The Fear That Divides Us (The Devil's Dust #3)(22)

“What the hell is this?” I snap angrily, slapping the newspaper to his chest once we are alone.

He looks at me confused, shock laced in his raised eyebrows from my angry tone as he grabs the paper.

“Shit,” he mutters, looking at the paper, his hands running through his perfectly combed hair.

“What the hell, Shane?” I ask.

“I’m sorry about this, Jessica,” he replies? looking the paper over.

“Why does the paper care if you are engaged? Who are you?” I demand, questions flying from my mouth quickly.

Shane sighs, dropping his head, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

“My father,” Shane remarks, like that just answered everything. “He is a retired actor. Reece Meldon,” he elaborates.

My eyes widen. I know exactly who that is. He was in some big action movies years back. “Ever since I was a kid, I have had people follow me around shoving cameras in my face. All hoping one day I would follow in my father’s footsteps,” he continues, setting the paper down on a nearby table. “I went to the jewelry store yesterday to get my watch fixed. It must have caught some wind. People get paid for stories and the paper just prints them, whether they are true or not,” he adds.

This is what he was hiding last night, when that guy took a picture of us outside the coffee shop. He could have easily fixed this problem then. He could have taken the camera, beat the guy up, anything. I close my eyes and sigh. Listen to me, ‘beat the guy up’. Bobby has rubbed off on me; the club has tainted my mind. Bobby, his look of anger and disappointment when he threw the paper at me flashes in my mind. He just walked away from me because of this shit. Leaving me feeling emptier than I have ever felt.

“This caused me a lot of problems,” I remark, pointing to the newspaper. Tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

“It won’t happen again,” Shane states, nodding and looking at the paper now resting on the table.

***

I drive to Addie’s school, park in the circle parking lot, and wait for her to come out. I notice all the married couples picking up their children, laughing, smiling; they’re picture perfect. I snarl at them, disgusted by their happiness. The way they make it look so easy to find a soul mate, appear to be so flawlessly in love without a care in the world angers me. I clench my jaw, my eyes narrowing. I stare at my fingers deep in thought. I have been on a path of fury since this morning. Bobby declaring us over is all my fault. See why love is a disaster waiting to happen – at least for me it is. I want to be open with Bobby. I want to tell him everything that has ever happened to me, but what good would it do? When I’m with Bobby, when we are together, I am free from every burden. I’m in another dimension, another world. The only thing on my mind, the only thoughts in my head, is the pleasure between him and me. I didn’t want to complicate that with explaining my f*cked-up past. Now, I don’t have Bobby at all, which is worse.

“Hey, Mom!”

I look behind me finding Addie climbing in the back seat. She looks so beautiful today, her blonde hair in pigtails, and her cute little red dress, with black leggings on. I had just missed Bree taking her to school this morning.

“Hey, baby, how was your day?” I question, smiling. It doesn’t matter what kind of day I’ve had, or what terrible feeling I am experiencing, Addie with her innocence and bright personality always makes those dark moments vanish. Being a single mother is hard, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Every memory from her throwing up on me in the middle of the night, to losing her first tooth is a memory I cherish.

“Eh, it was school. Do we get to pick up movies tonight?” she asks, pulling her seatbelt across her lap.

“Yes, we can,” I reply, pulling from the circular drive. Since she stayed at Bree’s the other night, we didn’t get to have our movie night that I had previously promised.

I look in the rearview mirror, and notice Addie is smiling like a goofball out the window as we pull out onto the main road.

“What are you so chipper about today?” I laugh, looking back in the mirror. Addie takes her gaze from the window to me, her little braces gleaming with the sunlight as her soft round cheeks take a hue of pink.

“I think a boy likes me,” she squeals, her cheeks going from pink to red. My face falls, and my heart plummets.

“What?” I turn around, taking my eyes off the road, making a car honk its horn in passing.

“Shit,” I curse, pulling on the steering wheel to get back in my lane.

I look in the rearview mirror at Addie, her smiley red face gone and now frowning. I shake my head, silently cursing myself for my outburst. But my little girl is only nine, boys already?

“That’s great,” I try to muster, putting on a fake smile. Her face beams as her braces come back into full view with a big grin.

“He is so cute, Mom. His name is Anthony, and he is so good at basketball,” she rambles, her voice giddy and happy. “You don’t have to worry. He’s not one of the bad kids in class or anything. He’s really smart,” she comforts, trying to ease my mind. I give a tightlipped smile and pull into the movie rental’s parking lot. I’m not worried about him being a bad kid, not at the age of nine. I am worried about him breaking my daughter’s heart. All boys are heartbreakers, wearing what’s left of a girl’s heart they broke on their sleeve.