I sat in the drive way, banging my head against the steering wheel. My mother would surely kick my ass if she could see me now. I walked out on a lady. Granted, we were in a possibly compromising situation since she is the boss’ daughter, but I was taught to never walk out on someone.
As I turned the ignition on the car, Saving Abel’s Sailed Away drifted through the speakers. Pulling away from the Swan residence, I briefly wondered what Miss Bella would tell her father when he asked why my car was still sitting in their driveway.. Turning back toward town, I began to sing along as I thought about everything I had ruined and given up when I moved to pursue my dreams.
“Does it hurt to hear me say, that I never really meant to stay, I left you right where I want you.” I sang, remembering the hurt on my mother’s face when I told her I refused to play into her high society game.
That was the day I realized that my mother didn’t love me for the attentive son I was. She wanted to better the family name after she forced it to be synonymous with scandal and improper behavior. First, she wanted me to marry Maria. Then, she hoped it would be Charlotte. When I failed to get either girl to agree to marry me, my mother continued down the debutant list, each girl getting younger than the last. I finally had enough my senior year and told her I was moving to New Orleans to become a cop. She disowned me, cutting off any connection I had to my family and friends.
No one wanted to talk to the poor boy, so I stuck my head into my books and graduated early with honors and at the top of my class. I packed up my childhood room, while my mother watched, tight lipped from the doorway. I knew she wanted to say something, most likely a snide remark or bitchy comment about my apparent abandonment of her and my younger sisters, Lucy, Nettie and Rose.
She had done the same guilt trip to Emmett and Eric when they left for school. It had them reconsidering their decisions; however, it wouldn’t work for me. She couldn’t give me anything that would make me give up my dream to save hers. My father had always told me it was our job to stand up for those who couldn’t do that for themselves, so that was exactly what I was going to do.
I put the car into gear as my memory and the song came to an end, listening to the engine purr before slowly making my way out of the quiet outskirts and back toward the loud center where my apartment was, taking solace in the hustle and bustle of the city. I walked into my apartment, sighing when I noticed the pale pink envelope sitting on my counter with Rose’s delicate script decorating the front. I put my keys down next to it, turning it over a couple of times before setting it down and pouring myself a glass of Jameson. I knew eventually I would have to open that letter, even though I already had an idea as to what it contained. Rose wasn’t one to be ignored.
Rose was the youngest out of the six of us, which allowed her to get away with anything, but also meant that most days she was fighting for attention. Over the years, she had mastered the art of getting attention without having to say a word, and now, everyone of her siblings knew better than to ignore her. Finishing my drink I opened the envelope, quickly reading what was on the page before calling Peter and packing what I would need into my car.
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