Mimi
2001, Fort Lauderdale
She didn’t think it was possible to suffer so much humiliation in one lifetime. She sat in the front seat of Christian Bear’s pickup truck and willed herself to be invisible. She never wanted to be as far away from South Florida than she did at this very moment. Her life had been feeling all-wrong anyway, and the recent incidents just cemented in her mind what she’d wanted all along.
To go away. To leave.
Of course, it had started to spiral downward at her own hand when she’d agreed to help Leslie. It had gotten worse when her parents separated, and even though she was happy they’d reconciled, her life had seriously tanked when Elliott—Nick, or whatever his real name was—had used her.
She didn’t think it could get worse after that, but it had. Worse than she could’ve ever imagined. Oh, Dad.
She was still mourning her father’s death. Yes, Tommy Dillon would always be her dad, not the guy who’d impregnated her mother. And though she felt she was mourning Tommy in a healthy way, she felt the silent pity from her friends. The unspoken words and whispers. She didn’t know if she was imagining it or not, but something told her some of them knew her parents’ history, and she felt their judgment—and admiration—without anyone actually saying something.
She knew some of their parents had figured out a long time ago her mother had been married to a man who’d been executed. She couldn’t help but wonder if they’d figured out he was also her biological father. She no longer hated Grizz, the man she’d never know, but she hated what his legacy may have left in its wake.
She wanted out.
She’d hoped she would find comfort in someone. She knew she saw Slade Bear in a different light after the night he’d rescued her, and she hoped he’d seen her differently, too. She’d told herself he was so wrapped up in college he just wasn’t getting the hint that she had feelings for him.
She’d been dead wrong. He did know about her feelings, and last night, he’d let her down as gently as possible. Her cheeks burned as she tried to block out the memories, but they came anyway.
He’d shown up the night before at his parents’ house. He’d been stopping in to pick something up and was surprised when he came in the front door and saw her on the couch reading to his little sister, Daisy.
She tried to ask again for some driving lessons. He didn’t answer, instead offering to help tuck Daisy in. Mimi had been thrilled. Slade wanted to be alone with her.
But after Daisy was tucked in, he’d told her in the kindest and nicest way possible: he wasn’t interested. She was one of the sweetest and prettiest girls he knew, but…
There was more than one “but.” Their families went back too far and it would be like dating a younger sister. He was in his first year in college and didn’t want a serious girlfriend. He couldn’t give her the time and attention she deserved.
She wanted to tell him he could stop after the first “but.” She didn’t want to hear any of it. She was going to be sixteen soon. And it was her fault she hadn’t taken the first of several hints. For someone who considered herself to have a decent amount of intelligence, she was the absolute sorriest when it came to matters of the heart.
No, if Slade Bear had even the slightest interest in her, he would’ve shown it. He would’ve made it work. Her humiliation got even worse when she remembered the drugging predicament he’d saved her from. She was grateful he’d rescued her that night, but now she wished it had been anybody but him.
Even Christian would’ve been a better choice. Her mother had been right—they’d been friends when they were younger. If she had maintained that friendship, maybe he would’ve been the friend whose shoulder she would cry on.
And now, she was sitting in Christian’s truck. More mortified than she’d ever been before. If there had been a cliff to jump off, she’d be over the edge by now.
Christy Bear had asked Christian that morning if he wouldn’t mind taking Mimi home. He’d grunted a yes as they headed for his truck.
As they made the forty-five-minute drive to her house, she’d tried to break the uncomfortable silence by engaging him in casual conversation, and he seemed to lighten up. She watched his profile as they drove. He really was quite handsome. He favored his father, Anthony, who was a full-blooded Native American. Christian’s intense blue eyes were the only thing he’d inherited from his mother, and they stood out in stark contrast to his dark tan skin and long black hair that almost reached his waist. He certainly hadn’t inherited Christy’s sweet disposition. Christian had a wildness that scared her, though she had to admit to herself she might’ve found him attractive if she hadn’t been so swallowed up by Slade’s rejection the night before.
She started to get an uncomfortable yet recognizable feeling then. No! This isn’t happening. Not now. Not in Christian’s truck! She squirmed slightly in the seat and realized with horror that, yes, it had happened. She had just felt her period come on in a rush, and it was now soaking through her shorts.
