Stone: The Ties that Bind (The Forbidden Love Series Book 4) Page 2

  “What, you enjoyed it?” Sadie giggled.

  I gave her a cross look.

  “You’re always joking around.” I said annoyed.

  “Hey, I’m sorry…” she whispered.

  “His hands; they felt…familiar. It was weird…just weird,” I opened the door to the restaurant and waited to be seated.

  “Okay, creepy man go away now.” Sadie turned around to the waitress. “Can we get seated please? I’m really hungry.” she shouted.

  “Stop that.” I said.

  “Can I help you young ladies?” Sadie nodded.

  “Table for six, please.” I said.

  “It’s about damn time. We’ve been waiting forever.” she yelled.

  The other girls were about to follow her, but then stopped when Sadie yelled.

  “What are you all looking at?” Sadie said angrily.

  “Sadie, did you take something?” I stared into her eyes.

  “What? No?” She said looking away.

  “She did. I saw her pop a pill while she waited to be seated,” Kathy shouted.

  “Sadie, you promised? No more drugs. That’s why I brought you on this trip. You’re going through the day treatment,” I whispered.

  “You’re not my fucking mother, Alyssa, you’re not perfect! Your mother was a Junkie whore and your father was a drug dealer!” She shouted at the top of her lungs in the restaurant.

  I stood frozen. I was taken off guard. I never expected her to shout that out in public. I glared at her then turned around and walked away. I’ve never heard anyone tell me that before, but, it was the truth. I swallowed hard as I continued to walk. The ball in my throat grew quickly. I was about to bust out in tears. I heard the other girls shouting my name, but I ignored them and kept walking towards the hotel.

  I finally reached the hotel glass doors and as they opened automatically, I saw my brother Daniel standing in the lobby.

  What the hell was he doing here?

  My eyebrows creased, and I walked over to him quickly.

  “Danny?” I whispered.

  “Lyssa, thank God I found you,” He hugged me immediately.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” I hugged him back.

  “I just needed some time off from school,” he said.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I…I haven’t been feeling well,” I grabbed his hand and his luggage, and we headed for the elevators.

  “Tell me,” I said worriedly.

  “Let’s get upstairs first,” he said in agony holding his stomach.

  We walked towards the room.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see this room so spotless,” he chuckled in pain.

  “It’s only me and Sadie,” I smiled and escorted him to the chair by the window.

  “Danny, what is it?”

  “I think I’m sick,”

  “Sick? What do you mean?”

  “I think I have what Bryan had?”

  “What? No, that can’t be,” my heart pounded rapidly against my chest.

  “I’ve been feeling dizzy; pain in my chest…”

  “How long have you had this?”

  “It’s been a month now,” he said in pain.

  I reached for my cell phone in my fanny pack.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “Momma, Danny. She needs to know,”

  I pressed the number and waited for an answer.

  “Momma?”

  “Lyssa, is everything okay?” she answered frantically.

  “No, I need two plane tickets home today. It’s Danny, he’s sick,” my voice trembled as the tears slid down my cheeks.

  “Daniel?” she shouted.

  “Momma, now, please. We’re leaving to the airport,” I hung up and started to pack up.

  “Lyssa, why are you doing this?” he grabbed my wrist gently.

  “Because you’re not going to die like Bryan did,” I said desperately.

  As I packed, I felt like it was the last thing on Earth I had to do. I was rushing, throwing my clothes into my suitcase and running to the bathroom to gather my things suddenly the door slammed open.

  “What’s going on here?” Sadie shouted.

  “I’m going home,” I whispered.

  “Home? What’s he doing here?” she walked towards me and I placed my hand against her chest.

  “Leave the room, Sadie until I finish packing,” I warned her.

  “This is my room. He needs to go,” She reached out to grab Daniel and he stood up and grabbed her by her arm.

  “I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, but you better fucking listen. Get out,” He barked.

  Sadie yanked her arm free from Danny’s grip and ran out of the room crying. The girls stood outside waiting for us to leave. I finished packing and grabbed my suitcase and Danny.

  On the way out the door, Kathy stared at Danny.

  “I hope everything is okay, Alyssa,” she said gazing at Danny.

  “I’ll see you back at school,” I whispered.

  My cell phone chimed, and it was the plane tickets my mother sent us electronically. The girls comforted her except for Kathy.

  “I’m leaving tomorrow. I don’t have time for this shit,” she said as she glanced over at Danny.

  “This is my brother Danny,” I said smiling.

  Danny smiled at her. Kathy was hit by the cupid arrow.

  “I’ll see you guys out,” Kathy said.

  Danny smiled. So, typical of him. Even sick he was still a flirt.

  The elevator doors opened, and Danny’s face twisted in pain. The stranger from the beach appeared in the lobby. My heart pounded against my chest, and I grabbed Kathy and Danny and walked towards the back of the hotel.

  “What’s going on?” Danny whispered.

  “Just follow me. I’ll tell you later,” I grabbed Kathy by the arm. “Go home today, Kathy, I have this strange feeling about that guy at the beach, remember? Plus, Sadie’s not in the right state of mind. Go home, please.” I hugged Kathy and told her I would get in touch with her when I got home.

