Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail(51)

My eyes were brimming in tears as I looked at her. I saw the torment on her face and my heart matched it. It tore at my insides when I whispered, "So you don't hate me?"

"Why would I ever hate you?"

"Because I'm just like her." A sob ripped out of me.

"What? You are not like your mother. Well, you kind of are, but not in the way you think."

Tears fell freely down my cheeks, but I paid them no attention. "Did she sleep around? Was she really empty inside or really lonely or what? I've been trying to wrap my mind around it and I can't figure it out. I can't figure out why she would do that. I have no urge to do that. Brady was just because…" I couldn't say it.

Viola finished, "Because you love him?"

I looked away. Could I tell her that?

My grandmother stepped forward. "So you think that because you slept with Brady you're like your mother?"

For some reason I couldn't speak anymore. I nodded instead.

She hung her head. "You are like your mother in only two ways." She looked up and pierced me with those eyes now. "You look like her and you fell in love with the wrong man."

What—huh?

"I know the rumours. I know what everyone says about your mother, but I'm telling you that those rumours are just rumours. They are complete lies."

It was my turn to again—"What?"

"Your mother never slept around. I know you think she did. Everyone talks about it, but it's not true. She was keeping herself, much like you, for the one man she loved. It just didn't happen the way we all wanted it to be. But she didn't sleep around, Rayna. She wasn't like that."

Again—wha….huh?

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"But you said….." I realized that my grandmother had never said anything about my mother sleeping around. She just said that she had caused enough problems around town.

I'd assumed.

Viola clamped her mouth shut and grabbed the wall. I shot to her side, but she shook her head with her eyes closed and pushed me away. "I can stand on my own."

A second later, her face cleared of all expression.

I stood back in awe.

Then my grandmother stood firm once again. "Your momma wasn't a slut or whore. She wasn't like that and neither are you. You both just fell for the wrong men. I stand by what I said. And you need to stay away from Brady. He's not good for you."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing or what I was hearing. Everything I believed was a lie. I thought my mom was a certain way and now I found out that she wasn't? Then the room started to spin and I reached out for the wall too. I found a chest instead. From a distance I realized it was Grandpa when I heard his muffled voice, "You didn't need to say it like that, Vi."

"Look at her. She can't handle it."

Grandpa curled an arm around my shoulders and held me against him. "She's in shock. She'll need to hear the rest."

"She can't handle it all," my grandmother replied from a distance. She sounded regretful.

I tried to focus, but found everything starting to get blurry. A moment later, Grandpa Neil lifted me in the air and took me upstairs. When he laid me on my bed, I barely noticed anything. My eyes were open, but the only thing I saw was a picture. It was of Brady and me. Our arms were wrapped around each other. We'd been wrestling that day. Viola took out a camera and yelled at us to stop. We'd frozen in place, smiled, the camera flashed, and Brady flipped me over his back.

A tear slipped down my cheek as I stared at that picture. It had been taken last summer. Brady had graduated that morning and told me that he was going to stick around for another year. I'd been so happy because I wasn't going to lose him.

He'd been my rock. He had steadied me for so long, but everything was different now. I had a gut feeling it was only the beginning. It would get worse, much worse.

Then I heard his voice. "Hey."

I didn't react. My eyes were glued to the picture, but I felt him approach from the door. He sat on the side of my bed and took my hand. "I saw you drive by the café and came to get you, but what's going on? Viola's crying downstairs and baking at the same time. That can't be good. Your grandpa didn't even look at me. He's just sitting on the couch and staring at the television. There's some soap on. And now you…"

I rolled on my back and stared at Brady. He loomed above me. His tribal tattoo stood out on his arm underneath his sleeveless black shirt. I felt like it was shouting its existence at me. When I touched it, I grazed it with my nail.

"Why did you get this?"

He retrieved my hand. "Come on."

"You never told me."

He looked away. "There's a lot I don't tell you, Rayna."

"You told me once that you tell me everything."

"I lied." He hung his head.

"Everyone lies."

"Hey, come on." He twisted to look at me again, but I looked at that frame instead.

I mumbled, "I felt safe that day."

"What day?"

"I've never really felt safe, Brady, but I did that day because I knew you'd still be here. I'm not safe, though. I thought I could handle my last year, but things are so complicated. I never knew how complicated it could get, but it is. Everything is a lie. We all lie. I lie to you even."