Bend, p.1
Bend, page 1
Chapter 1
Silver
I look at my reflection in the mirror and I don’t even recognize myself. I know it’s me, but after all the surgeries, no one else will know. I’m no longer me. That’s the whole point.
“Nothing is going to stop us now, Silver.” I look up at my mom behind me in the mirror, our blue eyes clashing in the reflection.
“Nothing,” I repeat her words. She smiles as she applies her red lipstick to her perfect lips. Mine are perfect now. Once thin lines, they are now full, bow-shaped, and perfect.
“Are you ready for tonight? We have to mingle and act like we give two shits about this charity,” she adds, as I finish curling my long blonde hair. Blonde. There’s a color I never thought I’d be. I was born with dark hair that I now bleach out and dye blonde. It’s all part of the plan. Be someone else to gain back what’s rightfully ours and we will get it all back.
“I’m ready. Isn’t this what we’ve been preparing for the last three years?” When my hair’s finished, I set the iron down and grab my eye liner. The black that smudges under my eyes makes the blues pop even more.
“It is. You know this is all going to work, right Silver?” I nod my head as I finish up with my makeup and turn to move away from the sink.
“We don’t have a choice but to make this work. We’re going broke,” I remind her, grabbing my heels off the floor and slipping my feet into them. We weren’t always broke. In fact, we used to live in a house that was damn near a mansion until one man, one night, ruined that for us. He stole it all and took off into the night. Mom hated herself for letting him do that to her, but it wasn’t her fault. It was his. He knew how to work her and get what he wanted. And from that day on, we learned how to play the game. We had to learn. We were homeless, jobless, and without money. We eventually had to get on food stamps and live in this one-bedroom shithole. We knew what we were doing, and with every party we attend, we know the outcome. We aren’t just stupid women out for a good time. No, we need money and we need it now.
“You’re getting better and better at this, Silver.”
“I have an amazing teacher, Priscilla.”
She smirks at me over her shoulder before stepping out of our tiny bathroom and coming toward me. “I hate this is what we have to do, but once we get the money back, we won’t have to do this any longer.”
“I know, Mom. And honestly, this isn’t so bad. Although you know how much I hate dresses,” I remind her with a smile.
“Hated. You love them now.”
I look down at the tight red silk dress that clings to my eighteen-year-old frame like a second skin and shrug. I suppose it isn’t all that bad. I do look semi-good I think.
“They’re not as bad as I imagined them before. I do my miss my hair though,” I tell her. She smiles and grabs my chin in her fingers, lifting my gaze to hers.
“I miss it too but once this is over, you can go back to being you, baby. You can be whoever you want to be.”
Maybe she’s right. Or maybe I can’t. Who the hell knows because I sure as hell don’t? My life the last three years has not been an easy one. From one surgery to the next, no one should have to go through what I did. The pain from each one of them will reap the rewards at some point, but will it take away my identity altogether?
“I don’t know if I’d want to go back to being her. I’m used to this new me.” I shove off the chair that I took a quick seat on and stand, checking myself out before grabbing my clutch purse and heading toward the door.
“You’re just as beautiful now as you were then, Silver. You can pull off any look you want, and honestly, I sort of like you like this. You’re the little girl I always wanted and not the tomboy you chose to be.”
I giggle at her words. She isn’t saying it to be mean; she’s saying it because it’s true. I was never into this stuff before. I had no idea what was in and what wasn’t. I didn’t know a damn thing about makeup or what high end fashion was, but now? That’s all I know.
“She was pretty bad, wasn’t she?”
“No. She was still you. Your look might be different, Silver, but your attitude is all you, baby. Don’t let anyone change that. Be who you are regardless of what you look like.”
Easy for her to say. She isn’t the one that’s going to attend high school at one of the most prestigious private schools, with some of the richest little bastards that live in our town. The thought alone makes my stomach churn. I don’t want to go to Jackson Hills Prep. I don’t want to pretend to fit in with the elite, even though I was the elite at one point in my life.
Mom pulls the door closed behind us as we walk toward the stairs. I step over Rod, the local homeless man, on my way down.
“Rod, I’ll bring you something to eat later,” I tell him, as I try not to touch the filthy rail.
“Thanks, Reece. You’re a good girl.”
I throw him a quick smile and continue down the stairs littered with trash and old beer cans. This is what our lives have come to. This is how we live now.
“I think we should look at that apartment over on Ninth,” Mom says. I shrug my shoulders and head toward the sidewalk, ready to catch a cab. I wave one down, watching as it pulls to a stop and open the door.
“Sure, whatever you want.”
That’s the way we work. I’ll do whatever I can to make my mom happy. I was always that girl. The one who pleased her mom, but lately that girl has been slipping. She’s falling into a place that I’m not sure anyone could touch.
Chapter 2
Cash
“I have a fucking headache,” I tell my dad once more when he asks why I’m not wearing my tuxedo yet.
