“You are, and I am so proud of you.”
“Then what, Julius? My mom wants me to go to college.”
“Do you want to go to college?”
“No. I mean. Why would I need to? We’re rich, aren’t we?”
Julius laughed. “We have plenty of money. Now, get naked before you have to leave me.”
Seri knew the voice before she ever turned around. Her heart dropped to her feet and her defenses automatically kicked in. Julius grabbed her arm and swung her around to keep from getting decked. He didn’t know who he was messing with. She was quicker than him and had her knee in his throat right there in the hallway of her and Manny’s apartment building.
“Jesus Christ, Seri,” he choked.
“What are you doing here? Where’s Quill?”
“Get the hell off me and I will tell you.”
Seri, cautiously moved off of him. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Okay, talk.”
“Can we go somewhere?” he asked, not wanting to discuss business with her in the hallway. They would be lucky if someone hadn’t already called the cops.
“Is Quill okay?”
“Yes. Quill is fine. This isn’t about Quill, well not completely.”
“What’s it about?”
“Are we going to talk right here?” he asked, waving his hand animatedly in a circle.
“I guess we can get coffee.”
“I kind of wanted to show you something.”
“Show me what?”
“Oh my God, you’re worse than Quill. Trust me, will you?”
Seri laughed a nervous laugh. “Trust you?”
“Yes. Trust me. Move it,” he ordered, nodding toward the elevator.
Seri had never seen Manny this mad before. She was almost afraid he was going to kick her out of their new home. He couldn’t believe that she lied to him all these months.
“I never lied to you, Manny,” Seri pled.
“You did lie to me, Sarah. You not telling me that my daughter has been seeing that low life for months is the same as lying.”
“He’s not a low life, and he loves your daughter. Manny, you’re not going to keep her from him.”
“You can’t seriously be defending that bastard.”
“I am defending him. Will you just hear me out?”
One down, one to go. Seri was sure Liz would have an asthma attack and die right there on the floor.
“I’ve known for months, Sarah,” Liz explained, pouring them both a cup of coffee.
“You have?” Seri shockingly asked.
“Yup,” she replied, sitting in front of her at the table. “I can even show you his house.”
“You never said anything to Quill?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was sure she was going to take more from Liz than she had Manny, and then she was going to kick Julius’s ass for talking her into this shit. Liz wasn’t mad at all. She knew.
“No, I was waiting for her to tell me. I’m not going to ruin our relationship because she’s in love with a man that I’m not sure is good for her or not.”
“I know how you feel, but I honestly think he is good for her, and I know he loves her.”
Liz took a sad, deep breath. She already knew this fact. That’s why she hadn’t said anything. She wasn’t about to lose Quill over Julius. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to welcome him with open arms, but she would do what she had to do in order to keep her daughter close. She lost her once, she wasn’t about to lose her again.
“I just wish you weren’t going to take her to New York,” Liz voiced her concern. “She and Reese have become pretty close.”
“We’re not that far away, and Julius is going to keep the house here. They’ll be back.”
“I know that this is going to make Quill happier than anything. I’m not extremely happy about it myself, but I do understand. You have my blessing,” Liz offered.
Seri couldn’t have been happier. It did, however, make her want to body slam Manny after the way he acted. He had her scared shitless, telling her how Liz was going to blow her top. Now, all they had to do was get Quill to New York without too many questions. That would be a job for Julius. She wasn’t touching that one. She did her fair share of the dirty work.
Of course, Julius had to pass the buck back to Seri. She should have known she would get suckered into this.
Quill wanted to go home. She didn’t care about this stupid graduation party. She didn’t want to be at the lake, and she would have much rather been staying with Julius than at the cabin. She had a graduation party once. She tried to tell her mother she didn’t need another one. Seri was the one that talked her into it, telling her that it meant a lot to her mom to do this for her. Quill had to walk away after a bit. Why was her mother crying like she was. Geesh. It wasn’t like she was getting married.
Seri followed her down to the lake, ready to get it over with. She might as well let her scream away from her family.
“Hey,” Seri said, plopping beside her on the ground.
“Hey,” Quill repeated, throwing a rock into the lake.
“How does it feel to finally be out of school?”
Quill looked at her with a tilt and a frown. “The same way it felt last year when I graduated.”
“Stop being so mean. This is a happy day, and I’m taking you back to New York with me in the morning.”
“No. You’re not. I’m spending the entire day with Julius. You guys already made me spend three days here. I’m going to Julius.”
“You’re going to New York. Your mom and Connor are going away for a few days now that school is out, Reese is going to cheerleading camp, and you and I are going to spend a few days together in New York,” Seri demanded, waiting for the blow that didn’t come.
“I can’t wait until I’m 18 and can tell you to go fuck yourself.”
Seri laughed. “You do that now.”
“But I’m going to mean it when I’m 18. Let’s burn one.”
Seri laughed again. Some things just never change.
Quill – I’m not coming home for a few days. Quill texted Julius before going to bed.
JC – What do you mean? Yes, you are.
Quill – No, my parents are making me go to New York tomorrow.
JC – Why?
Quill – Because I am three. My mother and Connor are going away and they don’t want me home alone.
JC – Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you when you get back.
Quill rode in the backseat and pouted the whole way. She didn’t even have the city to occupy her time now, not with the new house in the suburbs. She would be bored to death. She hated her life. Her life sucked. She glanced at her smartphone and groaned. It was only noon. What the hell was she supposed to do all day? Seri caught her frustration from the corner of her eye. She couldn’t wait to put her out of her misery.
“Please tell me we’re not stopping in the city,” Quill asked, wondering why they were parking right in downtown Manhattan.
“Are you in a hurry to get home?”
“Yeah, back to my home. Why do we have to stop here?”
“Your dad needs to meet a client real quick. It won’t take long.”
“Great. I’m hungry,” Quill whined, getting out of the car. She followed her dad and Seri, holding hands as they walked. She rolled her eyes, and dropped her head to her phone.
Quill – I hate New York. I hate being here. I want to be with you. She texted Julius, not paying attention to the looks Seri and Manny were exchanging.