Gwen
After I left Liam’s, I just got in the car and drove. Tears flooded my eyes until I couldn’t see. I’d ruined everything. My entire life, my future gone in one drunken mistake, one I couldn’t even remember.
I just couldn’t understand it. Bits and pieces of the night before came back to me in flashes. The last thing I remembered was Dalia handing me a drink and talking to Max. Oh God—Max. I can’t believe I slept with Max. I’d known him for years. We’d always been good friends. He was like a brother to me. How could I have let this happen?
I hit the brakes as a heavy sob wracked my body. I buried my face in my hands and let it all go. Everything I was feeling, the despair, the hopelessness, the pain in Liam’s eyes clawed at my insides, until I was raw.
Taking large gulping breaths through my mouth, I tried to regain control and figure out a game plan. I needed a place to stay, but I didn’t have much money. I’d lost my purse somewhere during the night, along with my cash, my bank card, and my phone. Luckily, my keys were still on the table by the door where I left them before taking a cab to Dalia’s.
I managed to slow my breathing enough and focus. I looked around me and tried to figure out where exactly I was. When I got in the car, I had no real direction other than away from the bar, away from Liam and the shame of what I’d done to him.
The street looked familiar, large oak trees lining the old brick road, immense houses with tall hedges—all of it giving me a comforting feel of home. Without realizing it, I’d driven toward my dad’s house and stopped just at the end of his street.
I took a deep breath and put the car in drive, heading toward the familiar driveway. I put the car in park, dropped the vanity mirror, and frowned at my splotchy, puffy face. I was a complete mess. There was no chance of fixing it.
I got out of the car and wrapped my arms around my body for protection as I made my way toward the door. I pressed the doorbell and stepped back, listening as the melodic sound echoed through the house.
Footsteps approached the door and it swung open. Relief flooded me for a moment until I saw who was behind the door.
“Gwen?” Allison asked.
“Hi,” I said, my voice weak and thick with tears. “Is my dad home?”
“No. He won’t be back until tomorrow morning,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she watched me.
“Okay,” I squeaked, then turned away to head back to my car.
“Wait,” Allison called. I slowly turned back toward her as hot tears began to pour down my cheeks again. She gave me a sad smile and stepped to the side. “Why don’t you come in? I was just about to make some tea.”
I looked back at my car, weighing my options. Crying in my car alone or drinking tea with the step-monster.
“Tea sounds great.”
I followed her into the kitchen and took a seat on one of the pub chairs that surrounded the island. I watched as Allison flitted around the kitchen grabbing supplies and setting them between us as she turned on the burner beneath the kettle.
We sat in silence until the shrill sound of the tea kettle whistled through the kitchen and echoed off the white marble counter tops.
Allison leaped into action, grabbed a towel and removed the kettle from the flame, pouring the steaming water into two matching white cups.
She handed one to me and took a seat in the chair beside me. We sat there sipping our tea as the silence settled over us.
“Where’s Mia?” I asked, attempting to release some of the tension between us by offering up a safe subject.
“Sleepover.”
“That sounds like fun,” I said, taking a sip from my tea. “Mmm, this is really good.”
“We got it from this lovely little café in the Vineyard last month,” she said, seeming just as uncomfortable as I was.
I set my cup down and looked out the kitchen window to the backyard. The last time I was here, I’d been with Liam for Mia’s party. I smiled as I thought about the chaos of kids running around and screaming. After the chaos of the past twenty-four hours, that day felt like a lifetime ago. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought of Liam laughing as Mia dragged me off to see her pony.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Allison’s question brought me back to the present.
I quickly wiped a tear from my cheek and took a sip from my tea. “Talk about what?”
“Whatever brought you here.”
“I told you, I came to see my father,” I said. My tone sounded snippier than I intended.
“I know, but you’re obviously upset about something. Maybe I can help.”
I scoffed. “I don’t see how.”
Allison sighed. “I’m really trying here, Gwen.”
I looked down at my fingers in my lap as more tears started to flow. She was right. Hell, Liam was right. I was surrounded by people who loved me and wanted to be a part of my life and I did nothing but lash out and push them away.
“I know,” I said my voice low. “I’m sorry.”
When I looked up at her, Allison was stunned. She prepared for a fight and I waved the white flag instead. Her expression morphed into confusion and she set her tea down on the counter trying to make sense of what was happening.
“I’ve been awful to you. I’ve been such a bitch and you’ve been nothing but kind to me. I’m sorry for pushing you away and for making things so hard on you.”
“Well I…” She stopped and searched my face for some sign that I was manipulating her or playing some game, but I was dead serious. This was my chance to make amends. My relationship with my stepmother wasn’t going to heal over a cup of tea, but it was a start.
Allison smiled and rested her hand over mine. “Thank you,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
“It was an apology that was long overdue.”
“Now that’s out of the way, do you want to tell me why you’re so upset?” she asked.
I dropped my head in my hands as the sobbing started all over again. I blubbered the whole story, about Liam, Dalia, and Max. I’m sure she only caught about every other word, but she seemed to get the gist of the story.
