Page 113 of Saved By A Dark Billionaire
“Yes,movedin. It was right for us, so fuck everyone else’s timeline of how things should go.” I nodded with determination.
“Alright, way to blow up the norms. Continue.” I told him about how dad is having a baby with some new girlfriend. I then asked him to watch out for her and let me know if he sees anything suspicious when it comes to her health.
“I’m not some secret agent for you, Cherry Bomb, so I'm not going out of my way to check on this girl, but if I see anything I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Joe.”
“Alright, all done. Here.” He handed me a mirror to look at it. He’d outlined the ribbon in black and added flowers to come out the center top. They were her favorites, orange tulips. He then wrote one of mom’s favorite sayings from the movie Forest Gump, the one about the box of chocolates.
“It’s perfect. Thank you, Joe. However, how you know these things about my mother astounds me.” I arched a brow at him curiously.
“Did she never tell you?”
"Tell me what?" I propped myself up on my elbows, extremely interested now.
"I was the one that helped her leave, kid." He grabbed the white gauze as he dropped that bombshell on me.
"You?"
"Yeah, me. We went to high school together, and we were once close friends. She was the one that got away."
"Fucking shit, Joe." My mind was reeling, refusing to process the words that came out of his mouth.The one that got away. I guess I have one of those too.
“Did you know where she was all this time?”
I couldn’t look at him as I asked, keeping my eyes on the ceiling, trying to hold back tears. I’ve poured my heart out to this man many times, trusted him with everything, and he never once told me he knew mom. He never once stopped me and told me‘I know, Cherry Bomb. I know it all’. He let me complain about how she abandoned me and how dad was an ass.
“No, I didn't. She didn’t know where she was going when she left. I helped her get out and hide her steps along the way. I hid the money she saved to escape as well as a go bag. She asked me to look out for you, to save you if his fists ever turned to you in her stead. How do you think you ended up on my chair without permission at 17?” he asked me, like it should have been obvious.
“I don’t know. I thought I was charming, or maybe you pitied me enough not to care.” I wiped at the side of my eyes where a tear had rolled out. “Thank you for helping her, Joe.” I whispered with my voice cracking.
My emotions poured out of me like a river. My tears couldn’t be stopped, keeping my wrists over my eyes and wiping them continuously. I wanted more time with her… needed more time with her. I wish she could have told me about Joe herself. There’s so much I still don’t know about her, pieces of her I am still learning about. I tried to imagine her and Joe in high school, but it was a hard image to picture.
“Come on, Cherry Bomb, let’s go get a cup of me and talk more.” I laughed at his pun, a cup of joe.
“Okay, I expect all the details about you and my mom.” I pointed at him as I got off his table.
“I’ll be back later, Vicky, taking a lunch break.”
Blue-haired girl, apparently named Vicky, nodded at him. Her eyes roamed my body, assessing me like she still wasn’t sure of me. I returned her gaze, showing her I don’t shy away just because someone was looking at me. She could have fucking face tattoos and I would still return her gaze. She’s not hard.
Time to fess up, Joe
Chapter 40
Lucas’ P.O.V.
My sweet Rose arrived in her hometown a little while ago. She had been sending me texts all day about what she was up to. I snapped a picture of the hot chocolate I was drinking beside the fire with Lisa, sending it to her with a smile.
Rose:You have hot chocolate, but I have joe.
She replied with a picture of a cup of coffee and a big burly tattooed man who looked like he could butcher people for a living.Rose has some interesting company.
Lucas:Should I be worried?
Rose:Ha! No way. Joe’s my mom’s ex, my tattoo artist and my therapist all in one. You'll meet him when we come here together.
I smiled, knowing she wanted me to come with her next time. It made me happy to know she wanted to introduce me to others. She's not afraid to show me off.