“No, you don’t. Get up, Cash. You’re going to make us late,” he snaps. Like that’s anything new. I don’t give two shits about these events, but my dad has to put on a show for all the other elites of this town. There are many days that I wish we didn’t have a fucking dime, but at the same time, I spend money like there’s a never-ending supply. I suppose to us there is. We aren’t hurting for anything. Never have and with the way business is going, we never will.
Shoving myself off the bed, I move to the closet and grab the tux I’m supposed to wear tonight. It’s always a good time, these events, but at the same time, I’m sick of them. It’s always the same rich snobs wanting to see how quickly they can show up the others.
“I was told there were going to be some new people in attendance tonight,” my dad says as I strip and change quickly. I button each button on my white dress shirt, leaving the top three undone before grabbing my shoes.
“Oh really? Are we getting some new competition?” He chuckles at my question when I step back into my room.
“Not a chance in hell. There is no one higher than us,” he adds. I smirk. I already know that. How my dad comes into money? Well that’s a long story, but for the most part, a majority of it is legit.
“Do we know who it is?”
“Not yet. We’ll be able to pick them out, that much I’m sure. Hurry up and I’ll meet you downstairs.” I watch him leave the room and greet someone in the hall then Mac walks into my room.
“I feel like a jackass,” Mac, my best friend, whines as he walks in tugging at his collar.
“You look like a fucking jackass, too.” He flips me off and walks to my dresser, pulling the top drawer open and grabbing the bottle of cognac. I watch as he takes a quick pull and puts it back.
“I hate these events. Charities that mean shit to us, just so our precious parents can make a fucking dollar.”
“Why do you complain when you inherit it all when they die?” I ask, as I stand and grab my jacket.
“When is that? Huh? Like another sixty years from now?” I laugh at the annoyed look on his face.
“Unless there’s an accident,” I tell him.
“I like the way you think, Cash.”
“I know, that’s why we’re friends. Just stick to the plan and everything else will fall into place.” Mac nods, although I know he will be crying about this event again before we even get there. Not that I blame him, I hate them too, but they are a necessary evil that we must endure for the greater good.
“I overheard your dad say that there are going to be some new people tonight. Any clue who it is?”
“No. I don’t know any more than you do.” He huffs out a breath as we both walk out of my room and down the hall. Our house is massive, a mansion of sorts. It makes me sick that I even have to live here. Who the hell needs something like this when there’s only the two of us? Mom split long ago when Dad couldn’t keep his cock in his pants, and I can’t say that I blame her there. I had the option - go with her or stay behind with Dad. But Mom wasn’t the same after she left. Hell, even before that. She started drinking, which lead to her own infidelity. I suppose they aren’t that much different in that regard.
“Cash, let’s go!” my dad snaps, even as I make my way down the steps with Mac right behind me. He glances up from his hundred-thousand-dollar watch, his eyes full of mischief and greed. I have no doubts about what his intentions are for the evening. Everything to him comes back to money. Money we don’t need yet he craves.
“Who is your victim tonight?” I ask, as we make our way to the door.
“Victim? They would have to go against me in order to be a victim, Cash. Not many women do that,” he says with a chuckle. It isn’t a lie. My dad is a very sought-after man. He’s the newest bachelor here in Jackson Hills and one of the wealthiest at that. That alone makes him irresistible to most
“Fine, who is your chosen one this evening?” I ask, as the door to the limo is opened and we all start to climb in.
“Valerie Mansfield will be in attendance tonight.”
“Jesus,” Mac hisses under his breath.
“Problem, Mac?” my dad asks, training his gaze on my best friend. The reason we’re such good friends is because we both loath the idea of taking the way my dad does.
“None at all, Mr. St. Clair.”
My dad nods his head before the door is closed. We wait in silence as the driver starts the car and pulls out of our driveway.
Me? I reach for the bottle of wine that sits in the cooler, popping the top off and drinking from the bottle.
“You’re eighteen, Cash.”
“And?” I ask, taking another drink.
“And don’t overdo it. Not tonight. The Governor will be in attendance as well and I can’t have him thinking my son ended up just like his drunken mother.” The way he says it makes me cringe. He’s half the reason she ended up the way she did. I take one last drink and shove the bottle back into the cooler before leaning back in my seat. My dad sets about doing whatever it is he does on his phone while I stare out the window, Mac sitting silently next to me. One day all of this will be for nothing. At least for him anyway.
He doesn’t know it yet, and I sure as hell won’t be the one to break it to him until the time comes. Until then I will sit back and play the part of the good son that everyone portrays me to be.
“I can already smell the old lady perfume,” Mac grumbles under his breath making me laugh.
“You have a thing for it, don’t you?”
“Like fuck I do. The last bitch my dad brought home had to be in her sixties and smelt like moth balls and dead roses. I couldn’t get the smell out of my nose for a month.”
I laugh. My dad surprises me when he actually cracks a smile too.
“I don’t think he will be going home with any older women tonight. This event isn’t geared toward those types,” my dad decides to chime in.
Great. My new stepmom may be making an appearance tonight, whoever she may be. She wouldn’t be the first one and I already know she won’t be the last.
