Embracing Us (Embracing Series) (23 page)

I’ve always heard, everything happens
for a reason. I always wonder, what would have happened if my parents hadn’t passed away. If I hadn’t moved to San Diego and met Lila. I knew that day when I was only sixteen, that I would marry her someday. I never dreamed that all of the other stuff would have happened, but it did and it was all meant to happen. All of it, me being injured and missing. Her being with Evan and her accident. Addison being murdered. Her father dying. Everything is for a reason. When I found out she was pregnant with Greyson, and he may not have been mine. I could have left and hell, people probably think I’m crazy for not.

But we all make mistakes and everything happens. There was no way in hell I was going to leave her. I was hurt and I wanted to kill Evan, knowing the things they did. It still pisses me off thinking about it. But we are all only human
. I would hope that if it was me who had fallen in love with someone else why she was away that she would be as understanding. I could never love anyone as much as I love this woman, every day she seems to amaze me.

We just celebrated
Greyson’s second birthday and Rory’s first. Poor Greyson is outnumbered with three sisters, and another sibling on the way. We are hoping for another boy, but if it’s a girl, we will love her just the same and keep on trying. After all, we are pretty good at making beautiful babies. As I sit and think about the last ten years and everything we have been through, and what it took to get us here, I have to count my lucky stars that there is a God, if not I may not have found my beautiful wife not once but twice. I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone other than her.

Watching her with our children daily, puts a smile on my face. The love she has for them, and me makes me understand why I looked past everything that happened with Evan. I could’ve easily turned and walked away from her,
when she cheated. But then, there wouldn’t have been us. I can honestly say that, I’m completely happy with my life. There isn’t a day that goes by, that I don’t fall more in love with Lila. There is no other woman in the world that I would want to be the mother of my children. She supports everything I do, she understands every aspect of both of our companies and helps out any way that she can.

I’ve learned that letting things go is hard to do. It burns a whole in your heart, but in the end it’s always best to let go. Embracing the one you love, can make you mad. But looking in Lila’s piercing blue eyes, and knowing she is mine, and only mine
, makes me one lucky man. I will forever spend the rest of my life Embracing Us.

“Mommy why can’t I play
with the Kelley kids. Tatum’s my best friend, and her parents are so nice to me. Daddy said I could go to their house. So why can’t I?”

“Audrey Renee Ridge, I will not tell you again, you stay the fuck away from those people. They are nothing but trash. If I catch you playing with those brats, you will be punished and your father, will not protect you this time. Do you understand me? Look at me when I’m speaking to you.” I lifted my chin up to look at that mean, painted face. My mom wore a lot of makeup. Way worse than the women on TV. She always wore blue eye shadow, pink blush, and red lipstick.

“Yes, Ma’am, I understand. When will Daddy be home? He said he would only be gone a few days.  It’s been a week and I miss him. Friday is a parent teacher conference, will you both be attending this time?”

“Your father is working a very big case, and it’s none of your business when he will be home. This is grown folk business, no need for a child to ask questions about. Parent teacher conferences aren’t your father’s number one priority. If he makes it, then he does, if not then I will for sure be there. If they tell me you have been disobeying, or you have anything other than an A+’s, you will regret it. So I suggest you go to your room and study.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I will be back down at dinner.”

My mom wasn’t the nicest person, she and my father are two totally opposite people. He’s always nice and doesn’t yell and cuss, but my momma on the other hand, is mean and I
swear she’s the devil.

My best friend Tatum Kelley lives on the other side of town, her father works for Martin’s Farm, and her mother is a nurse. They are a very nice family and my mom hates them. She says they are trash because there house isn’t as big as ours, and they don’t have jobs like my parents do.

My father is one of Birmingham’s finest business men, he owns Ridge Custom Furniture, and there are branches all over the world. My mom is an event planner, when she isn’t drunk. I’m an only child and I honestly think I was a mistake in my mother’s eyes.

I’m not allowed to associate with any of my friends outside of school. And my mother still tries to keep me away from them at school. She enrolled me into a private all-girls school, but my father wouldn’t see to it.

He normally lets her make all the decisions, but with this, he said he was putting his foot down. He tries to let me see my friends, and he allows them to visit, when my mother isn’t home. They both travel a lot for their jobs and I like it that way. Nell is my nanny and she lets Tatum stay over, or lets me stay at her house, when she knows that my parents aren’t going to be home.

I was in my room studying, I could hear my mom yelling, but I just turned my radio up so I couldn’t hear her. I thought maybe father was home and they were arguing like they normally do all the time. But, she came pushing through my door and grabbed me by my ponytail.

“You fucking little bitch, I warned you to stay away from that trash. But no you couldn’t listen could you? Why is Vivian Kelley calling here, asking if you can come to a sleep over? How the fuck did she get my number?”

“Momma, I don’t know what you are talking about? I didn’t give it to her I swear…
Oomph...Momma please, that hurts.”

“Oh
, it’s going to hurt ten times harder if you don’t hold your fat ass still…smack… I told you I don’t like that trash…smack… Now think about this, and maybe you can come down for dinner. Of course you don’t need any food they way you look”

“Ye
…yes, Ma’am, I’m sorry. I will not talk to Tatum or Zander again. I promise.”

I say with tears streaming, I loved my best friend and her brother
. He was always so nice and he was the only boy that didn’t call me rich girl, or make fun of my big butt. I don’t think I’m fat, but my momma calls me that all the time.