  She smiled at Danny.

  “Feel better, see you soon,” She smiled then walked us to the front of the hotel as we flagged down a cab to the airport.

  “Get in,” I said to Danny.

  I glanced around the area and didn’t see the stranger again. A calm feeling washed over me until I looked to my left and he was standing there with a look of panic on his face staring directly into my eyes. I turned my head quickly and told the cab driver to step on the gas. My chest hurt from being so nervous and frightened, but I was also worried. Danny looked pale and I was so scared for him. The color drained out of his face. Even though I didn’t remember Bryan, I loved Danny. We were so close. I didn’t want to lose him. Ever.

  Chapter 3

  Jackson

  I woke up with a knot in my stomach. Seeing and touching Alyssa made me feel an instant connection to her. She was blood and there was no denying that. Coming back to New York without Alyssa was hard enough and now I had to get dressed quickly knowing that I would visit Melanie in her house of horrors. I dressed for the occasion, dark jeans, a black polo shirt and a pair of run down sneakers. I grabbed my wallet and waited for Frank to pick me up in front of my apartment. It was a long drive to Syracuse and driving to that filthy trailer certainly wasn’t the highlight of my day. Frank finally arrived, a few minutes late.

  “I’m sorry, Sir,” he said as he opened the back door to the car.

  “This isn’t like you Frank. Is everything okay? Are you unhappy with my services?” I said sarcastically.

  Frank’s smile disappeared.

  “Well, to be honest. I’m in a relationship now. When you don’t give me a heads up, I have to cancel my plans and it’s causing some friction between me and my girl,” He said in a low voice.

  “I see. I think we can fix that. I’d hate to lose you Frank,” I said glancing into the rear-view mirror as I stepped in to the back of the car. �
�My life is pretty unpredictable. I think you knew this when you took the job,”

  “I did, Sir. She’ll have to deal with it,” Frank nodded his head and began to drive.

  I sat back against the soft leather seat laughing inside. Frank knew he would be replaced when we drove back from Syracuse. He chose his words carefully and he knew I didn’t give a damn about his relationships. He continued to drive. I opened a bottle of wine that was in the mini fridge and helped myself to a nice, huge glass. We didn’t say a word to each other.

  *****

  We arrived at the mobile home community. Frank parked in front of the trailer. I saw Melanie getting ready to leave, locking the door behind her. I got of the car and walked towards her.

  “Going somewhere?” I asked.

  “I was waiting for you, Jackson,” she said startled.

  “Oh, that’s nice. Then, where were you going?” I asked sternly.

  “I didn’t want you to go inside again. I was embarrassed the last time you were here.” She glanced up at me. “I’m being evicted. I have to get my shit out by the end of the week,”

  “I see. I’m sorry about that.” I kind of felt sorry for the old bat. “Well, then let’s take a drive to the diner. I’ll get you something to eat,” I said escorting her to the car.

  Frank stepped out of the car and opened the door for her.

  “Ma’am,” he said.

  “Thanks,” she replied.

  “Frank, take us to the nearest diner, please,” I glanced over at her.

  Melanie was pale, and her eyes were wide. She looked coherent, but I couldn’t be sure. She combed her hair and had fresh clean clothing on. She tried to sit up tall. She was a thin, tall woman with a decent frame. She wasn’t ugly, but she wasn’t beautiful. She was simple, with a ton of wrinkles; a woman in her late sixties. She looked like she had a rough life and I already knew that was the truth.

  As we turned into the diner, she stared out the window. She was pondering and seemed hurt. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

  “We’re here, Sir,”

  “Good.”

  Frank stepped out of the car and opened my door. Melanie stepped out first and I followed. We walked towards the diner and I opened the door for her. She smiled, and I nodded my head like a gentleman. We sat at the back table near the wall.

  “Thanks,”

  “Order whatever you want,” I said.

  At that point, I was being kind and this woman wasn’t someone I wanted to be kind to.

  “Thanks,”

  “Hi, I’m Lennie. I’ll be your waitress today. What can I get you?” the young waitress asked.

  “I’ll have banana pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and an English muffin,” she said quickly. I glanced over at Melanie and chuckled. “Oh, and a cup of coffee with toast before the food comes out,” Melanie stared at me for a moment as if asking permission.

  I knew she was hungry, but I didn’t think she was starving.

  “I’ll have a cup of coffee and a slice of whatever pie you have,” The waitress rolled her eyes in her head as if she were thinking of the types of pies she had.

  “Um…we have, apple, peach cobbler or blueberry,”

  “Blueberry, please.”

  The waitress took our order and walked away.

  “Jackson, if we are going to have this conversation. You need to tell me who you are and what you really want?” Melanie glanced around the diner nervously.

  “I want to do this the right way. But, I have to warn you, I’m not a nice guy. I’m damaged goods. I have no family left and I want Alyssa in my life. I need answers and I want them today,” The waitress returned with the coffee and toast and set it on the table before us. I glanced up at her and she smiled.

