Page 121 of Love at First Ride
Chapter Thirty
Hollie
The moment I watch AJ ride away on his motorcycle, I’m hit with a wall of emotion. My heart is singing at his words, but there’s anger too, low in my gut. I hate that I now regret bringing him here. But I should have expected that level of welcome from Evelyn. Maybe I was hopeful, or just naïve.
At least our relationship is out in the open. They know now.
When I get inside, Evelyn is pacing in the hallway in front of the ginormous vase of flowers. Doug has come back downstairs. My father’s there and they’re all waiting for me.
All eyes go to me when I enter. I bite my teeth together. This is not going to be pleasant. I’d rather not have to speak to Evelyn or Doug at all.
I cross my arms over my chest and push out my lower jaw. I literally don’t know where to start.
Like a tiger, Evelyn continues to pace.
‘Of all the men,’ she exclaims, ‘You had to go and choose him! You could have found somebody in Canyon, but oh no, you’ve decided to humiliate me, your father and yourself.’
Behind her, out of Evelyn’s and my father’s eyeline, Doug has turned to the side. Extending his arms, he jerks his pelvis forward and back, as though thrusting into an invisible woman. He winks at me as he does so, sticking out his tongue.
‘This has Echo Salinger’s name all over it,’ Evelyn continues in her rant. ‘He sent that boy to…defileyou purely with the purpose of embarrassing me. He knew how it would look. How it would makemelook. And you fell for it, hook, line and sinker. You think that boy is in love with you, Hollie? You’re very wrong.’
I smirk at her, because, for once, her words bounce harmlessly off me. I raise my brow and point at Doug, who immediately stops thrusting when Evelyn and my father turn to see what he’s doing, his cheeks reddening.
‘I have news for you, Evelyn,’ I say calmly. ‘Not everything is about you.’
‘I told you never to go out to Rapture!’ Evelyn shouts in my direction.
‘You told me, and I chose to ignore you. Did you ask your son why he was there?’
‘He wasn’t there. Somebody sent him that video.’
‘Doug was there at the eviction party, in Rapture, along with everybody else. He was a meter away from me, filming me, without my consent, I might add.’
Evelyn turns to her son. ‘Is that true, Dougie?’
‘She’s a liar, Ma.’
‘No,Dougie, you’re the liar. Your mother just chooses to believe whatever shit you choose to feed her. And, Evelyn, you fall for it every time.Hook, line and sinker.’
‘Hollie, please don’t speak to your stepmother like that,’ Dad says.
‘Jesus, Daddy. When are you going to grow a backbone and stand up to her? I’m your daughter, yet you side with her, every time!’
‘That’s not true, my darling.’
‘You’re a doormat!’
The atmosphere in the hallway feels stifling. Evelyn eyeballs me. ‘AJ and I love each other,’ I state. ‘Echo Salinger had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t something he concocted to make you look bad, Evelyn. And, for the record, what you’re doing to the people of Rapture is disgusting. Strangling them into submission, no doubt so you can receive some kind of cash bonus from the development company to build their golf course and condos.’
‘Howdareyou?’
‘No, Evelyn. I don’t have to listen to you anymore. Tonight, I’m going to speak to my father, and him alone. Then I’m going to leave here and spend one last night in the apartment in Eastvale, before I move in with AJ tomorrow. In Rapture. Whether you like it… or not.’
She lifts her chin. ‘You don’t like me because I’m powerful.’
‘I don’t like you because you’re not a nice person.’
‘You’re making a huge mistake.’