When I finished, she got up and headed over to the freezer. “I think we are going to need something much stronger than tea for this.” She pulled out a bottle of vodka and reached for a couple glasses from the cabinet, and I laughed through a sob.
Allison and I spent the next few hours drinking and laughing through the tears. We eventually ended up in the lounge chairs by the pool staring up at the stars as we finished off the last of the bottle.
I rolled my head to the side to face her. “I was so wrong about you.”
She shrugged. “I was just like you when I was your age.”
“Wasn’t that long ago,” I said as I took a sip of my drink.
She rolled her head toward me and gave me a pointed look. “Long enough.”
I shrugged. “So you were a raging bitch who did nothing but hurt the people she loved.”
She laughed. “I don’t know about raging, but I certainly had my moments.”
“Yeah, right.” I scoffed.
“I’m serious,” she said. “You know Melissa is my stepmom, right?”
“What?” I asked. She nodded. I remembered Melissa from Dad and Allison’s wedding. She was so sweet. She insisted I call her Grandma, which I immediately shot down, but I remember being so jealous of how close she and Allison were.
“Yes. She married my father when I was in middle school. My mother died when I was three and I hated the idea of someone trying to replace her,” Allison said. “I was awful to her.” She dropped her head back and looked up at the inky black sky. A wicked grin spread across her face. “Right before their wedding, I put Nair on her eyebrows while she was asleep.”
“No,” I said, eyes wide with shock.
She nodded. “Yep, they wiped right off. I’ll have to show you the wedding photos sometime. She had to pencil them on.”
“And she forgave you after that?”
Allison laughed. “Not right away. There were a few more years of torture before I realized how great she really was.”
“Poor Grandma.”
Allison smiled. “She’s been there for me a lot over the years, even more so since I married your father. I used to run to her in tears after you and I would get into it, and she would just smile and tell me to be patient, that you would come around eventually.”
I looked down into my nearly empty glass, shame washing over me as I thought about the awful things I said to her. Called her everything from a gold digger to a hooker.
“I used to think you were my karma. The universe’s funny way of getting payback for the way I treated Melissa.”
“If that’s true, the universe is getting me back pretty good for the things I’ve done,” I said, draining the rest of my glass.
“I don’t think that anymore, though.”
“You don’t?”
She shook her head. “I think I came into your dad’s life when he needed me and I think in a way you needed me too.”
“I never had a mother around. Maybe if I did I wouldn’t have turned out like this.”
“I don’t think you need a mom, Gwen. Your father is all the parent you ever needed, but I do think you could use a friend. That’s all I ever wanted to be to you, anyway.”
I sat up in my lounger and held my hand out to her. “Friends,” I said.
Allison smiled. “Friends.”
She reached down and picked up the empty bottle of vodka that sat between us. “Now, come on friend. I’ll help you take your stuff up to the guest room. I think we could use a good night’s sleep.”
I giggled and got to my feet, swaying as I followed her into the house and up the stairs.
In the guest room, she pointed out where the towels and extra blankets were, like a good hostess. I raised an eyebrow at her and she smirked. “Right,” she said. “You used to live here. You know where everything is.”
“Yeah.” I laughed.
“Okay, well, goodnight. Sleep tight,” she said, stumbling toward the door.
“Allison.” She turned, her eyes heavy and more than a little glazed from the booze. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “Anytime.” Then she headed out and closed the door behind her.
***
I woke up face down on the pillow. My head throbbed and my eyes were swollen from a long night of drinking and crying, which is never a good combination. It took me a minute to figure out where I was, which was now my second night in a row waking up in a strange room. Lucky for me, this time it was just my father’s guest room.
I lifted my head and groaned, rolled to my back, and tried to acquire the energy needed to get out of the bed and into the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, I shuffled my way downstairs and into the kitchen. I dropped into one of the pub chairs and propped my head up with my hand, groaning as pain spread through my brain like lightning through the sky.
Alison turned and smiled at me, taking a sip from a large coffee mug. “Good morning, sunshine.”
“Coffee.” I groaned.
She laughed and poured me a cup from the French press on the counter. I tried to smile as she handed me the cup, but the action made my head throb so it came off as more of a grimace.
I took a sip from my mug and sighed as the warm rich flavor crashed over my tongue.
“Good?” she asked.
“Mmm,” I said, taking another sip. “How are you so chipper this morning? You had just as much as me.”
“I have a toddler,” she said. “You learn to smile through the pain.”
I laughed and winced as white hot pain tore through my brain again.
The front door opened and tiny footsteps came barreling down the hall toward us. Mia burst into the kitchen, her bright pink My Little Pony backpack bouncing on her back as she ran straight to Allison with her arms thrown wide.
Mia crashed into her legs and wrapped her tiny arms around her mother. “Mommy,” she squealed, the heartwarming sound did nothing for my headache, but I did my best to smile through the pain.
“Hey, baby girl,” Allison said as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Mia’s forehead. “Did you have a good time?”
“Yep,” Mia said with an enthusiastic nod. “We made cupcakes with marshmallows inside.”
