"Hi, honey."
I stiffened in the doorway, but went further towards the kitchen. Her tone was cheery, too cheery. When I rounded the corner there was a pile of mail in front of her. She was sorting through it as the coffee was brewing behind her.
What the hell?
My mom was the epitome of the perfect housewife, make-up all done, hair sprayed into place, and a sexy white robe that showed off the lacy nightgown underneath. There was a good hello peek at her cle**age.
I narrowed my eyes. Then I realized that she thought I had been with Adam all night. Anger rushed through me. Adam was okay, but Mason wasn't? Why was that? But I kept it from boiling out as I asked, in a controlled voice, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing. You want some coffee?" She turned for the cups.
"No."
Nothing. She didn't pause. She only grabbed one for herself and then added some creamer to it.
I waited as she rested on one of the stools, and then went back to looking through the mail. A big fat envelope was plopped on the table. She pushed it towards me.
"What's that?"
She shrugged. Drops of the sun could've dripped from her voice. "Oh, nothing. I think that's a college application."
"What?"
It said Columbia University, with a New York address in the top corner. What the hell? "I never requested an application from them."
"Maybe I did."
Her head came up now and there was an underlying message there. Our gazes caught and held. I found myself unable to breathe as I tried to sort through what she was doing. Then it clicked. And I couldn't believe it.
My voice was soft, so soft, "You're going to pay for my college tuition there?"
She picked up the coffee mug, smooth and smug now. "Maybe." Then she took a sip. Her eyes never wavered.
Bitch.
I drew in another breath. I couldn't believe this was happening. "You're bribing me?"
Her eyes narrowed to slits. Her hand tightened on the handle, but she didn't stutter. "Yes."
"Because?"
My heart started to pound now. The thumping sounded closer together, harder against my chest.
"I know where you were last night, Samantha. Do you think I'm an idiot?"
A choked laugh ripped from me. "Things would be a lot easier if you were."
She drew in a soft breath. Her knuckles were now white as she gripped the mug. It started to shake from her hold. "Are you f**king with me?"
Something shifted in her gaze and the wall fell down. Malice and meanness shone through and that was the mom I remembered six years ago. She was the one I heard as she destroyed our entire house. My gut shifted at the reminder.
"It's your fault!" she screeched with wild eyes before she lunged at me. Her finger had pointed at me, but then it turned into a fist. I closed my eyes as I braced for the impact—
I spat out now, "You heard me."
The mug shattered on the floor. She never moved, not an inch, as her eyes were glued to mine. Outrage poured in them, but then the fury gurgled up. A strangled scream started from the base of her throat—
"Honey?" James appeared from around the corner.
The scream stopped short and she blanched. She fell back two steps as everything was stuffed back into place. The warm and sunny façade she had when I got home was back in full force. She was sugary sweet again. "Honey! Good morning."
I felt punched in the stomach. I stumbled backwards.
"Sam?" James sent me a frown. "Are you okay?"
With a hand over me, as if she really had kicked me, I couldn't look away. I was disgusted. This was my mother. This was the woman that gave birth to me, tried to use me to keep Garrett, and then found another man to raise me as his own. Had she ever loved David?
I saw her now with James and I thought she really loved him. I thought that was why she left David for him, but now I wondered. Did she even love James? She couldn't have, not if she was going to turn Mason in for statutory rape. She had to know that he would be irate with her. She would've ruined Mason's life. That was his son. I didn't know James that well, but I knew he loved Mason and Logan. I knew he would do what was right, what he thought was right. That was why he supported her and sent his sons away. He thought he was doing the right thing for her relationship with her daughter, because he understood from his own point of view of being a father.
My mouth fell open as I studied her.
She frowned at me, behind James.
Oh god.
I gasped and I knew what she'd been planning on doing. It couldn't wait, not when he was there. I had to do what I could to foil her plan. I blurted out, "She's going to press charges against Mason!"
A fierce frown flared over James. He turned, slightly to Analise, who paled at my words.
I pointed a finger at her. My voice rose because I was so sure of it now. "You were going to press charges against him and then you were going to try and take it back, weren't you? When he found out, you knew he would've been furious so you would pretend that you hadn't thought." I could hear it now. She would cry, acting desperate and so despondent. My voice hardened, "You would've told him that you hadn't thought it through, that you were so desperate to keep me from him. You were, weren't you? That was your plan. And you were going to go and try to drop the charges, but you know they can't do that. I bet that once you make a claim like that, they can't drop it. They have to pursue it and you wouldn't be blamed for it at all."