Toxic Secrets (10 page)

Mom hit the mute button on the remote control.
Uh-oh!
I knew this couldn’t be good. When she wanted to have a serious talk with me, she always liked things quiet. Whether it was the TV or the radio in the car, the volume either got turned down or turned off.

“He called this morning asking for you. I told him you spent the night with Kendra. I thought it was kind of odd, since he has not called here since y’all broke up and then, the first time you go out on a date, he’s calling the next day?” She shook her head. “Sounds a little fishy to me. Did he call or text you?”

“No, did he say what he wanted?”

“No, but he did ask me how I’ve been doing and said he missed me.” She chuckled, rolling her eyes. Mom was very good at reading people, mostly douchebags. Phillip pulled the wool over his parents’ eyes, and everyone else he came in contact with, but he couldn’t fool Alma Peterson.

My mother was very aware of guys like him. She was once married to a cheating control freak—my father, Neil Peterson. My dad was a naval officer who should have retired to enjoy life at fifty-five, but instead continued to serve his country only because of his love for the domineering role. Since he no longer had a wife to overbear, he could only find the dictatorial position by remaining in the Navy. Sometimes I was thankful for him not involving himself in my life. I don’t think I could stomach a drill sergeant for eighteen years.

My dad cheated on my mom for several years, just like Phillip cheated on me. She finally grew a backbone and left him. I should've learned from my mother's mistakes.

When I was two, Mom took me and left everything she owned in Norfolk, Virginia. Her best friend confessed that she thought she was pregnant with my father’s child. That was the final nail in the coffin. My mom’s heart was broken. Her hopes of him changing and becoming the faithful husband and dedicated father fell flat, so she moved back to North Carolina and never looked back. It all blew up in my dad’s face, though, when my mom’s best friends suffered from a miscarriage and left my father shortly after.

“I thought maybe you could tell me what he was wanting. Are you two talking again?” The tone she used told me she wasn’t happy with any communication we might be sharing.

“He approached me at school after we got back from Thanksgiving break. We made a truce and agreed to be friends.” Mom shot me one of her you’ve got to be kidding looks. “Mom, I figured it’s the only way we could remain civil to one another.”

“And what happens when he finds out you’re dating somebody or sees you out with another guy?” My mother knew Phillip was jealous, but she had no idea the extremities of it. She forever tried to protect me from making the same mistakes she’d made with my father, but I had thought Phillip was different. At least that's what I used to tell myself.

“We discussed that, and I told him I would be dating. I made it very clear to him that we were over and the only thing I could offer him was my friendship. He promised me he was okay with me dating other guys, as long as I didn’t date anyone from our school.”

“Why not anyone from your school? What difference does that make?” Mom’s agitation was getting stronger in her tone. “Once again, the little shit has control of you. Yeah, sure, Courtney, date whoever you want to, but I’m still in control because I’m going to tell you who you can and cannot date,” she sneered, imitating a guy’s voice… Phillip’s voice.

Gah!
Why did it never occur to me that he put a freakin’ restriction on whom I could date? Letting the realization of my mom’s words sink in gave me the itching desire to fall back on my word. You know, they always say, you marry a man just like your father. At one time, I was well on my way to bringing truth to that statement, but not anymore. Phillip, the forever tyrant, was about to get schooled—by me.

“I don’t know why he doesn’t want me dating anyone from school. I didn’t ask, I was more concerned of his reaction to me dating at all than to worry about what school they attended,” I paused, “or didn’t.” Glancing at the clock, I noted my mommy-and-me time was almost up. “It’s going to be a fairly interesting day when Monday rolls around. I’m sure someone will have told him about me attending the Russells’ Christmas party.” I could only imagine what his thoughts would be when he heard about me and tequila making an acquaintance. For some odd reason, drunken slut came to mind.

“Well, guessing from his phone call this morning, I’d say he’s already caught wind of your date last night. You should probably call him back now and settle whatever issue he has. You know how he is… he’ll let it brew up over the weekend then annihilate you Monday morning.” She said these words as if they were spoken on a daily basis. I never gave my mother enough credit for her silent observations.

