Unforgettable You Page 11
“Friend of mine.”
“You’ve never mentioned him to me before...”
“Was I supposed to turn in a list of all my friends?”
She arched her eyebrows and stared him down.
“He’s been gone, going to school and stuff,” he said, ultimately wilting beneath her withering glare. “We’ve done a lot of online gaming together, though, stayed in touch.”
She ignored the gaming part. She hated that her brother was so addicted. “How’d he know Maddox is back if he’s been gone?”
“He has an interview with him this week.”
“He...what?”
“He’s been teaching math the past two years in LA and will have to go back next month if he can’t find something around here. He’s hoping to get on at New Horizons. They’re hiring for the new girls’ side.”
“I see.”
Atticus glowered at his sandwich. “Who would ever have thought Maddox Richardson would come back here—much less be in charge of half of New Horizons?”
Jada studied her younger brother’s face. He was so handsome, with his high cheekbones, pretty eyes and sculpted chin. “Aiyana claims he’s really cleaned up his act.”
He said nothing.
“Maddox came to the store the other night.”
He’d just taken his first bite, but at this he stopped chewing and spoke around his food. “What for?”
“To apologize.”
He quickly swallowed. “To you?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t think it’s weird that he’d apologize to you instead of me?”
“He didn’t pull the trigger. He’s just the one who talked me into going to the party that night. That’s what he feels bad about.”
“Is that what he said?”
“Basically. He told me he’d give anything to be able to go back and change what happened, but of course he can’t. I feel the same.” She reached out to take his hand. She half expected him to yank it away from her, but he didn’t. He looked over, his eyes filled with hurt, frustration and anger.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry that I put you in an unsafe situation.”
He gazed down at their clasped hands for a few seconds; then the tension suddenly drained out of him, and he hunched in on himself. “I know. It’s not you I’m mad at,” he said. “It’s me.”
She let go of him so he could continue eating. “What are you talking about?”
“You were right, Jada, about what you said. I’ve known it for a long time.”
Her chair scraped as she moved it closer. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“I’ve been looking for a job. It’s just...hard to get out there and risk the rejection. I don’t like the way people look at me, as if being crippled means I have no value. It’s a tough thing to face.”
“But you do have value, and you can prove it to them. You have such an agile mind. And you’re so strong. You compensate for the loss of your legs much better than I ever could.”
“It’s not enough.”
“It is. What is it you’d like to do?”
He took the top off his sandwich and rearranged the pickles. “I don’t want to work at the cookie store. I know that.”
“I understand. That’s Mom’s dream. What’s yours?”
“Something with computers.”
“You could do social media, like me. I could show you—”
“No, I see everything you do. I don’t have the artistic talent for that. If I could choose anything, I’d like to work with kids. You know, teach them how to use a computer.”
“Then start looking for a job like that. There are a lot of schools in this area, including some really prestigious private schools. Maybe you could work as an aide or student teacher until you get your credentials? I don’t know what all is required, since I’ve never chased anything like that, but have you gone online to see if anyone’s hiring?”
He smashed the top back on his sandwich. “Yes.”
“And?”
“New Horizons is hiring.”
Suddenly, Jada understood that he was upset about more than their argument from yesterday and finding out Maddox was back in town. He’d finally found a job he thought he might be capable of doing, even if it required a little more education than what he had now, but applying for it meant asking the brother of the man who’d shot him to give him a chance.
She scratched the back of her neck as she considered the situation. “I bet he’d try to make it work.”
“No way! I’m not even going to apply. He won’t want to see me every day, won’t want to be reminded of what happened, especially if he regrets it. And I don’t want him to give me the job out of guilt or pity.”
“If he gave you the job, I highly doubt it would be out of guilt or pity. You’d make a great teacher. But surely there’s got to be someplace else you could work.” Someplace where he could work with people with whom he didn’t have such a terrible history...
He wheeled his plate over to the sink. “Yeah, I’ll keep looking,” he grumbled, but she could tell he wasn’t optimistic.
10
Although Maya had her own room, she often slept with Jada. They’d watched a movie together on Jada’s computer and, since it ended, they’d been lying together, talking in the dark about Tiffany and Annie and how wonderful it was to have close friends. The conversation had drifted from Annie helping at the cookie shop to whether the cookie shop was going to stay open and how they could make it more successful. Jada told Maya that she’d started a Facebook page and an Instagram account for Sugar Mama, hoping that might help, but she felt Maya had an even better idea. Maya thought her grandma should start making ice cream sandwiches with her cookies, like a place they used to frequent—and was always crowded—in LA.
“We definitely need to talk to Grandma about that,” Jada said.
Maya tried Jada’s rings on her own fingers and held out her hands to admire what she could see of them in the moonlight filtering through the blinds. “Do you think she’ll go for it?”