My daddy says I’m perfect, that
God makes us all different for a reason. I’m his little Audrey Pooh. That’s what he calls me. My mom calls me fat ass, sometimes she calls me other cuss words, like little bitch.

Once daddy finally came home, and I told him how momma had been treating me. She was at work so he took me to Mable’s for lunch. We loved to go there
, but Momma hates it.

He said he would talk to
Momma, and that I could stay at Tatum’s for the weekend. He drove me there himself and talk to Mrs. Kelley to make sure it was okay I stayed the whole weekend.

We went to change into
our swimsuits we’re going down to the swim hole to swim with Zander and Evan. Tatum has a huge crush on Evan, I know she does. We changed and ran to the swim spot and the boy’s wasn’t there yet, we decided to jump in anyways.

“Audrey, what happened to your back? Is that a bruise? It looks awful”

“Yes, it is Ta, I umm…I fell into the shower door last week.” I said lying, I didn’t want to tell my best friend my momma hurts me because she hates me and her family. So I think it’s better to make a story up and tell her.

“Oh, it looks like it hurts. You are so clumsy. Did you see how Boney Tony was looking at me the other day on recess? He gives me the creeps.”

“Yeah, he does me to, Ta. I think he has the hots for you though. But we know you only have eyes for Evan.” I said in a sing song voice.

“Shh, here they come. And I know you like Zander so don’t even say you don’t.”

I do like Zander, but I know he doesn’t like me like that. I’m not as pretty as most of the girls he talks to. He is also a year older than us. He is very handsome.

We swam with the boys and went horseback riding. Then we went to
the Martin’s for a hog roast. I didn’t even know what that was, until Ta told me. At my house we don’t eat meat unless it’s chicken or turkey. But Momma says that it’s not considered meat.

  My wonderful weekend at the Kelley
’s was over and my daddy was on his way to pick me up. He promised he was going to take me target shooting, he said I needed to learn how to use a gun, in case I ever needed to.

We drove to the range, and he didn’t mention
Momma, so I hoped she wasn’t to upset that he allowed me to stay with my friends.

“Daddy, is
Momma home?”

“Yes, she is and we talked and you don’t have to stay away from your friends any longer. Your mother is just set in her ways. She thinks you should hang out with the children at the Country Club. But I think the Kelley’s are great people and I know you like to go over there.”

“Thank you, Daddy. Tatum and Zander are my best friends. They don’t treat me differently because of where we live or how much money we have. That’s why I like them so much.” I said with unshed tears in my eyes. Daddy looked at me and smiled. “Thanks again, Daddy. I’m glad your home.”

We went target shooting, and I finally learned to use a gun. I didn’t really like them, but my dad wanted me to learn to use them. Momma wasn’t so nice when we got home
that night, she was being her normal mean self, and she was also drinking. When she drank, she was even meaner. Poor Nell was always getting yelled at.

Every time I hear my parents yelling, and fighting she tells my dad, that he will never get me or her money. My grandfather
, her father, is the governor of Alabama. My mom says that if it wasn’t for her money, my dad wouldn’t be as successful as he is now. Dad just tells her to shut-up. I try not to listen, but it’s hard not to.

I went down for breakfast and dad wasn’t there, it was just
Momma, she was already drinking. So I sat at the breakfast table and started to eat my food that Nell had prepared for me. The looks she was giving me made me very uncomfortable and scared.

“What did you tell your father
, you little bitch?”

“I.
..I don’t know what you mean, Momma.”

“You know exactly what I mean. Do you know that you are the reason your father and I argue all the time? It’s all because of you. You’re an ungrateful little brat. I give you all this
; a nice house, nice clothes, shoes. And you want to betray me by staying with those people. The people I tell you are no good, you are just like them. Trash, and because of your actions, you aren’t going to school today. You will stay with me the entire day. Now eat all of your food and then you and I are taking a little trip.”

“I need to go to school, can’t we do it
afterwards?” I cried.

“NO! Now eat.”

I ate just as I was told, once I finished, my mother took me for a drive. She took me to the house she grew up in, which my grandparents didn’t live there anymore. It was actually vacant.

“You know your wonderful friends the Kelley’s. Well Dexter Kelley, was my boyfriend when I lived here, we fell in love here. Then he went off to the Army and came back with her that trash Vivian. He broke my heart and left me for her. Then I got stuck with your father because I became pregnant with your fat ass. I never wanted you Audrey, your father is the only reason why you are here. So you have him to thank.”

She was drunk and she was scaring me. I needed my dad more than anything right now.

“Momma, please let’s go. I won’t talk to them anymore. Now take me to school please.” I begged to her, I tried running off the porch but she grabbed me and threw me into the door. “Momma you’re hurting me, please stop.”

“You ruined my life, everything your father does is for you, not for me. He used to love me until you were born, you have ruined the last ten years of my life. We are going to go home, you are going to tell your father you want to go to St. Mary’s and you are going to go this time.”

“Okay
, Momma, I’ll go.” I said crying and walked to the car and slid in the backseat. My mother took another swig of her flask and slid behind the wheel of her Lexus. We drove about twenty minutes and I must have drifted to sleep because I awoke, to sirens, and police asking me questions. My mom ran a stop sign and hit a tree.

She was fine and so was I, the car wasn’t as lucky. The policeman called my father and he came and picked me up. I told him everything my mother had just told me. My mother was arrested for driving drunk. This was her fourth time being caught. They said she was defiantly spending some time in jail, and no amount of money would help her at this point.

I’m not sure what my father did or said to her, but she signed the divorce papers. She promised not to bother me or him again.