The Arrangement (A Real Man, #23) - Jenika Snow Page 0,10

mother had always been an absentee parent, had never shown me much attention. I hadn’t noticed anything different.

“How could you have not?” His voice was like venom, acid over my skin.

I felt my anger grow. “The same way you didn’t see it. The same way Rob didn’t see it.” I saw his jaw clench almost violently.

“She’s your mother, Lenora.” The way he said my name had my heart stopping for just a second. He sounded like he didn’t know me.

“Beckham, you’re hurting. But please don’t take it out on me.” When I’d come home, everyone was fighting, yelling, insults being thrown out. That’s when I heard Beckham slighting my mother. That’s when I snapped.

All I saw was my mother with wide eyes looking between them, once again playing the victim. And I’d instantly gotten defensive. She might’ve been a shitty mom, but all I saw was the woman who’d given me life. And I guess that was my mistake.

Beckham had called her a whore, and something in me had defended her, screamed at him. It had been a rant, like this instinct to protect her, even if I didn’t know if she’d do the same for me. All I thought was... that’s my mom.

The dramatics of it all consumed me so much that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I called him hateful, disrespectful, asked him who the fuck he thought he was. I did all this before I heard the entire story. And all the while, my mother stood back, not saying one word. And then she was gone, muttering about the dramatics and not wanting anything to do with us, grumbling how she was glad things were finally out in the open.

And it was only after she left that I found out the whole story.

“Your mother is disgusting, Lenora. An unfaithful bitch,” Beckham said, his voice cracking from emotion.

“Stop it,” I begged, pleaded.

“Look at what she’s done to my father!” His voice was hard, hateful. He tipped his chin toward his dad, who still sat on the couch. “Look at what the fuck she’s done to him, Lenora. And you wanted to defend her? You wanted to defend her without knowing the full story?” He shook his head slowly, his eyes narrowing even more, this hardness moving across his face.

“You’re hurting. I understand. But please don’t do or say anything you’re going to regret later.” I probably shouldn’t have said the latter, but the words were already out, and I watched as his eyes widened ever-so-slightly before he regained his composure.

His jaw clenched, and he took a step back, slowly shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what was going on. I couldn’t believe what was going on either. The family was broken up. It was like I was thrown into this nightmare where everything I’d ever known was being ripped away from me.

“Do something I’ll regret?” He scoffed. “I already have by being part of your family.”

My heart hurt something fierce in that moment, at that comment.

“You’re just like her,” he said, and I felt the tears rush up. He knew how my mother was, how she’d been with me, and the fact that he said that cut me deep. “You want things to be smoothed over, things to go back to the way they were?”

I opened my mouth but snapped it closed, unsure what to say, unsure what I could say. The tears were already falling, because I knew where this was going. “You’re just like her, Lenora. It’s best that we will never have to see each other again, because looking at you only reminds me of her and what she did to my father. Looking into your blue eyes does nothing but piss me off and make me hate you.”

I felt like I’d been transferred to some different dimension, where this wasn’t the Beckham I’d always known.

“Come on, Dad,” Beckham said and curled his lip as he looked at me. “Let’s get the fuck out of here and get a beer. There’s nothing for us here anymore. Maybe there never was.”

And as he and his father started leaving, I found myself walking toward them and reaching out, taking hold of Beckham’s wrist and forcing him to stop. He looked over his shoulder at me, and all I saw was… nothing. Absolutely nothing reflected back at me.

“Beckham.” My voice hitched. “I don’t even know what’s going on right now. Please don’t leave.”

I felt the dejection from him, the distance. He pulled his arm away