Dirty Little Tease (Book 2) The Dirty Little Secrets Series

Chapter Twenty-Lance

Hello, Lovelies, 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!  Thank you for reading Dirty Little Tease.  It means a lot to me.  

News: I'm trying to finish Sparked's self-edit by the beginning of the year so I can hand it over to be professionally edited by Kim Young.  I hope when it is finished, you'll check it out.  Burned will be the next to go through the same process.

I do hope you enjoy this chapter.  If you do, votes and comments are appreciated.  If you have questions, comment or send me a message.

-XXXX Amanda  

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I watched Becca sleep, taking in each twitch of her eyelids, each rise and fall of her chest and each whispering sigh. The fucking nightmare gutted me, bringing alive my worst fear. My mother in the hospital made it worse because it showed how brutal an abusive man could be.

I fell asleep in the early hours of the morning with my arms around Becca, gaining comfort from her while I slept chasing away the nightmares that had plagued me before.

The house phone ringing woke me and I padded into the kitchen careful not to wake Becca and answered it.

"Lance, I don't know if you remember me...I'm Cortland Ruthers, your father's best friend," he said, causing me to narrow my eyes at the phone. Why the hell was he calling me?

"What do you want?" I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.

"Brandt has requested to see you," he said. I couldn't stop the bitter laughter from breaking between my lips.

"You're serious?" I asked, my voice harsh and strained, "My mother is in the hospital clinging to her life because of him and he wants to see me?"

"I don't think you understand, Lance," he said, his voice low, "Your mother is a very manipulative woman. She pushed him to this. In a moment of passion, he couldn't help himself."

I frowned, anger pulsing through me as I remembered his reasons for hitting her when I was a child.

"So what caused this moment of passion?" I asked, through my teeth, "Was it because she forgot to have his suit picked up for the office or because a man glanced at her and dared to say hello? Or maybe it was that she didn't get home from one of the many socials he wanted her to go to in time?"

Brandt was quiet but then, he spoke again, "She was cheating on him and was leaving."

I raised my brows. My mother had finally found a way to get out on her own? I took a deep breath, rage pumping through me. She was finally going to leave but my father had punished her for it.

"It's sickening that you still think that is a fucking excuse for what he did," I said, through my teeth, "So, I'll leave you with this message for my dear old dad. Tell him I said, he doesn't exist to me anymore and I will make sure he doesn't exist to my mother also."

I pulled the phone away from my ear and ended the call before turning around and finding Becca standing there with her brows raised.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, softly.

I nodded, "It will be," I said, moving toward her and kissing her forehead, "Let's go back to bed. It's still early."

She took my hand and tugged me toward our bedroom.

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I walked into my mom's room with Becca beside me. I was relieved to find her awake staring at the television with a frown. The eye that had been swollen shut the day before was now partially open.

"Hi, Mom," I said as we stepped closer to the bed.

She turned her head toward us, her eyes filling with tears, "Hi, Lance," she said her bottom lip trembling before she turned to Becca, "You said your name was Becca, correct?"

"You're beautiful," she said, softly, "You seem sweet. Thank you for being there for me when I woke up yesterday."

"You're welcome," Becca said, her smile moving over her lips.

Then, my mother's eyes settled on me, a frown marring her brow, "I've wanted to say these words to you and Gideon for a long time," she said, her eyes filling with tears, "I'm so sorry...Sorry for staying...Sorry for not explaining and making it seem as if I didn't care for either of you."

She winced, grabbing her ribs as she tried to adjust herself on the bed. I moved forward and helped her, "You don't to worry about all of that right now," I said as my heart ached.

She turned toward me and then, raised her chin, "I do need to...Because I was close to not ever being able to say them," she said, shifting, "The night you left, I knew I couldn't leave without your father harming not only me but you, Gideon and my dad. So, I stayed. As long as I stayed, he didn't hurt the ones I loved."

My eyes moved over her face, her words hurting but healing. She had sent us away to protect us? She had stayed to protect us?

She continued, "I never forgot you or Gideon. I missed and loved you every day. I know you probably don't believe me but I wanted you to know."

I swallowed as the emotions warred within me because I was still angry but there was a hint of truth that I couldn't ignore within her words.

"Mom," I said, softly, "I do believe you but it doesn't mean that the pain is gone. I love you. I've always loved you. We'll work on this okay?"

She nodded and then, swallowed, "The doctor said Courtland Ruthers was here," she said, her eyes darting toward the door, "I don't want to speak to him."

"He called this morning," I said, tilting my head as I studied her, "He tried to give excuses for what dad did to you but mom, there are no excuses. Dad was a monster for hurting you. I made it known that dad doesn't exist to me anymore."

My mother flinched, "What excuses did he give Courtland?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Does it matter?" I asked, raising a brow.

"I would like to know," she said, sighing, "I need to prepare myself. That's the only reason I want to know."

"His reasons were cheating and you were leaving," I said, studying her face.

"I was doing both," she said glancing down at her body before meeting my eyes, "But I don't think I deserved this."

"You were leaving?" I asked, happy to hear it.

"I was and the man who was helping me was Ryland Boyce. He is a divorce attorney. He and I are close."

My lips twitched. I knew Ryland well. He had often taught classes in college.

"If you would like me to give him a call, I will," I said as my mother's eyes lost most of their darkness.

"But what about the rumors?" She asked, raising her brows, "I don't want them to hurt you and Gideon or Becca and I don't want them to hurt Ryland."

"Gideon, Becca and I will be okay, mom," I said, patting her hand, "Ryland is a grown man. I'll call him and let him make the decision."

She nodded but there was something alive in her eyes where I had only seen death and darkness before. I inhaled, taking a deep breath for the first time in what felt like ages and knew that I was finally healing.