn’t you make Lance take his DJ gear home?”

“Because you and Lark railroaded me.”

“I thought you were the parent,” I sneer. “And why did you spend all night dancing with Mr. McKnight? You could’ve sent him home too. Then Charity wouldn’t have got shocked. But noooo,
you
were having too much fun dancing with Mr. McKnight, weren’t you?” Now I’m just trying to hurt her.

She narrows her eyes, her face tight with fury. “Get inside. We’re done. You’re going to church tomorrow, and that’s final.”

I stand my ground. “No.”

“Inside. Now.”

“No.” I fold my arms across my chest.

 
She lashes out, clawing at my arm. “
You get inside this instant!!
”

I jump back, “No, Mom! What is wrong with you?!”

She claws for me again.

Lance steps between us, “Easy, Mrs. Shields.”

“Get your hands off me!!” Mom barks at him.

He didn’t even touch her, but he holds his palms up and backs away cautiously.

“You did this to her,” she growls at him, pointing her finger at him like a pistol. “She was never this
willful
before today.”

“I didn’t do shit,” Lance chuckles.

“Watch your language! How many times do I have to tell you?”

“I’m not your kid, so you can shut the fuck up about the language.”

Startled, Mom tucks her head into her shoulders like a turtle for a second before rabbiting at him. “Don’t you talk to me like that!”

“I’m gonna talk any fucking way I want,” Lance says. “You think I can brainwash your daughter in one day after eighteen years of parenting from you? You’re nuts. Your daughter is stronger than that. You may not see it, but I do.”

I swell with pride hearing Lance talk about me with admiration and dare I say respect? I try not to smile.

Lance continues, “She’s not going to do anything she doesn’t wanna do, no matter what I say. You can tell her what to do all you want, but she’s eighteen and that means things are going to change. Get used to it, Faith. She’s your daughter. Not your baby.”

“What do you know about parenting? You’re a child.”

He raises an eyebrow with cocky confidence. “Am I?”

“You don’t have any responsibilities. You don’t know what it’s like to take care of someone. You don’t know—”

“Shut the fuck up, Faith. You’re talking way outta line. You don’t know shit about me.”

She grimaces, “You call me Mrs. Shields!”

“I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want.” Lance looks ready to blow.

I’m suddenly worried they’ll attack each other. “Stop it, you guys! This is stupid! We’re fighting in the middle of the street at four in the morning!”

Mom sneers, “And whose fault is that, Chastity?”

I sigh and roll my eyes. I can’t win and I’m tired of listening to her rant. She’s going to keep harping away until I cave anyway, whether in front of Lance or in private. “I give up, Mom. You’re right. It’s all my fault. The party, the music, Charity, everything. We’ll go to church tomorrow, okay? Bright and early.” I stare at her, trying not to look as irritated as I feel. Someone needs to be the grown-up tonight. “But let Charity sleep in.”

Finally, her face relaxes a fraction. “Of course,” she smiles victoriously.

She didn’t win anything. At least this way I’ll get a few hours sleep before we have to get up.

Mom is already strolling toward the house, her body shaking between joy and rage. She stops at the porch and waits for me. “Say goodnight, Chastity.”