“David Sterling.”
“David, it’s Stella.”
“I was hoping you’d call.”
“I’ll do it.”
There was silence down the line. Maybe he didn’t think this was such a good idea anymore.
“That’s fantastic. You won’t regret it. I promise.”
“I have a few conditions before we make it official.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from a Connor.”
“Can you pick me up, and we’ll talk?”
“Absolutely. Text me your address and I’ll come and get you.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up and texted him the address before I chickened out again. I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing, but at this moment it was the only thing I could do.
I wasn’t going back to my mother’s, and the only way she would leave Nora alone was if I went along with her plans to marry David.
It would be fine. Everything would be fine. It was just marriage. People did it all the time.
“You sure about this?” David asked me the next morning. “This is a five-year deal. You’d be giving up a lot. But also gaining a lot.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I lied, unsure of what in the world I was doing. But I hadn’t come up with a better plan, and I didn’t have much time before my mother would suck me back into her world.
We were standing in front of my family’s front door to talk to my mother. After David picked me up, we went to his place and drew up a contract. We agreed on most points, but this last one I had to talk David into. Because it meant that I would move in with him immediately. And we were here to tell my mother what we’d agreed on.
The door opened and the devil herself stood there. And we didn’t even say her name three times.
“What an interesting surprise. Do come in, unless you plan on standing out there like you’re ready to rob the place.”
I didn’t roll my eyes or make a snarky comeback. Someone should give me an award, because that cost me a lot of my self-control.
We followed her into her study, another larger-than-life room. The second story had been taken out to make it a two-story monstrosity that was lined with books. I doubted any of them had ever been so much as opened.
“Coffee?” she offered David, who nodded. She ignored my presence and I was glad to draw as little attention to myself as possible. We sat down, my mother in her big chair behind her desk, David and I in front of her, our chairs lower to the ground and much smaller. Everything was a power play in her world and my mother was its master.
“Talk,” my mother commanded, and I leaned forward in the uncomfortable chair.
“David and I have come to an agreement.”
“Did you now? And what would this agreement be?” She leaned back, knowing that she’d won.
“We will get married, where and when you want, but I’m moving in with David today and you promise to leave my friends alone.”
My mother took a sip of her own coffee and studied us. The silence stretched for a while and I was growing restless, not to mention uncomfortable in the hard chair.
“Seems like you learned something from me after all. I agree to your terms.”
That seemed too easy. She never gave in like that.Why didn’t she come up with ridiculous terms? What was happening? Is this the end of the world? Are we all going to die? Does this mean I’ll never get to watch the Lord of the Rings again?
“You may get your things while David and I talk,” my mother said, dismissing me from their conversation like I was a child.
