Forgiving Nancy (Last Hangman MC, #5)
Muriel Garcia
PROLOGUE
Nancy
Life isn’t a fairy tale. If you lose a shoe at midnight, you’re drunk, not destined for a Prince.
I should have known better that night.
I should’ve known that losing a shoe would be just the start of something terrible. Losing a shoe that night helped to turn my life into the mess it is right now.
Here is how my nightmare started…
I was a normal seventeen-year-old girl. I went to school, hung out with my friends, went shopping, you know, the usual teenage girl stuff. The only shadow to my perfect life was that my parents were controlling, and I mean incredibly controlling. I couldn’t even sneeze without asking for permission. They weren’t always like that though; it was only after they joined a very exclusive country club that they changed. The moment their membership was confirmed, I couldn’t be seen with my friends or do normal teenage stuff anymore. Instead, I could only hang out with kids my parents approved of and only take part in appropriate activities suitable for a person of my age and status, they used to tell me. It wasn’t like I was a party animal but I did like to spend time with my friends, going to parties and hanging out. Nothing too crazy, but you know, the usual underage drinking in the local park, scaring older people and spending hours just hanging out. Suddenly that was all forbidden. I hated my parents for doing that to me but there was a part of me that was telling me to hang in there. It was only one more year and I’d be able to go away to college and do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without them constantly breathing down my neck.
I used to live in a really nice and peaceful neighborhood. You wouldn’t hear kids yelling or see any shady people walking around. It was a proper posh neighborhood with good families not bringing any trouble but that all changed when one family moved in next door to us. The Sawyers. It didn’t became a rough neighborhood, but according to my parents, it did tarnish its image.
As soon as my parents saw the moving truck pull up, I was forbidden from even looking in the direction of the house next door. His parents were part of an MC, so to my parents, they were instantly criminals. They didn’t want me to be seen anywhere near them or their son in fear that it would tarnish their precious reputation.
The only problem with their plan was that the more they kept me away from Bennett, the more intrigued I became. We started to talk through our facing bedroom windows. They were about three feet apart, which came in quite handy and obviously, the fact that my parents slept on the other side of the house. Bennett and I were making plans to meet up whilst my parents were asleep. All of this secrecy resulted in us becoming really close and we eventually started dating. We had to hide it from the public eye, god forbid that anyone would tell my parents, but we were happy.
We had planned to leave town as soon as I turned eighteen. We were going to go on a long road trip on his bike the minute I graduated. But unfortunately life never turns out the way you want to in situations like these. To this day, I still don’t know how my parents found out about us, but somehow they did. That day is still embedded in my mind like it was yesterday, when in reality it was five long years ago.
“Nancy Elizabeth Larkins, get yourself down these stairs. Now!” I hear my mother yell at me from downstairs. Immediately, I feel my body tense as I wonder what I’ve done this time. It’s never good when my mother full names me. I save my lit essay on my laptop and close the lid before making my way downstairs. As I reach the stairs, I see my parents standing at the bottom with their arms crossed over their chests. There’s a very pissed off look on my mother’s face and a disappointed expression on my father’s. Jeez, what have I done now?
“What’s going on?” I ask as I come to a stop a couple of steps above them.
“What do you think could be wrong, Nancy?” My father glares at me.
“I don’t know or I wouldn’t have asked,” I say with a voice full of attitude, looking between my parents. I’m not one for confrontation but I hate it when they treat me like this when I’ve done nothing wrong.
“Don’t you dare use that tone with your father, young lady!” My mother exclaims.
“I have no idea what you’re accusing me of. You yell at me to come down here, acting all upset and annoyed when I have no idea what I could’ve possibly done wrong,” I huff.
“This is the exact reason why we forbade you from spending time with that boy. He’s obviously a bad influence, but no, you had to go and date him behind our back. Did you really think we wouldn’t find out? You’ve disobeyed and disappointed us, Nancy. You went against what we told you and you dishonored this family,” my mother all but yells at me. I feel my face drop when she mentions Bennett.
“How?” Is all I manage to say as tears threaten to fall. I know exactly what’s going to happen next, what they’re going to make me do.
“Oh please, did you not think that you would be seen? The whole town is talking about it, you stupid girl. We know all about your little night-time escapades. I hope you enjoyed those few months because you are grounded indefinitely. The only place you can go is to school and you will come straight home after. We will know if you don’t. You will also break up with this boy and never see or contact him again. If you do, then you will find yourself sent away to a Convent, and him and his family will be locked up in a prison cell, we’ll make sure of that.” My mother glares at me, looking like she’s about to burst with rage. Tears are now falling freely down my cheeks as I take in what they are going to make me do.