Chapter Twenty-Four
Ruby
I entered the kitchen to find Bianca standing in front of it, bent over in nothing more than a t-shirt. My father’s t-shirt, to be exact.
She must have heard my gasp because she stood and turned around to face me. “Oh, sorry.” She didn’t look even slightly apologetic. In fact, she smirked and gripped the hem of my father’s oversized t-shirt, lifting it slightly, fully exposing her bare hip. Call me naïve but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe she was actually wearing anything beneath. “It was a late night.” She clicked her tongue and I felt my stomach grow sour. “We hit it pretty hard.”
I shivered at the thought.
“I mean the preparations for our meetings.”
“Yeah.” I forced myself to be polite though she was obviously nothing more than a sleazy bimbo trying her hardest to make me feel uncomfortable.
“I find it strange that a college girl spends most of her time hiding in her room. Still living at home seems strange. I know when I was in college I was out enjoying the college life.”
“I’m sure you were.” The images rolling around in my mind seemed to suit her. “Maybe you could convince my father to let me move into a dorm. My tuitions are covered, but he’s insistent on keeping me here.”
“Maybe I can.” It’s like a light bulb just came on in her mind.
“Then you and him would have the run of the house, no interruptions and all.”
She might be a sleaze but if she could manage to convince my father to loosen the reins while still paying for my fees, I’d be forced to like her, even if it were just a little.
An hour later I was sitting in Vera’s living room trying my hardest to forget the images that Bianca forced upon me.
“She actually said hitting it hard?” Vera laughed and I glared at her. “I’m sorry, honey. I know he’s your father but I just can’t imagining that man hitting anything hard. If you know what I mean.”
“Stop!” I shivered and her laughter grew louder. “It’s disgusting. I don’t think she’s much older than me.”
“He always had a thing for younger girls.”
My eyes practically bugged out of my head.
“Think about it, your mother was seven years younger than him.”
“Yeah.” I guess it didn’t feel the same as now. “But he is fifty-two and this woman, girl, whatever you want to call her, can’t be more than twenty-five. I know why he’s doing it.”
“Or doing her…”
“Stop!” I pretend to gag. “But why is she?”
“I know it’s not due to his bedroom skills, because your mom said those weren’t the greatest.”
“Oh my God, why?” Vera laughed so hard she snorted and it reminded me of my mother and the times the two of them would drink wine late at night out by the pool and share old stories. The joy my mother found in her best friend was some of my greatest memories of her.
“It’s the money, the freedom.” Vera reined in her laughter, I tried to be serious. “He can provide her financial stability.”
“So she’s looking for an older man to take care of her?” Vera nods. “Well, that’s just gross.”
“You could always stay here.” I loved her for offering but my father would never go for it. He was never a fan of Vera. I had a much better chance of moving into my own place or a dorm. She knew this and chose not to push it further.
“What’s going on with the guy you met at the party?”
I looked down at my phone and saw the flashing blue light reminding me of the message I had yet to listen to. “We went to the movies, it was fun.”
“And?”
“And nothing.” Ignoring my phone, I reached for my water and took a drink. “Darcy reminded me of the kind of guy he was.”
“What kind of guy is that?”
“A college guy.”
Vera said nothing, just waited for me to explain and I wasn’t sure I wanted to try.
“What do you say we go out to dinner?” Thankful again that Vera decided not to push, I nodded in agreement and gathered my purse to wait for her by the door. A night out away from my father and his new friends, from Darcy and her trying her best to push me in the direction she thinks I should go, oh, and the waiting message I couldn’t bring myself to listen to. I just wanted to get away from it all.
When I messaged my father and told him I was staying at Darcy’s he didn’t even attempt to give me shit. A simple okay was all I was given in return. Maybe his new friend wasn’t such a bad thing, even if she was a gold-digging floozy.
***
“I love this one.” Vera held up a blue top and passed it to me. “Try it on.” It was low cut, slim fitting, and so out of the ordinary for me. “It would look great on you.” She paused. “With these…” She dug through the rack and found my size and held up a pair of cut-off shorts. “You have amazing legs, Ruby, you need to show them off a little. With the perfect wedges this would be a great outfit.”
It was cute, but not something I would normally wear. I imagined my father telling me I looked like a bimbo and then I imagined myself replying with the fact that it was exactly something his new friend would wear. Actually, it may cover more than what she would wear.
I took the clothes from her without another moment of hesitation and went to the nearest dressing room.
Once in the clothes I admired myself in the mirror and felt confident. Vera was right. The shorts complimented my legs, and the
