Addicted

I almost thought I'd gotten away with my comments on leaving college, but Sam started in on me just before we walked into the room.

"You're not quitting, by the way. You're almost there. I'll help out. I have some money saved up." The ass made sure to say it as we walked into the room.

My mother sat up in her bed with a loud grunt. "You're not talking about quitting school again, right?"

"No, Mom." I reached for her hand, lifting it to my mouth and kissing her fingers

. "Hush about that right now. You okay?"

"You're not quitting. Promise me now." Her eyes filled with tears. "Promise me."

"Fine, Mom. I'm not quitting." I leaned down and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner tonight."

"I'm not your responsibility. Besides, I'm going to file charges this time like I should have before. You were right." She moved back and gave me a tearful grin. "We'll put him away forever."

"Or I'll kill him." I glanced up at Sam. "Self-defense, right?"

"No, you won't." My mom touched the side of my face. "You know why?"

"Why, Mom?"

"Because you're nothing like him. Don't ever become that way, okay?"

I nodded and tried to let the torrent of emotions plaguing me die down. I needed a drink, a hot shower, and a long night with a good woman screaming my name. I knew two of those things were in the cards, but funnily enough, it was the last one that I needed the most.

I couldn't help but wonder if Val might be up for it. There was a high possibility that she needed it more than I did. I just had to figure out if I had the nerve to find out.

Chapter 11

Val

It had been a long week at school, but a busy one. I hadn't heard another word from Paul, which was good, but I hadn't heard much from Tate, either. Outside of his quick text back with a short thank you, there hadn't been anything. I was starting to wonder if I'd made up the connection we had the day we went to lunch together. I'd finally resigned myself to moving on. The ball was in his court on us seeing each other again, and I wasn't one to push anything that I was lukewarm about anyway.

My dreams were filled with lusty moments strapped to a bed with him hovering over me, but they were nothing more than dreams. He was a good guy, and I had too much drama and baggage to mess up what was probably a simple life for him.

Besides, if he wanted anything to do with me, he would call.

My alarm went off on Saturday morning far earlier than it normally would, which left me grouchy before my feet even hit the floor. My mother wanted me to spend the day with her, working on the last minute decorations for my sister’s upcoming wedding. While I love my sister Allison, the last thing I wanted to do was spend time with my mother. She'd focus on the wedding plans for ten percent of the time, and the rest of the day would be spent with her ripping me apart for my innumerable inadequacies.

"Turn the alarm off. Jeez," Katelyn grumbled from her bed, and I realized that I was lying there letting the alarm continue to scream at me.

"Sorry. Shit." I scrambled out of bed and turned it off before letting out a long yawn. "Get up. You're coming with me."

"I'd ask where, but I don't want to know because my response will be the same. No. I'm tired, and I want to sleep in." She pulled her covers over her head as I yanked the curtain back and let the sunlight in. "Amy and Lucinda are coming, too. Let's go wake them up and get this party started."

"Why are you in a good mood? You hate getting up early." She sat up and gave me an exasperated look.

"We're going to my mother's to work on wedding stuff for Allison. I'm not in a good mood, but I am looking forward to having someone cook all three of my meals today." I smirked before pulling my pajamas off and dressing in a knee-length skirt, a nice blouse, and designer boots. A sweater and leggings sounded much better, but I didn't want to give my mom too much ammo. She was already upset about the car situation and me having broken up with Paul. There was a lot stacked against me, and I'd yet to walk through her front door.

"I don't like your mother. She makes me feel like a bug under a microscope." Katelyn got up and let out a frustrated sigh. "But...I'd do anything for you, so I'll go. I'm wearing what the fuck I want to, though."

"I'm good with that. She's not going to say anything to you, Katelyn. She only berates me. I'm the punching bag." I ran my brush through my hair and fixed my makeup perfectly. I hated the fact that I had to get dolled up to the extent that I did, but I just did. It was expected.

"I'm going to trick punch her if she makes you cry like she did last time." Katelyn yanked on my ponytail on her way to the restroom, causing a huge lump of hair to lift in the middle of it.

"I cry every time." I pulled my hair back down and did it again. Anything out of place was going to get me an ass chewing. I'd tried standing up to her several times, but that only made the drama more intense and usually got my dad dragged into the center of the explosion.

No thanks.