Chapter 23

Danica

 

This was a fucking mess. Why the hell did things keep going so wrong between us? Sure, we were in a crazy situation, but did it have to be so difficult? Rhett’s cold words ran through my mind over and over again.

“If that’s how you feel, then we won’t talk anymore.”

Why did he not want to talk to me? I could understand that it was difficult, but he didn’t need to be so horrible about it! I just wished that I’d never met him. My whole life would have been easier if we had never laid eyes on each other. Or maybe if we’d only met knowing that we were going to be stepbrother and sister. If Camp Woodtree had never happened.

But then would we still have feelings for one another anyway? Was the magnetism so powerful that we still would have felt it? Probably; the chemistry was certainly intense, and I wasn’t sure that had anything to do with our history.

I spent the day crying on and off in my room, while all of these thoughts plagued me. It was as if I was trapped in a torturous cage that only I was experiencing; it was awful. I felt awful–so overly emotional–and I didn’t know what to do about it, any of it. I wasn’t sure where I could begin.

I’d never been on such an emotional rollercoaster before and it was almost unbearable, why couldn’t things juts be simple? The pregnancy hormones weren’t helping–they were driving me crazy, and to be honest all of this was the total opposite of what I needed at this time. It was all at once, and there was no denying that it was starting to overwhelm me.

Knock, knock.

Oh God, someone was at my bedroom door. Panic instantly consumed me; who the hell was this now? I sat up on the sheets, feeling the terror coursing through my veins. I really didn’t want to face Rhett at this moment after everything we’d been through today–he was screwing with my head and I hated it.

“Who is it?” I asked cautiously, listening to my heart thump wildly against my chest.

“It’s me.” Much to my relief, it was my mom who replied. I let out a deep, calming breath feeling my body return to normal. Thank God–Mom I could cope with. “Can I talk to you?”

“Oh, okay,” I stood up, straightening out my hair a bit trying to make my appearance a little better. I knew I was a mess, and I didn’t want to arise any more suspicion about my ill state. She was already constantly asking me questions about it. “Come in.”

She snuck in through the door with a slightly guilty look on her face. My hackles instantly rose–what the hell was going on now? The only thing I knew for sure was that it wouldn’t be good. Whenever she came to me with that face, it was guaranteed trouble.

“Are you okay?” I asked, the suspicion already lacing my tone.

“Yeah.” She sat down on the bed, so I copied her, not knowing what else to do. “How are you? Are you feeling better?” I nodded numbly, not even thinking about my answer. I really should have really mentioned some sort of illness, in case I needed to get out of anything–unfortunately I didn’t think that far ahead. “Good, good. Things went really well with Victoria today.”

“Oh God, sorry I forgot to ask!” I exclaimed, feeling ashamed of myself. I’d become selfish in all of my misery, how could I have forgotten about the final wedding preparations? “Is everything sorted? Is it all okay?”

“Yes, it’s great; thank you.” She smiled–that serene expression back on her face. The one that told me just how happy she was. “She’s great, and of course, I must thank you, too. I didn’t quite realize how much you’d done. Victoria covered it all today, and I must say I was taken aback!”

“Oh, of course.” A humble embarrassment overcame me. I hadn’t ever done any of this for the thanks. I did it because my mom deserved to be happy, and it was my duty as maid of honour to help out wherever possible. Sure, it had absolutely worn me down, but that was part and parcel of my duties. “You must be excited now.”

“Oh, I am,” she exclaimed with an extremely happy look on her face. “I can’t wait to become Mrs. Fronton.” I suddenly realized that for the first time in my whole life, I wouldn’t have the same surname as my mom. That was really weird, and it hit me harder than I expected it to. It made me feel a little…alone. Like I had no one in the world.

Of course she would change her name! Why hadn’t I considered that before?

I rubbed my stomach protectively, remembering my unborn child, my little secret. At least I would have my baby soon enough–the only one there for me. An unexpected rush of love washed over me; I’d spent such a long time worrying about everything, that I hadn't actually thought too much about the actual child and what would that was going to mean.

I was going to be a mom.

I was going to have a child.

I would have someone relying on me; I would have a family no matter what. Everything else didn’t matter really. All of this would mean nothing soon enough, not when my baby was here.

“Yeah,” I smiled a genuine grin at mom. “It’s going to be fantastic. The day will be amazing!” I suddenly felt closer to her than I ever had before, and it was really nice. It was like we were friends, as well as mother and daughter. We’d always been extremely close growing up, but that had disintegrated a bit recently. It felt nice to have some of it back.