My stomach turned at the thought of food.
Allison giggled at Mia’s enthusiasm and gestured toward me. “Look who’s here.”
Mia turned around, her eyes lighting up when she saw me. She rushed around the marble island and leaped into my arms.
“Hey there, kiddo,” I said, wrapping my arms around her tiny little body, my epic hangover forgotten. Mia was the only person who looked at me like that, like I was the sun. The only other person who’d ever looked at me that way was Liam, but I doubted he would ever look at me again.
“Where’s Daddy?” Allison asked Mia as she wiggled out of my arms.
Before Mia could answer, my dad came around the corner, looking down as he flipped through a stack of mail in his hands. “I’m here,” he said, walking straight to Allison and giving her a kiss on the lips. “Morning.”
“Morning, honey,” she responded, reaching up into the cabinet for another mug and poured him a cup of coffee. “How was your trip?”
He didn’t look up, just flipped through the last of the mail and set it down on the counter. “The usual. Stanhope’s being stubborn as ever.” He smiled and took the mug from her hand.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He shrugged and turned, taking a sip from his mug. His eyes went wide when he spotted me.
“Look, Daddy,” Mia said. “Gwen came to play with me. Can she spend the night? Please,” she begged, dancing on the balls of her feet as she dragged out the word.
Allison stepped in. “We’ll see, sweetheart,” she said, ushering Mia out of the kitchen. “Why don’t you go upstairs and put your stuff away?”
“But…” she whined.
“But nothing, hop to,” Allison said as she shooed Mia up the stairs.
Allison reached for her coffee mug. “I’ll leave you two to talk.” Rising on her tip toes, she pressed a kiss to Dad’s cheek. He gave her a small smile and she headed toward the patio, shooting me a wink as she left.
When she was gone, an awkward silence fell over the two of us, and I looked down into my mug not knowing where to start.
“Everything okay, Gwendolyn?” he asked.
I shook my head and fought back the painful knot of emotion that caught in my throat.
Dad took a step toward me, concern flooding his face. “Did something happen?”
“I screwed up,” I whimpered, my voice barely audible, but he heard me and nodded his understanding. “I’m so sorry,” I said as the tears flooded out.
Dad stepped toward me and wrapped his arms around me, letting me cry into his chest, ruining his favorite Ralph Lauren shirt. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and rubbed my back.
After a while, I pulled away, leaned back, and looked up at him as he framed my face in his hands. “What happened?”
“I ruined everything. Liam hates me and now I’m jobless and homeless…again.” I blubbered, taking the handkerchief he offered to wipe my face. “I know you don’t want me here, but I had nowhere else to go.”
“I never said I didn’t want you here, Gwen. I only want what’s best for you and what you needed was some tough love.”
I nodded. “You were right. I needed to figure out my own life.”
His expression morphed into mild shock and it felt like a punch to the gut. A little reminder of what a brat I was and how much I’d taken advantage of him over the years.
I took a deep breath, and he smiled, wiping a tear from my eye.
“You’ll get through this,” he said. “Regardless of your path, you’re stronger than you think you are, Gwendolyn.”
I gave him a sad smile and looked out the French doors where Allison sat with her coffee, pretending not to watch us.
“She’s kind of great, you know,” I told him.
He laughed. “I know. I’ve been trying to tell you that for years.”
***
I spent the rest of the afternoon on the floor playing Barbies with Mia. She was a ball of energy. I couldn’t keep up with her on a good day let alone while battling this mind fuck of a hangover.
The doorbell rang and Mia hopped up and flew toward the door before I could even get up. “I’ll get it,” she called as she raced through the foyer.
“No, Mia,” I called after her. “Wait for me, kid.”
Hot on her heels, I turned the corner and froze.
Max stood just outside the door smiling down at Mia.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Max,” he said, bending down to her level. “Who are you?”
“Mia.”
He held out his hand to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Mia.”
She giggled and took his hand. “That’s what Gwen calls me.”
Max looked up at me from where he crouched beside her. “I’m sure she does.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
Max got to his feet and sighed. “Dalia said you might be here.”
I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. He shoved his hands nervously into his jeans and looked up at me from under a thick curtain of lashes. That’s when I noticed the deep purple bruise forming on his cheek.
“Oh my God,” I said as I reached for his arm and pulled him inside. “What happened?” I ran my fingers along the tender flesh of his cheek and he flinched beneath my touch.
“I went to The Den looking for you and ran into a friend of yours.”
“Liam did this?”
“Liam?” he asked. “All I did was ask where you were and some old guy sucker punched me.”
“Wait, what?”
“You ran out so fast yesterday that you left your bag at my place and when I told the bartender, that dude looked pissed. Next thing I know, I’m flat on my back and some old guy is standing over me telling me to get out.”
I shook my head. “Floyd.”
Max ran a hand through his hair. “Here’s your stuff,” he said, exhaling a long breath.
“Thanks.” I took my purse from him and clutched it to my chest. Seeing Max had set Liam off and Floyd took him out. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around that image.
“Listen, Gwen,” Max said. “About the other night. There’s something you should know.”