Untwisting myself from the fleece blanket, I popped up off the couch, leaving my living, breathing security blanket. I felt cold where her warmth just seconds ago embraced me. “And that’s just what I’m going to do.” Leaning down, I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Wish me luck,” I said, giving her a look of question and dread.

“Honey, you don’t need my luck. You’ve been doing this for three and a half years. I’d say you’re a pro by now,” she chuckled with sympathy in her eyes.

Walking into my bedroom, I snatched a ponytail holder off my cluttered dresser, and twisted my hair up into a loose ponytail. I swiped a light shade of lipstick on and popped my small silver hoops in my ears. I was not trying to impress Jaxon, but I didn't want him to see me looking as drabby as I had this morning. Digging through my purse, I located my cell phone and quickly sent Phillip a text.

Me: What’s up?

Grabbing my keys and purse, I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the next adventure that awaited me—lunch with Jaxon and a text or phone call from Phillip.

Chapter 10 ~ Suspicious Eyes

I sat in my car outside of Rome’s Pizza and Pasta, waiting for everyone else to arrive. Kendra and Reed were going to freak because they were usually the ones that had to wait for me. Smiling to myself, I made a mental note to mark this on my calendar as a red-letter day.

Pizza wasn’t my first choice for lunch, but Rome’s had the most comfortable atmosphere of any of the other restaurants in town, and a calming ambience was what I sought. It was a popular eatery with the young and old, and, from what I had heard, they had the best pizza in the entire northeastern part of North Carolina. I couldn’t stake truth to that claim, though, considering I had never eaten it. I was one of those rare few that did not like pizza. I preferred their pasta dishes.

The longer I waited, the more my thoughts got carried away. Every scenario kept playing out in my mind of what I would say to Phillip when he asked me about the party. I knew I shouldn’t be worrying myself with something that had not yet even happened, but, where Phillip was concerned, I liked to be readily prepared. As a result of my heightened nerves, my stomach decided to have its own private gymnastic performance, tumbling and twirling inside.

I was trying to psyche myself up when Reed’s truck pulled into the parking spot beside me. So much for getting the Olympic Fab Five to cease in my stomach because, as soon as I caught sight of Jaxon, the gold performance was in full swing. My intense stare locked in on his clear, blue eyes as he stepped out of the truck. Then, unexpectedly, he opened my car door.

“Nice to see you again, Sweet Cheeks,” he grinned, pulling his dimples in deep and reaching for my hand in order to help me out of the car.

Distracting my attention from Jaxon, Kendra began to freak out, just like I thought she would. “Oh. My. Gosh! Slap a straightjacket on me and call me Charles Manson! I do not believe what my eyes are seeing.” Kendra had her arms stretched out as if showcasing me for a presentation. “Are you seeing this, Reed?”

He shook his head making a clicking sound with his tongue. They both were on the verge of spouting what I could only assume to be a mouthful of garb about me trying to impress Jaxon.
Think fast, Court!

“Stop yelling, Kendra. It’s not that big of a deal. My car has been running a little weird lately, so I wanted to give myself extra time in case I ended up with car trouble.” It was the best lie I could configure up.

“What’s wrong with it?” Jaxon and Reed asked simultaneously.

“Oh… uh… I’m really not sure. It’s been making this weird noise when I’m stopped at a stoplight. It sounds kind of like it wants to go dead when it’s idling.” I was the worst liar in history, but, by God’s good grace, I prayed that they bought it.

“Well, I’m pretty good under the hood, so, if you don’t mind, I can take a look at it while you’re at work,” Jaxon offered. “Reed, you want to join me?”

“Sorry, man, I got to get my homework done while I’ve got some free time. I’ve already spent too much of it entertaining your ass. You’re going to have to ride solo, bro,” Reed said, smacking Jaxon on the back.

“Ah, shit, you know you’ve loved every second you’ve gotten to spend with me,” Jaxon smiled, giving Reed back a hefty pat on his shoulder.

Jaxon leaned up against my car and crossed his arms across his chest. “Well, I tell you what, after lunch, I’ll drop you off where you work and then take a look at it,” he smiled at me mischievously. His idea freaked me out a little, and I think he did it purposely so he could have a little alone time with me. “But first, let’s go eat, I need to feed this beastly body,” he chuckled as he stepped away from my car to walk into Rome’s.

