Page 86 of The Dark Side

A trip to Puerto Rico was the only way to help him stay away from Jolie. But that was one day out. Twenty-four hours to not fuck it up. Why did it suddenly feel like an impossibility?

Chapter thirty-two

Meeting the Parents

Joliehadbarelyslept,and though it was the weekend, and she didn't have to wake early, she was still up before the sun. The lack of sleep filled her brain with fog, making thinking difficult, yet that was all she could do.

Adrik had left her to chase after his brother, and just like the night before, he sent her no message to ease her worries. His lack of communication was gonna have to change. She wasn't the kind of woman who just went about knitting as the world blew up around her. She was proactive, but she could only react to the information she had, and if she had nothing, then she could do nothing.

Facts. Start with the facts,Jolie attempted to focus her brain. Alexei knew about them now. What would he say? How would he react?

That's not facts! she scolded herself.

Ming and Tae-Tae followed her around the room, trying their darndest to rub against her legs. Tripping her was a consolation prize. "Would you get out of my way!" she barked with annoyance before she plopped into a chair. They promptly jumped at the invitation and meowed in her face.

Dropping a hand on their furry heads helped relieve the stress, and she sighed, lowering her head back.

Alexei's face,she mused.He was beaten. Why did Adrik tell me he was okay if he wasn't?

"Because he keeps freaking walls higher than China," she answered herself, but Ming thought it was praise and meowed in affection.

Jolie stared at her phone, telling herself to let it go while getting up simultaneously, hoping for some sort of text message. She was afraid to message him, but she pressed his number anyway. She hadn't added his name. She hated how, even with her own phone, she didn't know if she could trust anyone looking at her call log or somehow finding out.

Jolie began to text, writing a single letter before erasing it and starting over. It took her ten minutes to find a way to say what she wanted without really saying it. "Everything okay?" It was a blank question; if anyone read it, they wouldn't think much of it.

She was surprised when dots showed up on her phone, and she sat up, suddenly eager.

Seconds ticked by. It felt like an eternity until the text came from Adrik. "Fine."

It was so anticlimactic Jolie got frustrated. She wanted answers. She wanted to know when she would see him again. She wanted to talk to him, to understand what was going on. But this was something she would have to learn to suppress.

Was she going to have to wait on pins and needles all day until he deemed to bless her with his presence? Was that the kind of life she was gonna have?

I can't keep going back and forth. I need to make a final decision and be done with it.

And that one decision waited on one person: her mother.

Jolie texted,'I'm going to my mother's.'

She waited for a reply, but when none came, she left the safety of her room. It was early in the morning, so it wasn't a surprise there was no one out except for the maids. She told the front doorman where she wanted to go, and a car was brought around immediately. Though it was so easy, she didn't know why she always felt anxious when leaving the property, like she was doing something wrong.

Her mother was beyond excited for her to be coming home. She hadn't been back to the trailer park in months. Leaving the small town of Geneva had been difficult. It was all she had known for so long. There wasn't any chaos or crime. It was always quiet. Of course, it was only in her part of town. A charming little neighborhood that had its own neighborhood watch. Across the street was the 'riffraff' her mother deemed unworthy. Jolie was never allowed outside the gates, even when Vincent wanted to bring her to his house. He was part of the 'west side' her mother disapproved of.

Jolie was nervous. She knew Vincent was still in prison, but his cousin lived in their old place and absolutely hated her.

For a reason,Jolie knew. When she turned Vincent into the police, she made plenty of enemies.

Jolie smiled upon pulling up to her parents' trailer. There were so many plants, gnome statues, bird feeders, and windchimes it looked like a store. She hopped on the little round footpath, and the door swung open. Her mother greeted her with her arms open.

Heather Bell was a fifty-year-old retired schoolteacher, part hippy, part human rights activist. She used to have beautiful brown hair like Jolie, but gray hair had started back in her forties, and she didn't do anything to stop it. Now, she was entirely gray and proud of it. She wore a flowery dress, with a dozen bracelets on each arm. "My baby came home!" Heather embraced her, and whispered, "I didn't know you were bringing a guest."

"A guest?" Jolie responded with confusion. As her mother pulled away, she found Adrik standing in the living room.

Her heart nearly burst.

"What—" She stumbled as she took a step forward. Adrik reached out for her hand, trying hard to suppress his smile. He enjoyed surprising her more than he thought he would. Jolie stuttered, "What are you doing here?"

Adrik leaned in, kissing her cheek, "You said you wanted me to meet your mother. So, here I am. She and I have been talking for a few minutes."