Too toxic.
Too tarnished.
Instead of crying, I hold my head up high as if I’m the Queen of England. She doesn’t deserve my tears and she’ll never see me cry.
“Now, you will stop this foolishness.”
“Get out, please.” My voice is low and my pulse thumps loud and my heart hammers in my chest, my knees are shaky like leaves. This the first time my mother ever put her hands on me.
“We’re going to act like nothing happened,” she says calmly and straightens her spine. “What day are we having brunch?”
She loves to sweep shit under the rug.
“Just leave before I call the cops on you!” I’m not going to contact Trish for a while. This is a deal breaker for me. She thinks that she can order me around and she’s wrong. I’m no longer going to allow her to bully me.
During the flight, I’m sandwiched between a man with patchy skin whose breath smells like hot dog water and a woman that looks older than bread. No one said riding first-class was perfect. As the woman goes on and on about her grandson, I tune her out as I think about Trish putting her hands on me. My cheek is red and puffy, and it stings every time I touch it.
I would tell my dad, because even though he still favors my brother, he does seem to kind of care about me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stand up to her when it comes to me. But I don’t want to speak to him either. I’m still pissed at him for giving my brother the position.
After my flight lands, Felix texts me the address to the hotel we’re staying in. Florida is hotter than Georgia but less humid. Florida is like the beautiful sister that everyone wants to be like. She has nicer weather, nicer food, nicer scenery. Nicer everything. But the people here don’t have the Southern charm. They aren’t polite.
As soon as I get into my hotel, I receive a text from him to head down to Southernmost Bar. The hotel is nicer than I expected. It’s not a five-star one, but I didn’t expect it to be because Felix is conscious of how much he spends. He doesn’t go wild with his money. But me, I spend money as if it’s free. The hotel room is decked out in grey and white. A mini-fridge and a microwave sit close to the door. A king-sized bed is centered in the middle like it’s on stage.
I change from my silk blouse to a black bikini with the Tom Ford logo and flip flops then I take a taxi to the bar.
The bar is packed with a bunch of people, and I spot him at the bar looking like a villain ready to take over the world. He’s more beautiful than anything and anyone I’ve seen in my life. He has on ugly Hawaiian blue swim trunks and he looks broody and pissed off. Maybe he ran into Mae and got pissed off. Well, I’m about to find out. I maneuver through the sea of bodies.
He slings his arm around my shoulder, engulfing me in a hug with a glass of brown liquor in his hand. We still haven’t reached the point where we kiss each other on the lips, so I lean in and kiss him on the cheek.
“Hi,” I say. After that little incident with my mom, I just want to be wrapped in his arms. He examines the right side of my cheek and strokes it, and I hiss a little. His eyebrows shoot up like a rocket.
“Thumbelina, what happened to your face?”
“Nothing,” I say quickly.
“The fact that you said that too fast makes me want to know even more. Did someone hit you?”
Instead of answering, I grab his glass of amber liquor and sip slowly and lazily. The smooth whiskey slithers down my throat.
“Your clothes may be cheap, but your taste in liquor is expensive.”
Felix grabs my hand and slowly drags me out on the beach away from everyone.
The soft white sand gets caught in my flip flops, tickling my toes, and the salty air burns my nostrils. The sky is different hues of orange and purple. It’s as if the colors were tossed in a blender and splashed against the sky. The breeze from the ocean massages my skin and goosebumps grow like weeds on my arms and legs.
“What happened to your face?” he asks again, his tone molded together with sternness and concern.
This is not the right time to talk about it.
“It’s nothing really, I had an accident.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am not.”
“I study every inch of your body. I know every freckle. I stick my dick in you almost every day. You think I don’t pay attention to you? Your tone becomes higher than normal when you’re lying.” He pauses. “Stop bullshitting me and tell me what happened.”
I wrap my arm around my shoulder and stare at the white sand. “Me and my mom got into it and she slapped me across my face.”
I’m still reeling in the shock that she would do that.
I glance at him and his face turns a shade of red. He wrinkles his lips then he pulls me into a tight hug. He hugs me like I’m his other half, like our souls are longing for each other. His embrace makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside like a fireplace on a blizzardy day. “You’re not going around her anymore. I don’t care if she birthed you. No one puts their hands on my Thumbelina.” The air between us tightens.
“I’ve got the situation handled,” I lie.
He tilts his head sideways. “I thought I was the liar. I have to say, you hanging around me is making me a bad influence on you.”
I’m pretty shocked that he can read me. Most people can’t, not even Jasper.
“Sadie, you don’t have
