Speaking of …
Colton brings his car to a stop out front of his flawless mansion and I don’t waste a second opening the door and running around to the stairs. I just spent the last few minutes of the car ride home explaining exactly what had gone down between me and Mom and now that I’m home, I can’t possibly go another second without making this right.
Colton can hardly keep up with me as I race up the stairs and before I know it, I'm barging through the door, feeling a million times better knowing that there’s no chance in hell that I could run into Laurelle. I race through the mansion, aiming for the staff quarters when I hear the familiar sound of the vacuum coming from down the hallway.
I hurry after it, knowing damn well that there’s only one person in this mansion who would have the nerve to use the vacuum and make all that noise while the Carrington's are still in the house.
I step through to the private kitchen and find Mom in the sunken living room, vacuuming the most expensive rug that I’ve ever had the pleasure of sinking my toes into. As she turns around, she finds me flying toward her, only having the slightest chance to brace herself and throw her arms out.
I slam into her chest and her arms wrap around me, tears instantly forming in both of our eyes. “Oh, my sweet, sweet girl,” she cries into my shoulder as I do exactly the same to hers while she shuts off the vacuum with her foot. “I’m so sorry. I handled it wrong. I should have been there for you. I failed you. I want you to feel as though you can come to me about everything and the one time you need your mommy the most, you couldn't. I should never have made you feel that way. I swear to you, my sweet angel, I will never make you feel like that again.”
“No,” I say, wiping my tears against her shirt. “I should have been honest with you. I didn’t want to hurt you. You were so happy here and I didn’t want to be the reason that you started worrying. You'd already been through so much with losing Dad. I couldn’t bear the thought of adding to that pain. I know how you worry and I feared that you would regret the decision to come here when in reality, this is the best thing that has ever happened to us.”
“Oh, honey. When will you realize that I’m the parent in this relationship? You don’t need to always be strong for me. You went through something traumatic and I wasn’t there for you when you needed me and I will always bear that on my soul, but I promise you, you always have been and always will be my number one priority. I will be better. From now on, you will never feel that you can’t come to me. I just wish I’d have been there for you. I would have just sat there with you and we would have cried until the pain went away.”
“I know,” I whisper. “I hated keeping it from you. I was so ashamed. I felt like I had failed you with every single life lesson you’ve ever taught me. I allowed myself to be vulnerable and because of that, I got hurt.”
“No, no. You didn’t do anything wrong. That awful boy took advantage of you. He hurt you. You were victimized and attacked. You did nothing wrong but try to be comfortable in your home. You are not at fault. Do you understand me? You are the most beautiful, bravest, strongest, courageous, intelligent, and loving human being I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and don’t you ever forget that.” she tells me, holding me impossibly tighter.
My eyes close as I sink into her hold, taking every ounce of love she has on offer. “I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you too my sweet baby girl.”
I pull back and meet her eyes that are so similar to mine. “We’re turning over a new leaf,” I tell her. “From now on, there are no secrets between us. Straight up honesty.”
“I agree,” she says, taking both of my hands.
“In that case,” I say, letting out a shaky breath. “Why don’t you sit down? There are a few things I’ve discovered over the past twenty-four hours, things that we really need to talk about.”
Chapter 35
Mom takes a seat on the couch just as Colton walks into the room. He takes one look at us and the grim look in my eyes and spins on his heel, only to stalk right back out again. I can’t blame him. This isn’t exactly a place I want to be either.
How am I supposed to tell my mother that the man I brought into our lives is responsible for killing her husband?
I take a shaky breath and mom reaches for my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “What is it, honey? Do you need me to come down to the police station with you to give your statement?”
“Oh,” I say, slightly taken by surprise. “No, I uhh … well, actually yeah. That would be good, but that’s not what I needed to talk to you about.”
Her brow raises, knowing it must be something serious after I went to the added effort of asking her to sit down. “What else could there possibly be to talk to me about?”
“It’s about Dad,” I warn.
Her brows fly straight back up. “What about him?”
“More about who killed him.”
Mom’s body freezes and she stares at me with fear. “You know?” she questions, her hands beginning to shake. “You know who did it?”
A single tear falls
