"Mom?" I call, Simona throws me an equally surprised questioning glance. My mom sits up on the sofa and stretches her arms and shoulders. "Crap, my shoulders. Why did you have to sit down here?" She harrumphs directly to Simona. "I. . .am s-sorry Ma'am." She apologizes in an unsteady tone.
"And you, you should have taken her straight to your room instead of loitering out here." She scolds me, at the same time checking to see if her long acrylic nails were ruined.
I let out a long breath of annoyance. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting new procedures at your favorite plastic clinic in SK by now or globetrotting?" I jab. The only things this woman shows interest in is getting things done on her face and riding with men she shouldn't. Two of them that I found out about were way below her age. The sight of her here right now makes me so angry. I am never used to her presence. Valerie and Harper too. But those two have stopped disliking her like they did before. Mother daughter magic must have taken place. This house is quite big. Two floors. Eighteen bedrooms and two living rooms. But I don't know how she manages to make the place small and unbearable with just her presence. I resist the urge to frustratingly run my fingers through the roots of my hair. Moms are always the best. Yeah. But in my case i so much doubt that.
"That is no way to speak to your mother Freddy!" She growls. I can feel Simona shifting uncomfortably besides me. She just left her mother's and stepfather's place only to come to one that will be equally uncomfortable. This woman is not supposed to be home right now. I sense a debacle coming on.
"Wow. Who is it that we have here?" She sizes Simona up and down with her eyes. "Not bad, but not too much of a looker either." She comments. Simona's lips moves awkwardly like she wants to speak but she doesn't.
"Let's go babe." I interlace our fingers, pulling her with me up to the winding stairs that leads to my room. "Hold up." My mom holds her other hand, practically dragging Simona to herself.
"What do you want?" I tried to use a flat tone but it still comes out as a snap.
"You didn't answer my compliment nor my question darling. Who the hell are you?" She asks, eyeing Simona from head to toe. The way her artificial eyelashes bat as she does that increases my annoyance for some unknown reason.
Simona stutters for words, "I . . . I. . ."
"Leave her alone mom!" I said in annoyance, stepping in to remove her hold from Simona's hand.
"Why should I? It is the first time you've ever brought a girl to this house. It is only natural that I, your MOM should be curious."
I did not realize until she says it. It is true. Simona is the only girl I have really brought here.
Amy was just a neighbor and one of my closest playmates as a kid. We were little kids so she innocently does not count. Come to think of it, I have quite a number of first with her. I push that thought to the very back of my mind and overturn her words.
"Oh, so now you want to act like you care for me now is that it?" She rolls her eyes like I am being childish.
Fact-ly, you are rarely home Miss Sheids. And we have a worse relationship than a cat and a mouse. How would you know if I bring someone over and fuck her all over your mattress?" That last sentence gets to her. Her face tightens into a frown. I smirk. I am also great into getting under her skin because I learned from the best teacher.
"Don't make me more pissed than I already am Freddy."
"Go on, hit me. " I urge. Turning my face sideways so it'll be easy for her to slap my face like she always does.
Seeing her act like knows me is vexing. It is also funny. Really funny. Simona stands in front of me. Then she begins to apologize to my mom for my behavior. I gently push her out of my way and go to stand in front of my mom.
She seizes that unguarded moment to completely steal Simona with a drag over to her side. Simona reluctantly goes with it not knowing what else to do. Discomfort is visible on her face even though she tries to mask it with a small smile that appears soft, but that only I can see is stiff, forced and do not reaches her eyes.
"Let us each save our pettiness for later son and act civil in the presence of our guest now."
"She is not your guest. What shit are you trying to pull with this?" I can hear my voice getting louder now. It gets worse than this most times. We can never be in the same place without arguing and yelling at each other. Only she manages to push my mental buttons and reveal my angry side. It will snow in hell before we would get to sight down and have a normal conversation.
"She is yours—right about that. But then this is my house and I am the boss of it. And from the looks of it, this girl really wants to get to know her mother-in-law too."
Mother-in-law my ass. You've got to be kidding me. My face has a deep scowl. This woman wants to get under my skin in a different way I see.
I should have really just gone to my dorm apartment or better a hotel instead of here. Fuck, I would be better off sleeping on some rooftop and stargazing. I am very sure Simona would have loved that idea too.
SIMONA
Mother-in-law? That is so far-fetched. I seriously did not expect to meet his mother after he told me that she wouldn't be home.
His sisters live in their boarding schools and only come back on their academic break—I am also told. I was totally expecting us to be alone, and maybe have a moment or two. But here we are in the heavy, commanding presence of his mother—me especially. A lump forms in my throat and I swallow it down. She said my looks wasn't bad, but I am not much of a looker. From where I stand, that sounds like a compliment. For a beauty like hers, I was scared she'd call me ugly. Freddy tries to drag me to go with him again but I didn't. My stupid spontaneous impulse has kicked in again. I find myself not wanting to displease her. She wants to speak to me and I have to stay and hear what she has to say even though I am screaming inside.
"Relax dear. I am honestly not the nicest person." She flips her lush, blonde wavy curls that goes well with the pastel pink silk pajama she is wearing. How old is she? She looks like she is in her early or mid thirties. What is her secret? I am mesmerized by how soft and bouncy her hair looks. If it isn't natural then she must practically stay at the hair salon. Her fit and slender frame too. How many hours does she spend doing yogaletes? Her eyes. They are the cherry for me—a beautiful coffee brown color. She is so beautiful and classy. If we met as strangers, I would never guess that is a mother of three grown kids. Just wow!
"But I do not bite unless you give me a reason to."
"O-okay." I say nervously. That nervous feeling stems from the fact that we mistakenly just met and I don't know how to act around her considering the atypical family relations with her and her son.
"What is your name?"
"It's Simona." I answer.
"Simona." She tests the syllable and nods slightly in what I can only think as her liking my name.
"Last name?"
"Summers. Simona Summers." I respond.
"Summers?" She tilts her head slightly upwards. Fingers tapping on her chin like she is trying to recall something. "Summers. That is not a name I am familiar with. Who is your father?"
Freddy comes in and takes my hand. I don't drag. I follow him, and let him lead me up the stairs and to bedroom obediently. "No sex under my roof! I am the only one who gets to do that in this house. If you have that in mind, go elsewhere!" She yells after us.