Rolling my eyes, I braced myself.
“Lena Jade Clarkson, you had your mama sick as shit worried about you.”
“Don’t try to speak for me now, you old bastard,” my mother yelled from somewhere in the background. They’d switched phones. “I was the one worried while you were out fucking one of your whores!” she screamed.
Slowly, my eyelids closed, and I let out a deep sigh.
“Hey, Daddy,” I said, trying to ignore the argument happening between them. “I didn’t mean to worry either of you.”
“Hm, hm. Had Nate calling us every damn day wondering where you are. Glad you finally gave him your number.”
I pushed out a breath. “I gave it to him only for emergencies,” I mumbled. I didn’t need to guess to figure out that Nate had given my parents my phone number.
“Well, we’re glad he got ahold of you,” my father said. “So, did you finally come to your senses and go back to him?”
“Right. Like she needs to,” my mother called from the background. “That man is too good to you for you to leave him,” she continued.
I blew out a breath. “Daddy, could you put me on speakerphone, please? I want to talk to you and Ma at the same time.”
There were some rustling noises before my father finally said, “You’re on speaker.”
“Thank you,” I started. “For the record, I want to say that I am not back with Nate. Nor will I ever be. Too much happened in that relationship for me ever to go back to him.”
“Lena, girl, it was what? Just a little cheating?” My mother sounded like my saying I’d never get back with Nate was akin to me kicking her in the face.
“It was more than cheating,” I replied.
“What? A few fights, arguments? If your father and I broke up every time we argued, we’d be apart more than we are together.”
“That’s because you two can’t order lunch without arguing,” I mumbled.
“What’d you just say?” my father asked.
“Nothing.”
“You oughta be glad that’s all that went wrong,” my mother continued. “Most women would kill to have a man like Nate. Look at what he did for your career. You would’ve never gotten to where you are on your own.”
“Gee, thanks, Ma.”
“She’s telling the truth, Lena,” my father added. The only time these two got along was when they were both telling me in one way or another that I wasn’t jack shit without Nate.
“And now, we hear you’re having problems writing another album without him,” my father said.
“See what I mean?” my mother’s voice came through again. “You acted a fool and then ran off without him, and now you can’t do the one thing that makes you money.”
I glanced down at the production equipment that I’d just bought. It stared back at me, taunting me with the fact that I didn’t know what I was doing. I had access to some of the best producers in the world. People who produced hit after hit, and I had the biggest problem putting some freaking cables together.
“Lena?” my father called. “Are you still there?”
“Y-Yes, I’m here.” I wiped my eyes and stood up to exit the room, shutting the door behind me.
“Go on and tell her, Wesley,” my mother demanded.
I paused in the middle of the kitchen. “What is it?”
“Your Mama went and spent up all the monthly payment you sent us.”
My mother started arguing with my father about his comment, which, of course, he had to argue back. Between all of their yelling, I discerned that they spent the monthly check my accountant sends on new shoes and clothes for my mom, flower deliveries, and an expensive ass watch for one of my father’s mistresses.
