Completed: a Devoured
novella
Chapter 18
“You’re leaving?” I repeat my mother’s words, stunned by the
bombshell she just dropped on my brother and me. Honestly, this is the last
thing I expected her to say. When she nods, I pull my brows together in a frown.
“When did you decide to do this? And where exactly are you moving?” By now, I’m
literally sitting on the edge of my seat, dying to know what Mom has up her
sleeve this time.
She stops pacing a few feet from entrance to living room.
With her back turned to us, she lifts her thin shoulders into a shrug. “Why
does it matter when I decided to get the hell out of here? All you need to know
is that I’m leaving a week from now to stay with friends.”
I cringe. Because the first thing that comes to my mind are
the friends she used to surround herself with when Seth and I were kids. “How—”
I start to ask, but Mom cuts me off by turning around and holding up her hands
to stop me.
“And no, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for, but I can’t
be around this type of environment anymore.”
The irritated tone that she uses when she speaks those words,
and the way she gestures around at my living room, puts a sour taste in my
mouth. From opposite ends of the couch, Seth and I glance at each other. His
brown eyes are narrowed into thin slits, and when he mouths, “What the fuck?” I
know he’s thinking the same thing I am.
Aggravated, I come
right out and confront her. “Mom, if you’re trying to say that the reason that
you’re leaving is because of us, you can stop right there.”
“Nobody said a damn thing about you being the reason,
Sienna.” Sitting down on the edge of the chaise lounge by the fireplace, she
combs her hands through her strawberry blond hair and sighs. “Maybe you’re
thinking that way because you’re guilty.”
“Neither of us is guilty,” I retort before Seth can say a
word, and he gives me a nod before turning his focus back on our mother.
“Have you told Gram about your plans yet?” he asks.
My muscles tighten in suppressed anger when Mom rolls her
green eyes and lifts her shoulders again. I already know she’s going to say
something totally warped, so I should just cover my ears, but I don’t. “Why does it matter?” she asks, looking me
right in the eye as she says it, knowingly baiting me.
Those four words start the argument. It’s heated and I’m
sure my new neighbors can probably hear the back and forth yelling that echoes
through the giant house, but I don’t care. By the time Seth leaves, taking our
mother along with him, I’m shaking and my entire body is flushed because here’s
the thing: I can deal just fine with Mom’s flippant attitude toward me—hell,
I’m used to it—but for her not to even consider Gram’s feelings…
Well, that infuriates me.
I’m still fuming
when I go out to dinner with Gram and Seth two nights later. Because Lucas is
flying in to Nashville later tonight, we opt for an earlier than usual time to
meet at one of Gram’s favorite restaurant in Green Hills. Since I moved back to
Nashville earlier this year, we try to have dinner out at least once a month,
but tonight we sit in unusual silence. It reminds me of the time we came here this
last summer—right before I left to go on tour with Lucas and Your Toxic Sequel.
Seth had turned dinner into an awkward situation when he’d lectured me about
leaving with Lucas, even going as far as to give me safe sex advice.
Tonight, however, my little brother says nothing.
He doesn’t want to break our grandma’s heart with the news
that Mom is planning on leaving without telling her, and neither do I.
By the time we get through our appetizers and the waiter
brings out our main course, Gram has had enough of the uncomfortable silence. From
her spot next to me, she sets her sweet tea down beside her plate and sits back
in the booth. She stares between my brother and me. “Seth, when you don’t talk,
I know something is wrong.” Her bright blue eyes narrow. “Tell me what’s going
on.”
Seth focuses his dark eyes down at his plate, and across
from him, I tap my fingers on the table. He doesn’t look up. Of course, my
little brother would lose his ability to speak and leave this up to me. I
release a heavy sigh. “Gram, Mom talked to Seth and me the other day, and—”
“She’s skipping town.” It isn’t a question—and there’s not
even a hint of surprise in her voice. She already knows about this, and I feel
my heart sink. Seth’s gaze pops up, and we both stare at her, waiting for her
to continue. She takes another sip of her sweet tea. “I figured it out when she
asked me for money.”
“How much?” I whisper.
“Five thousand.”
I swallow hard. Gram’s not a rich woman. Thanks to my mom,
she’d lost her home at the beginning of this year. To think that she’s being
played again makes me see red. “Gram … did you give it to her?” I ask in the
gentlest tone I can manage.
She shakes her head, turning her attention on the half-eaten
grilled salmon on her plate. A sad smile plays at the corner of her mouth. “But
boy did she give me a story about wanting to start over. Sienna, Seth … I want
her to start over—more than anything else, I want that for your mother—but I
can’t do it anymore.”
“So, is she still planning to move?” my brother asks, not
even trying to hide the hope in his voice.
“Thanks for finally contributing to the conversation,” I say
under my breath, and he shoots me a dark look as my grandmother responds to his
question with an unsure nod.
When Gram turns toward me, covers my hand with hers, I already
know what she’s about to tell me, but I still suck in a breath through my teeth
when she says, “She’s planning to ask Lucas for money, Sienna. I thought it was
fair to warn you.”
“Fuck,” Seth says, and Gram presses her lips into a line,
causing him to immediately apologize.
I start to tell them both that Lucas absolutely won’t give
my mother the time of day, but then I vividly recall how he’d aided her before
with her early release. It had been an attempt to get her off my back, but his
plan had backfired when she decided to place herself directly into my life
again. Lucas has said over and over again how different my mood is when Mom is
around, so who knows what he’d be willing to do to make her leave.
Turning my hand, I give Gram’s fingers a little squeeze.
“I’ll talk to him tonight.”