Mess Us Up – Jaxson Kidman Page 0,31

phone.

He trusts me.

He really trusts me.

I can easily grab the bag and the phone and take off.

Mac knows I won’t do that though.

I don’t even want to do it.

I want to be with him. I want all of this over.

Part of my mind wants to think about the last time I attended class for law school.

I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that dream is dead and gone.

And in reality, did I even want that?

I chase away the thought and stare at the bag again.

I quickly zip it up.

So my father has been seeing Tanya all along, huh? So the whole idea of him firing her was just a joke. It was to shut my mother up. He’s been traveling around, seeing her, sleeping with her, and all that cliché stuff. My life is suddenly a rich drama movie or something. Where everything is a lie. And then there’s cheating, stealing, and crime…

I grab the handles of the bag and walk it to the bathroom.

I stand in front of the bathroom mirror and study myself.

Look mean, Jolie. Look pissed. Look like you own him. Because you fucking do. He’s not going to know what to think.

I nod.

I take a deep breath.

I walk back to the bathroom door and take another breath.

As I start to walk again, I do so with some swagger. Putting one foot in front of the other. Slowly. With purpose. I see myself in mirror again, my lip curled high into the air.

“Here you go,” I say and drop the bag. “Enjoy your flight.”

I sigh and shake my head.

Enjoy your flight?

“Stupid,” I whisper.

I lift the bag and take it back to the doorway again.

This time I walk normally, the bag at my side, just staring at the mirror as though it’s my father. I keep a stone like look on my face. No desire. No hope. No happiness. Nothing.

I put the bag into the bathroom sink, nod slowly, and back away.

That’s how to do it, Jolie. Just like that. Don’t say a word either. Leave him to sit with the questions he’ll never have answers to.

I turn and let out a scream.

Someone is in the bathroom doorway.

“Practicing to become a model?”

Mama Dae winks at me.

“You scared me,” I say.

“That makes us even,” she says. “You gave me a good scare… with the police showing up.”

My face feels warm. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s in the past now. Want to help me with something?”

“Sure.”

“You’re going to like it,” she says. “You get to leave the house.”

“I do?”

“Get dressed. Get your new phone. You’re driving.”

“D-driving?” I ask.

Mama Dae turns and shuffles into the bedroom.

I walk after her and she just leaves the room.

I quickly throw on some fresh clothes and grab my new phone.

There’s a text from Mac.

No bad girl rebel shit today, sweetie.

I laugh.

I walk to the stairs as I text him back.

Don’t tell me what to do, Mac.

I tuck the phone into my back pocket.

I have to get in contact with Violet.

But I have to make sure she doesn’t mess this up.

I meet up with Mama Dae at the back door to the house.

“Ready?” she asks.

“Sure.”

She hands me a set of keys and leads the way.

When we leave the house she walks to the left.

There’s a narrow pathway that opens to another part of her yard.

A part I’ve never seen before.

There’s a garage.

A three car garage that looks like a house.

She looks back at me and smiles at my reaction.

“Just wait,” she whispers.

I contain myself until she opens the first garage bay and I see the size of the SUV she has. It’s like a freaking bus.

“You’re okay driving that, right?” Mama Dae asks.

“Yeah… do you drive that?”

“I drive everything,” she says.

Her version of everything is quite the collection of vehicles. There’s a little bit of everything in the garage. From cars that are really low to the ground to SUVs that have steps to get up into them. Oh, and there’s a really big pickup truck on a custom lift kit with a giant, metal ball sack hanging off the back.

I point and look at Mama Dae.

She smiles. “Just imagine me driving that beast down the road. Nobody is going to cut me off. Balls of steel… that always makes me laugh. I’d love to see one of these tough guys try out a uterus for a few months. Right?”

I laugh… because Mama Dae is scary, funny, and kind of gross all at the same time.

She gets into the SUV.

I get behind the wheel.

And we’re off.

I drive and she