Mafia Daddy’s Smart Little by Mary Potter

CHAPTER NINE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer

My life was a mess. How was I supposed to pick up the pieces and be whole again?

Holland had just broken up with me. It was all Williams Sutherland’s fault. I never imagined he would be at Maddy Baxter’s party.

I had been trying to avoid him. I had gone so far as dying my hair red and making my father fume for weeks. After he called me at the pub on the day I met Holland, I had broken my SIM card and blocked him on all of my social media accounts.

Mariah Oliver was supposed to stay a mystery. No one was supposed to find out it was me. It turned out that I hadn’t been careful enough.

“He hates me now,” I said to Laurel, blowing my nose into a pink hanky.

I was in her house, crying my eyes out. It had been two days since the party. I had called Holland a billion times, but he hadn’t answered, or called me back. It broke my heart that he was ignoring me when all I wanted to do was explain myself.

“No, he doesn’t,” Laurel said. “And if he does, that’s his loss.”

“What am I going to do without him?”

She reached for the olive bowl in front of her, took one out, and put it in her mouth. “I told you that you were going to fall in love with him.”

“What did you expect? He’s so sweet and caring. He makes me feel like a woman.”

“Unlike the other men?”

“Yes. Holland is perfect. My life is going to be miserable without him.”

Laurel was probably tired of me weeping like a baby. I had refused to go home. My dad had called several times, but he couldn’t persuade me to leave my best friend’s house.

I didn’t want to go anywhere, not after that embarrassment and Holland walking out of my life. People had heard what Williams said at that party and I knew they were talking about it.

“How am I going to get him to talk to me?” I asked Laurel like she had any solution.

“I don’t know, Jen,” she replied. “Maybe give him time. Let him think about what he learned. It’s going to be his decision to come back to you or not.”

She was right. I shouldn’t force Holland to speak with me. It would only push him away and I didn’t want that.

Holland Kennedy was the man I wanted to hold on to. There was no way I was letting go of him, even if it meant waiting for years. I was that serious about him.

“I have to let him be. But Leevens isn’t the right place for me now. I have to go somewhere far away from here.”

Laurel was still eating the olives. “Where are you going to go?”

“My granny’s place.”

Laurel was shocked to hear that. She spun around, an olive lodged between her lips.

“What?” She said after spitting out the olive. “That’s really far. You’re talking about Washington, Jen.”

I flopped down on her sofa. “What choice do I have? I can’t stay in my dad’s place. Everything reminds me of Holland, and I am tired of crying.”

Laurel came to sit beside me. “But you don’t have to go to Washington. You can stay here with me.”

I shook my head. “It’s the same thing, Laurel. I met Holland in Leevens and it’s natural that I think about him. Maybe if I go to Washington, I can get my mind off him for a while.”

“I thought you didn’t want to forget about him,” Laurel said. “Please, don’t. You’re my best friend.”

I took her hand in mine. “I’m going to be back, Laurel, but this is for my sanity. I need to do this.”

I could see her eyes turn misty. It was heartbreaking to see her cry. Why did my days have to turn out this bad?

“Hey, Laurel,” I pulled her into a hug. “Don’t cry. I’ll be back for you.”

She couldn’t change my mind. Two days later, I booked a flight to Washington. The day after that, I packed my stuff and headed out of town.

Since the plane wasn’t going to leave until Christmas Eve, I called one of my aunts in the neighboring town and asked to stay with her for a while.

“Have you gotten on the train?” Laurel asked me on the phone.

I was at the station waiting for one that would take me to the next city. I felt myself sinking into the sadness. This Christmas wasn’t going to be a good one for me.

“No,” I said. “I’m boarding  in the next ten minutes.”

“Good,” Laurel said. “So, you don’t mind coming out of the station for a while?”

I frowned. “Why?”

“I’m outside. I want to see you one last time.”

I sighed and walked out of the station. It wouldn’t be nice to keep Laurel waiting. The girl was finding it hard to say goodbye. I had met her a few hours ago and she couldn’t stop crying.

“Seriously, Laurel,” I said. “Why did you have to come to the station?”

“Because I love you and I want to give you one last steamy fuck. It’s going to be a quickie, though.”

“Okay, that is very disturbing,”

“Don’t you want to sleep with me?”

“Shut up,” I said to her. “Where the hell are you?”

“Are you outside the station?”

I was starting to get frustrated. “Yes! But I can’t see you.”

“Oops, sorry, I’m not there,” she said and cut the call.

I turned. Laurel wasn’t there, but someone else was.