Chapter 3
Silver
The whole place reeks of riches. I would know that scent better than anyone, but I never liked it. In fact, most of my life I hated it. I didn’t like the looks people would give me just because we had money. I didn’t like the way others would look down on us for having it too. There are always two sides to every story.
“This place makes me sick,” I mumble, as my mom loops her arm through mine.
“I never understood why you hated having money. You didn’t want for anything, you always had it all,” she says, as we walk through the massive room.
“Maybe that’s why. I don’t like things being handed to me; you know that.” She nods her head, already well aware of that fact.
“Well, we have to do what we have to do, Silver.”
I nod as she slips her arm from mine and starts across the room. I see her target, a wealthy man in his early forties. She’ll flirt and play the part just as well as I will. My targets are the younger ones. Being that I just turned eighteen, it is technically less disgusting than before my birthday. Even then, grown men would flock to me like a moth to a flame, and that thought alone sends a chill down my spine.
Walking over to the drink tables, I take a champagne. Underage drinking? Why, yes I do. Champagne isn’t my first choice but at these ritzy-ass events no one cares if an eighteen-year-old girl is drinking. All they care about is appearance, and I keep up a damn good one.
With my drink in hand, I survey the room. I’m not as fast as my mom when it comes to picking a man for the evening. I take my time, calculating my moves. I don’t want to be sloppy in my work, so I make my decisions based on multiple factors. I have to find the perfect candidate. He has to be somewhat good looking if I’m going to shove my tongue down his throat. He also must possess a certain aura about him. One that screams I have money but doesn’t all out throw it in your face. Call me a picky thief.
Standing in the darkest corner of the room, I eye the collection of possibilities when one just happens to fall into my lap.
“Can’t stand these things either, huh?”
“What makes you say that?”
“You’re hiding out in the corner eyeing the crowd like they have the plague,” he says. I giggle a little and turn to face him. Blond hair is cut and styled perfectly on top of his head, while big blue eyes shine back at me.
“So, I’ve been caught. Large gatherings aren’t really my thing,” I tell him.
“Mac.” He holds his hand out to me and I gladly take it.
“Silver.” He cocks his head to the side, those eyes shining brighter than they were moments ago.
“Unique. I like it. Are you new here, Silver?” The way he says my name makes me think I made the right choice for the night. He’s going to be my target.
“I am. I’ll be moving here soon, right before school starts.”
“Jackson Hills Prep?” he asks, never letting my hand fall from his. God, he made this too easy for me.
“That’s the one. Do you go there?”
“Senior this year. You?”
“Senior.”
“What made you come here?” he asks and the bullshit story of my made-up life falls from my lips. From the cheating father that ran off with his secretary, to the wounded mother who’s only looking for love. I tell the story of a liar that’s worthy enough of a damn Emmy.
“Wow. That’s pretty shitty of your dad. Not much different than most around here. Money does strange things to people,” he adds.
“You don’t agree?”
He looks down at me, a strand of his perfectly polished hair falling over his forehead. He chuckles lightly and shakes his head, making him appear even more gorgeous than he did to begin with. I’ll almost regret playing him tonight.
“Not really. Money is nice but it doesn’t make the world go around, although some wouldn’t agree,” he says, his face very serious.
“Is that so? Who wouldn’t agree?” I ask, curious now to know his answer.
“Take a look around, sweetheart. A majority of these people thrive off their money. It’s what makes them important, but there’s a rare few that don’t care either way.” I raise my eyebrows, a little shocked that he said that. The music shifts when Mac looks away. Now I almost do feel sorry for choosing him. Maybe I should weigh my options once more. Gazing around the room, people move to the dance floor, laughing and enjoying the night. I on the other hand am sick of it already.
“Will you excuse me,” he says. I nod and watch him walk away, heading for the dance floor. He walks up to a man I assume to be his father, shoving him back a step from the lady he’s dancing with. They share a few words before I turn and walk away.
I head down the first hallway I can find before pulling the small bottle from my purse. I can’t deal with this bullshit sober. That’s when I hear people laughing and talking. Taking a quick pull, I shove the small bottle back into my purse and move toward the sounds. As soon as I step outside, I see a group of kids around my age. As soon as they see me, the chatting stops, the bottles are held behind their backs, and all eyes shoot to me. I raise my hands and smile.
“Don’t let me stop you.” They all glance around at each other before one of the girls steps forward.
“Who are you?”
“Silver,” I say, offering my hand. She looks down at my hand before dragging it back to my face.
“We don’t know you, Sliver.”
“It’s Silver and I don’t know you either. I just heard talking and thought I’d come say hello. I’ll be going to Jackson Hills Prep for my senior year.”
“She’s right, we don’t know you.” I hear the man’s voice growl behind me, but I don’t turn to look at him. The look on these fools’ faces says it all. He’s the ruler of their little kingdom. Instead of looking over my shoulder at him, I turn and start to walk away. Once I’m closer to the building, hands clamp down on my waist, warm breath hits my neck.
“Who are you?”
“Get your hands off me,” I say softly.
