Bitter Kisses (It's Just High School #3) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,1

Desperate Housewife extra.

“Me? You think I did this?” she laughs, “Oh my dearest Mia, it’s time you grew up and owned up to your mistakes and your distasteful ignorance. Despite your reputation of being a smart girl, you’re really not that smart, are you?”

She’s not wrong. If I was smart, if I was careful, if I was at all someone who could protect the ones I love, Julian’s future wouldn’t be so messed up right now. He wouldn’t be getting arrested. It wouldn’t be all over social media and on news outlets like a nasty scandal.

But most of all, if I was smart, I’d have told Julian about my father’s call when we were still in Paris. I would’ve been honest with him and maybe, just maybe he’d still believe and trust me… but he doesn’t. Not anymore.

“You see, Mia, you did this. I don’t mean to taunt you or kick you while you’re down but we’re here because of you,” she says, gesturing at my father and to herself. “You made the decision to ignore everything I told you, all my warnings.”

“And you didn’t listen to me when I called,” Nathan cuts in.

“Oh yes, there’s that too!” Courtney says joyfully. “This is a nightmare of your own making. We’ve all just… simply adjusted to your poorly executed plan of escape and directed the course that has led you right where I want you, begging for my mercy.”

“Begging for mercy?” I croak, breathless and in pain. “He’s your son.”

At that, the smug smile fades away, but her eyes only harden.

“He’s your son and you’ve teamed up with him to what? Conspire to put your own son behind bars under false allegations?”

“Charges, princess,” my father chimes in. “At this point, he has been charged. Remember that.”

“Well excuse my terminology, father,” I say, putting as much mockery in that moniker. Nathan tilts his head to the left, studying me. A frisson of fear runs down my spine, so I quickly look at Courtney, focusing on her. “How could you?”

“Well, in hard times, some mothers are called upon to make hard decisions. Decisions that save their families, save their children from unwanted… parasites.”

“Excuse me?” I seethe. “So, let me fucking guess, I’m the parasite in that little narrative of yours, huh?”

“Well of course,” she says, as if it’s pretty obvious. God, my hate for this woman seems unending, like a boiling, violent volcano about to erupt. “I had to make some hard calls and trust me, both Julian and Liam will thank me for all of this later on down the line.”

“You think so?” I whisper brokenly. “You think they’ll thank you for how you treated Aiden? You think they’ll thank you for ruthlessly destroying their futures, taking away their ability to make their own decisions, you think they’ll thank you for that.”

“Please, they’re both young,” she says dismissively. “They don’t know what they want, which is why they need me to make the tough calls.”

“Julian and Liam have never needed you!” I cry out. “When they needed you, you were busy torturing and starving a sweet child with down syndrome who’s only fault was he was John’s love child. You didn’t matter to them then. You weren’t there for them! Julian raised his brothers. He took care of them, protected them. He never once asked you for anything, you self-involved, money hungry witch!” I can feel the tears running down my cheeks, but I’m too heartbroken and livid to care. “You’ve managed to disappoint him, hurt him and you’ve attempted to break him at every turn. And now, you’ve…” I trail off.

She’s succeeded.

“I did what had to be done.”

“Oh, I got that memo all right,” I whisper, quickly wiping away my tears. “But my God, Courtney, you didn’t have to make up all that stuff about rape, kidnapping and assault! Now, it’s going to stick to him, no matter what happens from this point on.”

Courtney just stares at me, not saying a word until my father clears his throat, stepping forward.

“My dear, princess,” my father says, stepping in now. “That’s the whole idea.”

“What?” I whisper. “What do you mean?”

Nathan steps forward again, a look of pure enjoyment on his face.

“You see, Mia, if one has a less than stellar rep-sheet, one is likely to stick to the… well, the guidelines, of what they should do and what they shouldn’t do. Isn’t that right, Court?”

“Court? So, you give each other nicknames in your Scorned Spouses Insufferables Club?” I mock. “Tell me, when are