“She might.” Susan could be resistant to change, but she was going to have to do something or she’d lose the shop, and updating and revamping what the store offered would be smart, especially because it would give Jada more to plug on social media. A double whammy.
“I hope she will,” Maya said. “It’s so sad Grandpa had to die. She’s lonely without him.”
“Yeah. What she’s going through isn’t easy.”
“Will it be expensive to offer ice cream at Sugar Mama?” Maya asked.
“It won’t be cheap, what with buying the freezer and all. And Grandma doesn’t have a lot of extra money right now. But I believe it would be worth the investment. With any luck, she’d earn it back by selling more cookies.”
Maya returned her rings. “I really want the shop to make it. I love it.”
“So do I.” Jada could feel her eyelids getting heavy, but she didn’t want to miss out on any of this time with her daughter. These days they stayed up late talking quite often, but it was a relatively new thing, just since they’d left Eric. Jada enjoyed the fact that they were growing even closer.
“Mom?”
Jada had begun to fall asleep. “Yes?” she said, rousing.
“Will you tell me about my dad?”
The fatigue she’d been battling immediately evaporated. Jada had had to dodge a lot of questions like this lately. Maya seemed to be getting more and more curious about the man who’d provided the other half of her genetic code. But Jada had never been quite as apprehensive as she was tonight, when she knew Maya’s father was living in the area. “What do you want to know, honey?”
“What did he look like?”
“I’ve told you.”
“Tell me
again.”
Jada drew a deep breath as Maddox’s image conjured in her mind—a far fresher image than her poor daughter would ever guess. “He was big, about six foot two.”
“How much did he weigh?”
Then or now? He’d bulked up a bit, but it was a nice improvement. “Probably two hundred pounds.”
“Wow! That sounds like a lot. Was he fat?”
“No, not at all.” Jada couldn’t help chuckling. “That’s a good weight for a muscular man of his height.”
“And he had black hair?”
“That’s right.”
“Like mine?”
“A little darker than yours but close.”
“What color were his eyes?”
Maya already knew that, too. She just liked hearing it again. “Blue.”
“We’re the same there.”
“Yes, you are.”
“What was his middle name?”
“He never told me that.”
“And you don’t remember his last name?”
Jada could hear the disappointment in her voice and knew she had good reason to find that odd. “We weren’t together for very long, honey. And it’s been more than twelve years.”
“But you loved him, right?”
There was no doubt of that. “Yes.”
“Then how could you forget his name?”
That wasn’t an easy lie to justify, but Jada had to make the attempt. “We were just kids.” She hated to minimize what she’d felt for Maddox, even if they had been young, but she couldn’t give too many details, not until she was ready to divulge the truth. And with everything that was going on, she definitely wasn’t prepared for the truth quite yet.
“Was he nice?” she asked.
“I’ve told you many times that he was.”
She fell silent for a few seconds, but Jada could tell it wasn’t because she’d drifted off. “I wish he’d never gotten on that motorcycle.”
Jada couldn’t help wincing. She’d fabricated a death. What had once seemed like the easiest way to handle the situation—to quickly and easily eliminate all questions and keep her daughter from ever reaching out and bringing Maddox back into her life and the lives of her family—now felt like the worst plan ever, because it was going to be so hard to back away from. Or should she simply maintain what she’d said all along? She was so wedded to the lie she felt as though she didn’t have much choice.
“That’s why you should always wear a helmet,” she mumbled.
Maya leaned up on one elbow to look down at her. “But you told me he was wearing a helmet.”
“Right. He was,” Jada said, hoping to cover for her mistake. “You can still be hurt, even killed. But at least it’s a little bit safer if you’re wearing a helmet.”
Maya dropped back onto the pillow. “I’m never going to ride on a motorcycle.”
When Maya seemed to accept her response, Jada let her breath seep out. She was relieved but also guilty, because she knew she was trading on trust. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Was the accident in the newspaper?”
Jada felt another spark of alarm. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because I’d like to read about it.”
After adjusting the covers, Jada shifted to be able to see her daughter’s face. “I doubt it was in the paper, babe.”
“Do you know that for sure?”
“Um...no.”
“So will you check for me? Please?”
A twinge of pain alerted Jada that she’d curved her fingernails into her palms and was squeezing too tight. She forced herself to ease up. “Yeah, I’ll check,” she heard herself say.
“Thanks, Mom.” Happy to have achieved a commitment, Maya gave her a big kiss and rolled over to go to sleep.
As Maya’s breathing deepened, Jada reached over to get her phone off the nightstand. She did a bit of reading—various news articles and surfing—hoping that would help her relax again. But it was no good. She was too worried about the lies she’d told Maya and what might happen in the future.