Engrossed by whispering to Kendra about Phillip calling my house that morning, I didn’t see Phillip’s parents sitting diagonally across from us. It wasn’t until I sat cozily next to Jaxon in a booth, that I noticed them both. The two of them were staring a hole through me when I made eye contact. Phillip’s mom, Maryann, looked away immediately, having been caught staring, but his dad, Sean, gave me a friendly smile. Returning the gesture, I mouthed the word “hey” and waved to both of them. Jaxon looked up to see who I greeted as our waitress introduced herself as Kim and blocked our view of the Wilkins to take down our drink orders.

It had been over two months since I had seen Phillip’s parents. I’d missed his dad, but his mother was another story. Maryann had never accepted me and thought I wasn’t good enough for her son. She never came right out and said it, but, after the twenty questions she’d thrown at me the first time we’d met, it was obvious I’d failed her test. And then there was the time when I overheard her, in the next room yelling at Phillip, telling him was too young to focus on one girl and that he should be dating other girls. Phillip’s mother came from money, and, even though she was the preacher’s wife, she still looked down on people that were less than fortunate.

Phillip’s dad seemed like a man that somehow had been placed with the wrong family. He was everything his wife and son were not. Sean was the pastor of the largest Baptist church in our town and was the most down to earth man I’d ever met. He accepted all people, no matter what they possessed or where they came from. He was always doing some type of charitable work and was highly admired by his congregation. Other than Phillip, I’d never heard anyone speak an unkind word about him or show him anything other than the utmost respect.

Seeing the Wilkins brought back the anxiety I’d felt earlier when thinking about Phillip. Wanting to push him from my mind for a few hours, I decided it was time to dig for some information from Jaxon.

“So Jaxon, what college do you attend,” I asked, turning my attention toward him.

“I don’t.”

“Do you work then?” I gave him a quizzical look.

“No, I’m a vagabond,” Jaxon smirked, trying to suppress a laugh.

I could see Reed from the corner of my eye trying to stifle his laugh as well. Giving him an eye roll, I let him know that I knew he was feeding me a line of bullshit.

“Can I get a real answer?”

Jaxon turned his body to face me, pinched his t-shirt with his thumbs and forefingers, and pulled it away from his body. “This is what I do.” His shirt had a picture of a boisterous looking bar surrounded by palm trees with the ocean displayed behind it. In big, white letters, the name ‘Zack and Joey’s Bar & Grill’ was featured above it.

“So you work at a bar?”

“No, I own it.”

My eyes widened, I was flabbergasted. “How can you own a bar if you’re just twenty years old?”

Jaxon cocked his head to the side, looking puzzled. “Twenty years old? Who said I was twenty?”

I pointed to the not-so-innocent looking Kendra sitting across the table from me and gave her my best stink-eye.

“Sorry,” she blinked innocently. “I thought you were, but I guess I misunderstood Reed.” She had her palms up in the air giving a shoulder shrug.

Kim, our waitress, popped up with our drinks, interrupting another Jaxon revelation. She asked if we were ready to order, but Reed waved her away telling her to give us ten more minutes.

Giving me a cocky grin, Jaxon offered up his actual age. “I’m twenty-two.”

It was the worst time for me to take a drink of my soda, because I nearly choked to death when I heard him say he was five years older than me. Jaxon started patting my back, asking if I was okay. I nodded as I thought about what my mom would say if she knew I was willing to have sex with a twenty-two-year-old bar-owning guy.

In between coughing, I glared back and forth to Kendra and Reed, letting them know how perturbed I was. I knew they had no idea what transpired between Jaxon and I the night before, but, if that night had ended like I had wanted it to and my mom had caught wind of it, Jaxon would find himself in jail.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Jaxon asked as he laid his hand on my shoulder, looking at me with deep concern.

I sputtered through coughing, “Yeah, I think I’ll survive.” Glancing over at Phillip’s parents, I caught Maryann watching me again. Her eyes darted to the couple sitting across from them, who at some point must have joined them.

“So, how did you get into the bar owning busin—”

“Why the hell does that man keep staring at me?” Jaxon blurted loudly, causing me to jump and Kendra to squeal at his sudden outburst.