Rock Chick 07 Regret (37 page)

“
Have you lost your mind?
” my father exploded.

“No,” I replied shortly.

A brief pause then with soft menace, “It’s true. You’re fucking him.”

I blinked in confusion. “Pardon me?” I asked.

“Chavez. You’re fucking Hector Chavez.”

I wasn’t “fucking” Hector but it was close enough for my body to start shaking.

How could he know?

Obviously word got round, even in prison.

New Ice Princess replied for me, “I can’t imagine why that would be any of your business.”

“You’re joking.”

“May I ask,
father
, why you’re phoning when you hear I’m fucking Hector and you
didn’t
phone when I’m sure you probably heard that Ricky Balducci beat me senseless, broke multiple bones and
raped
me?”

My father displayed a one track mind and his response made my heart squeeze painfully.

“Hector? You call him
Hector?
”

“Well, I can hardly call out, ‘Agent Chavez,
oo
Agent Chavez,’ when he makes me climax, now can I?” I snapped, New Ice Princess gone, Attitude Sadie in her place and I heard Roxie let out a surprised giggle.

“Sadie, you little –”

I broke in before he could finish. “We’re done,” I snapped. “And I mean that. We’re done. Don’t call back, don’t write and don’t come looking for me on that sorry day when they let you out.”

With that, I took the phone from my ear (even while he was still talking), I pressed the off button and slammed the phone down on the counter.

My gaze swung around my audience. Uncertain faces watched me, Daisy was back amongst the crowd and all their eyes were on me.

I wanted one of my Ice Princesses, new
or
old, to come to me.

Instead, Shirleen’s hand touched the small of my back. At her touch, I lifted my hands, put them over my face and burst into tears.

Shirleen turned me into her arms and pulled me into her body. “Get it out, child, get it out.”

I pressed my face into her shoulder and cried, hard, fierce, body-wracking sobs.

I wanted a “Dad”, someone like Tom. Hell, someone like Tex would be fine by me. Both of them cared more that I was raped than my own
fucking
father did.

And I wanted my Mom back.

“I want my Mom back,” I said into Shirleen’s shoulder and realized that, somewhere between her pulling me in her arms and that moment, we were joined by the others in a group hug.

“
Sh
, child,” Shirleen said and someone’s hand stroked my hair.

“I really hate him,” I whispered.

“
Sh
,” Shirleen responded.

The air changed and the change was so strong, my head come up.

The door had opened and Hector was there. He looked about ten times more angry than he did that morning when I’d been stupid and let Ren hold me a
shade
too long – not that I could have even thought that was possible but there it was, written all over him.

Alaskan Hottie was with him.

Hector stalked toward me and the girls and Ralphie disbursed. I stared and wiped my eyes as he crossed the room in long, angry strides.

“What did I do now?” I cried when he was close.

I put my hand up, he walked right into it and his arms went around me.

“I heard the call,” he said, looking down at me, face still full of rage.

I blinked (yes,
again!
). “You did?”

“We bugged your phone.”

Of course. They bugged my phone.

“Your father’s slime,” he continued, his voice vibrating with anger.

I couldn’t refute him, he spoke fact.

“You okay?” he asked.

“No,” I answered.

His arms got tighter and my hand slid up his chest to his shoulder. My other hand joined it on the opposite side and I tilted my head back further. He watched me a second, that second turned to two then to three.

Then his face lost some of its rage (though, not all) and he promised, “You will be.”

My stomach pitched.

His arms got tighter and I watched, fascinated, as the rage disappeared from Mr. Mood Swing’s face, warmth replaced it and his head dipped closer.

“Agent Chavez,
oo
Agent Chavez?” he teased, grinning.

I closed my eyes.

Please, somebody, kill me.

He gave me a gentle shake.

I opened my eyes.

His mouth went to my ear and he murmured, “I’ll look forward to hearing that.”

Before I could retort, his head came around, he touched my lips with his, let me go then he was gone.

I stared at the door.

Shirleen appeared at my side. “I tell you, six weeks ago, you asked me to take my pick, I
woulda
picked Luke. Now I’m thinkin’ I’d like me a little piece of
that
boy.”

“Shirleen!” Ava exclaimed on a giggle.

Shirleen looked at Ava. “Your boy’s still hot,” she assured her.

I looked at Ralphie.

He was smiling at me. I smiled back.

Then I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.

* * * * *

“So, have you gotten a
mi amor
yet?” Indy asked, her hip up against her father’s kitchen counter, a cup of coffee halfway to her mouth, a dishtowel slung over her shoulder, a grin playing at her lips.

“No,” I replied and put the last dried glass away. “But I’ve had a
mi corazón
.”

“
Oo
, a
mi corazón,
” Indy smiled.

