“I see.” I bit my lower lip. My mom had had a prescription drug problem for years, though she would never admit that she was an addict.
“It’s ridiculous. If he prescribed it, I could get it cheaper from the state.” She complained. “You should be upset too.”
“Yeah,” I said, not saying anything else. I knew that’s what she wanted my cash for. I knew she wanted drugs so she could self-medicate. I knew she was an addict. I knew she had problems. And I’d tried for years to talk to her, but she had never listened. And her addiction wasn’t bad enough to warrant the state demanding she go to rehab. I didn’t even bring it up anymore because it only made her angry at me. I couldn’t deal with the anger and stress anymore.
“How’s Lacey?” she asked, her voice soft. My mom loved Lacey, almost more than she loved me. I wasn’t sure why, but figured it was because Lacey had never-ending patience and always listened to my mom as if she were the most important person in the world.
“Good. She’s staying with me right now. She’s writing a book.”
“Good for her. Good for both you girls,” my mom said, her voice chipper, and my heart broke at how easy it was for her to go from surly to happy. I loved my happy mom. I hated my surly addict mom. ‘You’re really going for your dreams. Not going to make a mistake like me. Marry some bum who’ll leave you and your little girl and not look back.”
“Yeah, well, I’m no closer to getting married and neither is Lacey,” I said with a small sigh. “But Mom, I have to go, okay? I have to go and do something for work. Email me your bank account information and I’ll deposit some money tomorrow.”
“Okay, honey. I love you,” she said, and I hung up quickly. I walked out of Candy Grams, my heart heavy, and sighed. No wonder I was so fucked up in the head. I quickly called Lacey to try and turn my mood around.
“Hey Eliza, what’s going on?” she asked excitedly. “Was it Scott’s brother? Was Scott there?”
“Yes, it was Scott’s brother, and no, he wasn’t there,” I said softly.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice concerned. “What did that jackass do?”
“Nothing.” I sighed. “I just spoke to my mom.”
“Oh.” Lacey said and we were both silent. “How is she?”
“She needs to borrow some money, for food,” I said lightly.
“Oh,” Lacey said and I knew she knew that food was the last thing my mom wanted to buy. “Want to do something this afternoon? Go somewhere fun?”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“Let’s bunk off,” she said. “We both deserve a break. Maybe we can go and catch a movie down by the lake. Maybe an old black-and-white movie.”
“Are you sure? You hate black-and-white movies.”
“I’m sure.” She giggled. “I just need popcorn.”
“Okay, that sounds good. Thank you,” I said softly and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Lacey was truly the best friend that anyone could ask for. I’d been blessed with two horrible parents, but Lacey made up for them in more ways than anyone could ever imagine.
“No, thank you,” she said. “I’ve just been sitting here trying to figure out a way to write ‘he had a hard cock’ in the most sensual way, without it sounding like porn.”
“Oh, what were your options?” I said with a laugh.
“Hard cock, gigantic penis, bulging manhood, sensual stick, growing erection, throbbing member, strawberry lollipop.”
“Strawberry lollipop?” I said and burst out laughing.
“Yes, strawberry lollipop.” She giggled. “I have chocolate lollipop as well.”
“Oh, Lacey.” I groaned. “What did you decide upon?”
“Hard cock.” She laughed. “Might as well keep it simple, right?”
“Yeah, you don’t want to confuse your readers. They might wonder what’s going on if they start reading about the main character eating a chocolate lollipop.”
“Or being fucked by a chocolate lollipop,” she said with a giggle.
“Yeah, you might find some reader contacting you asking you to let her know where she can find a chocolate lollipop to fuck her.”
“Eww, you’re gross.”
“No, I’m not.” I laughed. “I’m just telling you what to expect, Dr. Ruth.”
“I’m not giving sex advice,” Lacey said. “I don’t think anyone will be contacting me for advice based on a book called Play the Player.”
“You’d be surprised.” I giggled. “Okay, I’m on my way home and then we can go to the movie.”
“Sounds good,” she said. “See you soon.”
“Yeah, see you in a bit,” I said and hung up the phone. I looked up at the sky and just stood there for a few minutes, wondering what the next day was going to bring.
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey Elizabeth,” Aiden said as I picked up the phone. “How’s it going?”
“Alice liked a post on my page today,” I laughed. “So we definitely know that she knows about me.”
“Oh, Alice.” He laughed. “Did she leave a comment?”
“No,” I said. “So what’s next? We’ve been fake-dating online for two weeks now. What’s your plan?”