My Beautiful Poison (Wicked Poison #1) - T.L. Smith Page 0,53
you not to press charges, and Dad said she was a silly idiot for telling you that, and if you didn’t do it, he’ll do it for you.”
“Go, Dad,” Rhianna says. “I don’t think he’s ever gone against what she wants.”
“Rylee, you are the golden child to him,” Beckham says.
“Yeah, don’t we all know it,” Rhianna says with an eye roll, then she nudges me. “Ice cream and donuts?”
Beckham takes off his baseball hat and nods.
How can anyone say no to that combination?
Chapter 24
August
Noah tells me how Rylee is, and she called me last week. I haven’t seen her since the night I told her to leave.
What does she expect from me? I’m not a man who can give her what she wants. I have nothing to give. It’s not who I am.
“August.” I hear my name being called as I am finishing up the third coat of varnish on the final of the ordered desks. Turning off the music, I head around to the front of the house. My mother is standing on my porch, peeking in the window through the open blinds.
“What are you doing here, Carina?”
She turns fast and offers me a guilty smile.
Yes, guilty.
“You’ve done this place up nice.”
“Are you drunk?”
Her eyes go wide at the accusation. “No.”
“High, then?”
“No. Look, August… I know you hate me.” I harumph at her words as she walks down the steps to where I’m currently standing. “But I’ve come here as your mother.”
“Is that what you’re calling yourself these days?” I scrub my hand through my hair. “Could have fooled me.”
“August, will you shut up and listen?”
“What do you want? Money?” I ask, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a twenty-dollar bill, then throwing it on the ground at her feet. Her eyes follow it before she looks back at me. “That’s all I have. Take it and leave.”
“That girl of yours… her boyfriend. He’s been coming by to see Josh, and your name has left their lips a few times.”
I’m shocked. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You two pissed him off, and she’s pressed charges.”
I know all this, Noah’s told me, but I have no idea what her angle is right now. “And?”
“He wants payback.” She rushes the words out, but her cheeks redden, then she drops her head probably in shame. But then again, who really knows with this woman and what she’s capable of. Feelings are not something I have felt or even noticed from her.
“Of course he does, poor little rich boy,” I say with a head shake. “What’s Josh got to do with it?”
“Josh went to him. That little secret I am guessing you’re keeping from your new girl? Well, they both know now.”
I grind my teeth.
“Maybe you should tell her before he does.” She glances at the house. “Can I come inside? I haven’t seen it for so long.”
Even though I think twice about it, I step aside so she can enter. I watch as she steps in, her eyes taking in everything. She steps into the kitchen, her hand running along the counter before she turns back to me. “No one says no to Josh, and you’ve done it multiple times. I’m worried for you.”
“Now you choose to worry?” I ask her incredulously. “You’ve got to be fucking with me, right?”
“No, no, I’m not. Josh… he’s changed since you went in. He had to get stronger. Do things himself. He lost most of his men after you went inside.”
“I don’t care.”
“He wants you dead. He thinks that’ll fix his problems. They see you not working for him again and realize his hold on you wasn’t as strong as he said when you went away.”
“His hold on me was always weak. I did it purely for the money. I did it all for the money because my own mother didn’t bother to fucking feed me.”
Her hands go to her chest, and she shakes her head. “I’m going to get help. Rehab. I’m leaving straight after this. I need it.”
“You need more than rehab,” I tell her. “But that’s a start, I suppose. Maybe you can be a better mother to Paige. But me… I’ll always know who you are. And believe me, the forgiveness train has well and truly left the station.”
My mother’s once dark, vibrant hair has faded, and her eyes are sunken into her skull. She appears older than she really is, and beneath all that, I still think she’s beautiful.
“I love you, August. I had too many demons that I