Ultimately, she went into her contacts and scrolled to the letter M. As frightened as she was, she was inexorably drawn to the man with whom she’d created Maya, even still.
She felt a smile tug at her lips as she realized that, if she texted him, he’d have no idea who it was from. Because of Tiffany, she had Maddox’s number, but he didn’t have hers. Neither did anyone in his circle. All she had to do was erase her voice mail greeting and, even if he called, he wouldn’t be able to tell it was her.
God, you’re gorgeous, she wrote. She didn’t really plan on sending that message, but then Maya stirred and lifted her head and, in an impetuous move akin to suddenly jumping out in front of a bus, she turned so that her daughter wouldn’t be able to see her screen, even if she was looking, and hit Send at the same time.
* * *
Maddox was sleeping when he heard his phone ping.
Reluctant to open his eyes, he tried to ignore it. He had to work in the morning, knew it would help if he felt rested. But he had the terrible feeling his mother was on meth again—she’d acted bizarrely when he spoke to her last—so he couldn’t go on sleeping. She could be in trouble.
He nearly knocked the lamp over as he grabbed his phone but managed to right it at the last second.
He blinked several times to clear his vision as he read the text. Had he read that right? And who was it from?
He sat up all the way and stared down at the number. His phone didn’t recognize it and neither did he. He didn’t even recognize the area code. But that didn’t mean anything these days, not with the portability of cell phones.
Was it the blonde he’d met at the Blue Suede Shoe? If so, how’d she get his number? She’d entered her contact info into his phone, but he hadn’t done the same.
Who is this? he wrote.
No response.
Hello?
He wondered if it could be Paris. Maybe she was out partying and using someone else’s phone. But if that were the case, why wouldn’t she answer him? What was the point in hiding her identity? She’d already made it clear she still had feelings for him.
After ten minutes or so, when he received nothing more, he prodded again.
Paris? He thought that might provoke her into answering, but it didn’t.
Hey, you texted me, he wrote.
Still nothing. He was about to assume it was someone with a wrong number and set his phone aside when he got a response. It isn’t Paris.
Who is it, then?
Again, nothing.
This is Maddox Richardson. Are you sure you have the right guy?
Absolutely.
This was getting more interesting by the moment. Are you the woman I met at the Blue Suede Shoe?
He thought it had to be her, but this time he got an answer almost immediately. Definitely not.
Mystified, he thought back, trying to remember if there was anyone else he’d encountered recently, maybe a new teacher at the school. But no one he’d hired had his personal phone number. Are you going to tell me who you are?
Again, there was a long wait, as if the person writing him had to think each answer through. Was this person shy? Or maybe playing a game with him?
At last he heard another ping. No.
Why not? he asked. But it didn’t matter what he wrote after that. Whoever had paid him that compliment didn’t respond again.
* * *
“I hear your life has gotten a little more interesting.”
At first, Maddox thought Aiyana was referring to the text he’d received last night and wondered how she could possibly know about it. But then he realized Eli or Gavin must’ve told her Jada was at the Blue Suede Shoe on Monday. “Yes. The first ‘run-in’ is officially over.”
He didn’t tell her that he’d seen Jada once before on purpose.
She took the seat across from his desk. “And? How’d it go?”
“It was fine. We pretty much ignored each other.” Until he’d finally allowed himself to look over and found her staring at him.
“Jada’s a nice girl. So’s her daughter, Maya.”
“Did you ever meet Jada’s husband?” Maddox couldn’t help wondering what that man had been like, and why his relationship with Jada didn’t last.
“I met him at her father’s funeral. Didn’t have a chance to say much.”
“Did he seem nice?”
“Nice enough. He was older.”
“How much older?”
“About thirteen years.”
That was a bit more than Maddox had been expecting. “Did they seem to be in love?”
“It was tough to tell. She’d just lost her father, so she was grieving and probably not acting like she normally would.”
“Was he trying to comfort her?”
“I didn’t see them interact. She stood apart from her mother and brother, which gave me the impression she wasn’t feeling particularly close to them, even though they shared the loss. But she wasn’t clinging to her husband, either. She mostly held on to Maya and he just stood behind them.”
“What would make her marry a man entering his thirties if she was only eighteen?”
Aiyana crossed her legs and smoothed her ankle-length skirt. “From what I’ve heard, she headed to LA almost as soon as she graduated. After what happened to Atticus, I think things were difficult for her at home and she wanted to get out as soon as possible. Maybe this guy offered her the love she needed. Or maybe it was only the security.”
“What do you think split them up?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t even venture a guess.”
It made Maddox sad that what happened might’ve chased her into a bad marriage on top of everything else. “They had only the one child?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d like to meet her.”
“Maya? She’s darling. Tall with big blue eyes and thick dark hair. She helps out at the cookie store sometimes.”