Pretty When She Cries - Black Mountain Academy

“Hey, I was thinking, maybe we could watch The Bachelor together tonight.”

“Really?” She looks so excited about the idea my heart thaws a little.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “I think that’s what I need right now.”12Landon“What the hell are you doing here?” I answer the door with a growl.

Suzy shoves past me and lets herself inside, a cloud of alcohol and perfume trailing in her wake.

“You’ve been ignoring me again.” She stumbles over the marble floor as she wags a finger at me.

The clock on the wall shows it’s after midnight. I have a game tomorrow, and after the shit day I’ve had, this is the last thing I want to deal with.

“Ma, I’ll get you a hotel.”

“Like hell, you will.” She snaps her gum and crosses her arms. “I’m staying here with you.”

“You can’t stay here. I bought you a place in California for a reason.”

“That place is a shithole!” she sneers.

Her eyes are spastic, which means she’s probably coked out of her mind. Fucking great.

“I’d hardly call a million-dollar condo in Malibu a shithole.”

She reels her arm back and belts me across the face with surprising speed, considering her current state. Psychotic as ever. The imprint of her palm burns into my cheek, and I just feel so goddamn empty when I look at her. At times like this, I just wish she’d fucking die already.

“You think you’re sooooo perfect.” She slams both her palms against my chest, knocking me back against the wall. “Look at the way you live! Seven bedrooms and you can’t spare one for your own mother? I gave you this life, you ungrateful prick! You’re just like your father...”

The rest of her tirade is lost on me as I retreat to grab a hoodie from the coat closet. She’ll go on all night like this, comparing me to a man I’ve never even fucking met. Some big shot producer in Hollywood she tricked into impregnating her. I was always a meal ticket to her, and the sperm donor gave her a cash settlement to fuck off out of his life forever. When Suzy blew through that and kept going back for more, he gave it to her just to keep us away. He didn’t want me, and neither did she. Every choice she’s ever made has been about what she can get from it. Suzy Blackwood has always been a user. She had every opportunity growing up. She could have been anything she wanted, but all she wanted was a free ride. That’s why my grandmother cut her off and left me the family inheritance instead. Her own mother couldn’t stand to be around her for more than five minutes, and neither can I.

I open the closet and yank a hoodie from the hanger, slinging it over my arm as I head for the front door. “Sleep wherever you want. Burn the whole place down while you’re at it. I don’t give a fuck what you do.”

“You worthless piece of—”

The door rattles the frame when I slam it behind me. I step out into the night air, realizing the keys to my Porsche are still inside. I could grab an Uber and go to a hotel, but I don’t want to.

My feet are moving before I can even consider how bad this idea is. Rounding the backyard, I cross the landscaped boundary onto the Grants’ property. There are no fences in this gated community. Everyone just chooses to believe the gates up front will keep the shitty people out. But if that were true, my mother wouldn’t be at my house right now.

The door to the pool house is locked, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s late, and I didn’t expect her to make it easy for me. But Kail is a creature of habit. She’s used to sleeping with the breeze coming in through the window. She left one of those cracked open, and with a bit of maneuvering, I’m in.

She’s lying on her bed, asleep, but it’s not a peaceful sort of rest. She looks so tormented I can’t tear my eyes away from her. Her black hair is fanned across the pillow, her body curled into itself. It would be so easy to climb in right behind her and sleep better than I probably have in years. But if she woke up and found me in her bed, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t live to see tomorrow.

Instead, I make myself comfortable on the big gray lounge chair she uses to read. It smells like her, and so does the throw blanket I toss over myself. It only covers about half of my body, but it’s a hell of a lot better than nothing.

My mind drifts as I stare up at the ceiling, contemplating all the ways my chance at normalcy has backfired. It feels like I’m juggling a fuckton of fragile plates, and sooner or later, they’re bound to come crashing down. Suzy is going to ruin this for me. I already know it in my gut. Keeping her away this long was a miracle, but it was only a matter of time before she clawed her way out of hell and grabbed me by the foot. There is no such thing as normal in my world. This is as normal as it’s ever going to get.