She wanted to die. How would she ever get out of the truck without him noticing? Worse yet, she was certain she was staining the seat beneath her.
He sensed she was upset, looked over at her. “You okay?” She thought she sensed genuine concern.
She hemmed and hawed, not sure how to tell him she had just gotten her period and she was sure it was now on his truck seat. She couldn’t think of anything that would gross a guy out more than menstrual blood all over his nice leather. Especially a guy like Christian Bear.
He looked at her questioningly. She gritted her teeth. What have I got to lose? I embarrassed myself with Slade last night, might as well just top it off and pray I never see another Bear for the rest of my life.
“Christian, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m pretty sure I just got my period.” Her cheeks burned. “I’m just so sorry. I can feel that it’s soaked through my panties and shorts, and I know it’s on your seat. I just want to die. I’ll pay for any damage.”
His expression was unreadable. “No problem. Let’s get you home. It’ll wipe off. Don’t sweat it, Mimi.”
Christian had been trying to work up the nerve to see if she wanted to maybe go out with him sometime, but her admission stopped his train of thought. All he could think about was putting her at ease. Besides, he was Christian Bear. Blood was the least of his hang-ups.
“You don’t know how embarrassing this is,” she said as she kept dialing a number and sending texts.
He shrugged. “It’s normal girl shit, and I don’t know a lot about normal girl shit, but I’m pretty sure this happens. Like I said, it’ll clean up.”
Mimi looked frantic now. “Uh, my mom’s not home yet, and she’s not answering my texts, and I don’t have my key. She’s either at the pancake house or grocery store. They’re both on the way home. Can you run me by and we’ll see if we can find her?”
He asked her which restaurant and which grocery store. When they came to a red light, he wordlessly reached in front of her and opened the glove box. He took out a hand towel and indicated for her to lift her butt up off the seat. He swiped at the leather.
“See? Came right off.” He reached behind her into the backseat and pulled out a lightweight jacket. “You can wrap this around you. Tie it in the front. It’ll cover your ass, and the sleeves are long enough to hang down in front of you.”
Mimi accepted it wordlessly.
Ginny wasn’t at the pancake house and still wasn’t answering their home phone or replying to her texts. They pulled into the grocery store parking lot.
“She’s here!” Mimi yelled when she spotted her mother’s car in the lot. “Thank God—she’s here.”
“You want me to wait with you until she comes out?”
“That won’t be necessary. You’ve done enough, and I don’t know how long she’ll be. She might’ve just started shopping. I’ll just go in and find her.”
“I don’t mind, Mimi. Really. If you want to get your house key from her, I’ll wait and drive you home.”
Mimi had already started to get out of the truck and was reaching for her overnight bag that had been sitting on the floor in front of her. She knew that, as kind as Christian had been, she was still embarrassed it had gone this far. Worst twelve hours ever. No. She’d find her mother, rush her through her shopping, and go home.
“You’ve done more than enough, Christian. I’ll get your jacket back to you. Thank you.”
She managed a smile.
He nodded a goodbye, and she slammed the truck door shut and went inside to look for her mother.
She made a quick pit stop in the ladies’ room and changed into the used panties and shorts she’d worn to the Bears’ the previous day. The grocery store restroom didn’t have a machine that sold feminine hygiene products, so she loaded up her underwear with paper towels. They would do until she got home. Then she went to look for her mother.
But after walking up and down each aisle, she ran to the front of the store just in time to see her driving away. She must’ve been paying when I was walking in—I should’ve looked in the checkout lines first. Now what?
She went outside and sat on a bench. She would wait the five minutes it took for Ginny to get home, and she would call the house and ask her mother to come back.
She’d started to text Christian to thank him again for being so understanding when a movement to her left caught her eye. She saw a man she shouldn’t recognize, but somehow did.
Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was something spiritual. Maybe it was neither. Maybe she was wrong.
But her gut told her she wasn’t.
She watched as he walked to a white Chevelle with a black stripe running down the middle of it. Super bad-looking dude in a super bad-looking car.
She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did. She was looking at the evil sperm donor.
Grizz.
She was looking at her biological father.