I packed all my things that were still spread around Willa’s place and got my phone out. For some insane reason, the business card David had pushed under the door was tucked into my purse, something I did before leaving my room that morning.
It felt foolish at the time, but now I was glad I did it.
I dialed his number and he picked up after a few short rings.
“David Sterling.”
“David, it’s Stella.”
“I was hoping you’d call.”
“I’ll do it.”
There was silence down the line. Maybe he didn’t think this was such a good idea anymore.
“That’s fantastic. You won’t regret it. I promise.”
“I have a few conditions before we make it official.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from a Connor.”
“Can you pick me up, and we’ll talk?”
“Absolutely. Text me your address and I’ll come and get you.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up and texted him the address before I chickened out again. I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing, but at this moment it was the only thing I could do.
I wasn’t going back to my mother’s, and the only way she would leave Nora alone was if I went along with her plans to marry David.
It would be fine. Everything would be fine. It was just marriage. People did it all the time.
“You sure about this?” David asked me the next morning. “This is a five-year deal. You’d be giving up a lot. But also gaining a lot.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I lied, unsure of what in the world I was doing. But I hadn’t come up with a better plan, and I didn’t have much time before my mother would suck me back into her world.
We were standing in front of my family’s front door to talk to my mother. After David picked me up, we went to his place and drew up a contract. We agreed on most points, but this last one I had to talk David into. Because it meant that I would move in with him immediately. And we were here to tell my mother what we’d agreed on.
The door opened and the devil herself stood there. And we didn’t even say her name three times.
“What an interesting surprise. Do come in, unless you plan on standing out there like you’re ready to rob the place.”
I didn’t roll my eyes or make a snarky comeback. Someone should give me an award, because that cost me a lot of my self-control.
We followed her into her study, another larger-than-life room. The second story had been taken out to make it a two-story monstrosity that was lined with books. I doubted any of them had ever been so much as opened.
“Coffee?” she offered David, who nodded. She ignored my presence and I was glad to draw as little attention to myself as possible. We sat down, my mother in her big chair behind her desk, David and I in front of her, our chairs lower to the ground and much smaller. Everything was a power play in her world and my mother was its master.
“Talk,” my mother commanded, and I leaned forward in the uncomfortable chair.
“David and I have come to an agreement.”
“Did you now? And what would this agreement be?” She leaned back, knowing that she’d won.
“We will get married, where and when you want, but I’m moving in with David today and you promise to leave my friends alone.”
My mother took a sip of her own coffee and studied us. The silence stretched for a while and I was growing restless, not to mention uncomfortable in the hard chair.
“Seems like you learned something from me after all. I agree to your terms.”
That seemed too easy. She never gave in like that. Why didn’t she come up with ridiculous terms? What was happening? Is this the end of the world? Are we all going to die? Does this mean I’ll never get to watch the Lord of the Rings again?
“You may get your things while David and I talk,” my mother said, dismissing me from their conversation like I was a child.
I didn’t even care that she just insulted me by wanting me out of the room while the adults talked. I got up and all but ran out of the study, grateful that I wasn’t going to destroy anyone else’s life today. David seemed all too happy when I told him my conditions, and he always liked working with my mother. I guess like attracts like, and those two were similar in their relentless drive to succeed.
Once I closed the office door behind me, I started running, darting up the stairs, only slowing down once I was in front of my room. I rushed inside and closed the door, leaning my back against it.
This time there was no way I would ever come back, so I had some serious packing to do. I should have packed everything the last time I moved out, since I wasn’t planning on coming back then either. But that departure hadn’t been a well-planned operation and more like a hastily thrown-together escape while my mother and Leighton were in Barbados.
I pushed away from the door and went into my walk-in closet. This time I got all my suitcases out and started throwing clothes and books inside. I was forced to leave half my shoes and nearly all my heavy winter coats behind. But nevertheless, I still had five big suitcases that were too heavy for me to carry. I had to look the part of a politician’s wife and the clothes I had been forced to wear all my life would be perfect for my new one.
My desperate need to get out of the house drove me to push the suitcases to the top of the stairs. I couldn’t lift them up, but I might be able to