“What’s this?” Ally asked, putting her palms on the counter on either side of her and pulling herself up to sit by Indy.

“Spanish endearments, Sadie’s graduated from
mamita
to
mi corazón,
” Indy told Ally.

“What’s that mean?” Roxie asked, coming to the group after putting some leftovers away and closing the fridge with her foot.

“She’s gone from ‘babe’ to ‘my heart’,” Indy answered.

I saw Ally’s dancing eyes moved to me. “
Chickie
, you are
in trouble
.”

“Tell me about it,” I muttered.

They all laughed.

* * * * *

We’d had dinner at Tom’s.

By “we” I meant Lee and Indy, Hank (Lee and Ally’s older brother, he was very nice and they all looked alike, tall, dark and gorgeous) and Roxie, Ally, Tom, Hector and me.

Then after dessert, Tom pulled out the photos.

There were
loads
of them.

I knew he went out of his way. Some of the photos were really old, from back in the days when my Mom was in high school. He must have been up in his attic for hours.

I wanted to try to pretend the pictures didn’t fascinate me but I couldn’t.

I remembered my Mom as sweet and loving but also quiet and subdued. The photos showed a different Mom, laughing and smiling and full of life. I couldn’t help but pour over them and even laughed when the others told stories. Lee, Indy, Hank and Ally didn’t remember my Mom but they had funny (and slightly crazy) stories to tell about their lives while they sifted through other photos. Tom, however,
did
remember my Mom and he had funny (and slightly crazy) stories to share about her, Katherine and Kitty Sue.

There was one photo I stared at for longer than the rest. It was of the “whole family” (as Tom called them) but, for some reason, my grandmother was in it too.

My grandfather had died before Mom married my father. My father’s parents were, as he described for as long as I could remember, “dead to me”. However I knew when they both died within a year of each other when I was a freshman at Denver University. My Mom’s Mom died when I was three.

I had no memory of my grandmother but the photo showed her holding me, my Mom’s arm around her, Kitty Sue and Katherine close to them, Tom and Malcolm close to their wives, kids scattered around their legs.

My grandmother and Mom had their foreheads together, faces tilted down, smiles huge as they looked at me.

Tom noticed my attention to the picture; he leaned toward me and whispered, “You can keep that one.”

I should have said no, it wasn’t polite to take it but I didn’t say no. I looked at him, knowing my eyes were moist and nodded. Then I slipped it in my purse the first chance I got.

Not much later, the women went to the kitchen to do the dishes and I heard male laughter in the dining room as I heard female laughter all around me in the kitchen.

Dinner, the trips down memory lane, the laughter… it was nice.

But it was scary.

It was scary because I could get used to it.

* * * * *

“So, how are things going with you two?” Ally asked, eyes on me.

“Who?” I asked back.

“Who?” Ally repeated on a grin. “You and Hector, you idiot.”

Me and Hector.

Oh my.

How to explain? Impossible!

So, I shrugged.

“Come on, give,” Ally pressed.

“I’d give,” Roxie whispered to me. “She’s relentless.”

I put my hip to the counter on the other side of Ally and sighed. “They’re… good,” I tried.

“Good?” Indy asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“That’s boring,” Ally muttered.

“Maybe Sadie needs boring,” Roxie said to Ally.

“No one
needs
boring,” Ally retorted.

“Maybe Sadie does,” Roxie defended my need for boring.

Ally’s eyes came back to me. “Do you need boring?”

I looked at her a second then shared, “I have to admit, I could use some boring. But when I say things are good, I didn’t mean they were boring.”

“What
did
you mean?” Indy asked and they all leaned forward.

I briefly debated my options.

I could go Ice Princess and tell them nothing (which they were probably not going to accept, nobody was paying the least attention to my Ice Princess anymore). I could tell them everything (which would take all night). I could tell them what was going to happen when Hector and I got back to his place (which might be embarrassing). Or I could tell them about the tattoo.

I told them about the tattoo. When I was done, they all stared at me.

Then Roxie breathed, “Oh… my…
God
.”

“I’ve just decided Lee needs a tattoo,” Indy declared.

“No!” I burst out. “If you say something to Lee then it might get back to Hector.”

Ally jumped down from the counter, put her arm around my waist and started to guide me to the dining room while Indy and Roxie followed.

“Learn fast, sister,” Ally said. “Nothing stays a secret in this clan for long. And that
tat
is
way too good
to stay a secret.”

Well, wasn’t that
just great
.

We entered the dining room and I went back to my seat by Hector.

After dinner, during the photo orgy, he’d done the scooting my chair close to his move. Now he was lounging with his arm along the back of my empty chair. I had no choice but to sit in it with his arm still there.

The minute I did, it curled around my shoulders and he got in close.

“Ready to go?” he asked softly in my ear.