“I can’t believe how quickly we’ve managed to pull it all together.” And there it was again. The one problem I had. But still, I wasn’t going to say anything. It was far too late for that. Brad and mom were getting married, whether I thought it was too quick or not.

“You’ve done a great job,” I nodded. “And with Victoria there, nothing can go wrong.”

“So I was thinking…” Her tone suddenly changed, which made me sit up straighter. She was getting to her point, the part that made her feel guilty, and I had no idea what to expect. “I want to spend some more time with Rhett.”

Oh God. What the hell did that mean? Did she know something? Was she trying to get me to confess? I began to tremble at the prospect of our sordid little secret becoming common knowledge.

“Why?” I practically whispered. The terror was back, and this time it had returned with a vengeance.

“Because we’re about to become a family, and I don’t feel like I’ve gotten to know him well enough.” She sighed deeply, furrowing her eyebrows. “I don’t know; things are so strained between him and Brad, and I want him to feel more welcome here.”

I’d noticed that things were a little odd between Rhett and his dad, but I didn’t realize it was quite that bad. Maybe there was a story here that I didn’t know anything about.

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously. “Is there something I don’t know?” I was really interested now, suddenly wondering if this was something to do with his behavior. Maybe there was more going on under the surface that I hadn't been paying any attention to. Maybe I’d been so self-involved that I didn’t realize Rhett was struggling in other ways too.

“Well, it’s always been very difficult between them. When Brad split up with Rhett’s mom, he didn’t get to see his son as much as he liked, and Rhett always resented him for that.”

For some reason, that sounded a bit like a one sided version of events. I was certain Rhett probably had another opinion, and I wanted to know what it was.

“And then he played him up a lot growing up, making up lies about him and things.” I couldn’t believe Mom was so sucked in by Brad that she would just accept that as the truth, without even asking anyone else. “It’s been a nightmare. I’m glad I managed to persuade Brad to invite him to the wedding, though; I think it’s good for both of them that he’s here.”

My heart raced furiously at the realization that all of this was Mom’s fault. She made Brad invite Rhett here when he didn’t want him to come, and when Rhett probably didn’t want to be here, either. Maybe that underlying tension was to blame for all of this. After all, he was massively up and down with me, with no obvious explanation.

Did that mean there was hope after all?

Did I want there to be hope after all of this?

I had no idea.

“So, with that in mind, I wanted the three of us to go out into the city for the day tomorrow,” Mom continued, stunning me to my core. What the hell was she up to now?

“The three of us?” She said that she wanted to get to know Rhett properly–why did I have to be dragged into it?

“I thought we could go for a treat–get some lunch. It’ll help us all bond away from this house, and it’ll also get me away from the wedding stress before the big day.” She sounded innocent enough with her explanation, but I didn’t trust her one bit.

A day away from all of this sounded tempting–like something I really could do with–but I wasn’t convinced that it was a good idea at all. I didn’t think that spending any time with Rhett would be beneficial at all.

“Erm, I don’t know, Mom. Don’t you think that you should ask Rhett first?” I needed an excuse, and I needed one quickly. If I could get her to ask Rhett first, and have him refuse, then he could be the bad guy–not me.

“I’ve already asked him,” she replied happily, pulling out the trump card. “He’s really up for it. He thinks it’s a great idea.”

“He does?” I gasped before catching myself. I couldn’t be so obviously surprised without asking any questions. “I mean, oh right, okay… That sounds great.” I couldn’t see any way in which I could refuse if Rhett had already agreed. Plus, I was really intrigued to see what he was up to this time. I knew I could get off this Rhett and Danica rollercoaster at that moment, that it was actually the perfect time, but I found that I didn’t really want to.

“Great!” Mom stood up with a massive smile on her face. “Well, let’s go in the morning, shall we?”

“Yeah, sure…” I felt numb and a little cold, shocked that I’d just managed to be talked into something that truly sounded dreadful. “Sounds great. I’ll see you in the morning.”

As Mom kissed my head and walked from the room, my brain scattered all over the place. I lay back onto my sheets, deep in thought, only this time there were no tears.

Now I was trying to figure out Rhett’s plan, to see what might happen next, but I couldn’t second guess anything. Was he playing a game that I didn’t realize? Was he always two steps ahead of me? Or was he really just a mess because of his dad?

And if his dad was the dickhead I was starting to suspect that he might be, what did that mean for my mom and their future?