  “My daughter Ana was a product of my mistakes. My mother did to me, what I did to Ana, except my mother didn’t know her boyfriend was raping me. Ana was a product of that rape and I hated her. I was seventeen years old when I had her. I was a mess. A junkie, a prostitute and I sold my baby daughter for drugs. I taught her everything I knew since she was ten years old. I never loved her, so I showed her the ropes, so she wouldn’t starve or let anyone hurt her. She’d have food, drugs and sex and would never need anything else,” She sipped on her coffee and buttered her toast. “Can you pass the grape jelly please?” she asked.

  I stared at her for a moment in disbelief. She spoke about her daughter and buttered her toast as if she were bragging about her being valedictorian and was the best mother in the world.

  “Here you go. Tell me. Tell me when Stone was born?” I asked.

  I was curious to know when he and Madison were born and how they could possibly fall in love with each other being brother and sister.

  “Stone?”

  “Yes, Stone,”

  “Why do you want to know about him? What does he have to do with anything?”

  “He was Ana’s son, right?” I stared in to her wrinkled blue eyes.

  They grew dark and cold immediately.

  “No. Joseph was…A friend of mine’s son. I did him favor.”

  “What do you mean, you did him a favor?”

  “Look, my daughter was always strung out. She didn’t even remember she gave birth to any of her real kids. I, I…told her that Joseph was her son, before Madison. She really did get pregnant, but that baby died.”

  “Why? Why did you tell her that?” At this point, the conversation was getting weird.

  “Mickey wanted to get away from it all. He was junkie, too. I thought he would kill Joseph, I mean Stone. Annette was Stone’s Mother, but she was afraid of Mickey and did what he said. She gave Stone to Mickey to get sober, so she could be a better mother, but he never loved her and didn’t get back with her. He loved Ana.”

  “I don’t understand how Mickey is involved,”

  “Mickey loved Ana and she loved him. They were two junkies in love, but they fought all the time. They’d hook up, got married, He’d beat her, she’d get pregnant, he’d leave, he’d come back, they’d make up and the circle continued. I loved Mickey because I knew he loved Ana, but he was filled with rage, an uncontrollable rage I didn’t understand. I felt sorry for Joseph. No matter what his father did to him, he always protected him. I was grateful for that. So, I did Mickey a favor and told Mickey, Stone could live with Ana, so he wouldn’t be alone when he took off. Mickey wanted to be with Annette again, but he didn’t want Stone. Stone deserved some type of stability and I knew he would protect Madison and the kids. Mickey lied to him and told him Ana was his mother just, so he could get rid of him. Mickey didn’t want to be with Ana anymore. So, he left with Annette. Stone’s real mother.”

  She chewed on her toast carefully, like it was the last meal she was going to have. I was confused.

  “But, didn’t Stone know who his mother was?”

  “No. It wasn’t on his birth certificate. There was a mix up of some sort. I knew Annette was his mother. I was there the day he was born.”

  “This story is not making any sense. It’s confusing as hell.”

  “Mickey was my friend’s son. It makes a lot of sense, trust me.”

  “You’ve known Stone and Mickey all those years?”

  “Joseph didn’t know me though. He was just a baby.”

  “Okay, I need to know if…“

  “Wait, there’s something you should know.” she whispered.

  I sat up in my chair and leaned in to listen carefully.

  “I’m no good. I know that, and I’ve done some rotten shit in my life, but this was the worst thing that I could have ever done, and I need to get it off my chest,”

  “I’m not here for your confessions, Melanie. I don’t give a shit what you did.”

  “Please, I need to tell someone. Please, just listen. I think you’re going to want to know this,” she pleaded.

  I sat back and wondered what this old bag was going to tell me. I didn’t care to know, but she seemed desperate to tell someone, so I let her.
<
br />   “Talk…”

  “Madison is not Mickey Shelton’s daughter. I lied. I had a friend that worked at the birth certificate place in Syracuse. I asked her to put Mickey Shelton on the birth certificate. Madison’s father is some dude named Lewis, John or Jacob Lewis. He was working undercover trying to get the head drug dealer in our town. He slept with Ana and got her pregnant. I made her change it because, well, that suit threatened to kill me.” She said angrily.

  I listened to her carefully, trying to fit all of the pieces together.

  “You mean Stone and Madison weren’t related?” I said with a raised eyebrow.

  “No, and Mickey…he hurt Madison; she told me, but I didn’t believe her. I regret what I did every day of my life.” Her hands shook as she dropped her fork onto her plate. She closed her eyes in pain and the tears pushed through her eyelashes down her cheeks.

  “What kind of monster are you?” I said shocked.

  I sat up in my chair, leaning as far away from her as I could. If I could’ve shot, her right there I would’ve.

  “Didn’t you hear what I said? That suit threatened my life!” she barked.

  “Suit? You mean a guy like me? I didn’t like Stone because he killed Andrew but, that kid loved Madison and those kids. He killed for her. He went to jail. He killed for her again, killing the man who tortured her and then shooting and killing my brother because he thought there was no way out thinking he was her brother. Do you have any idea how you destroyed him and those kids? What would happen if Madison found this out?” I banged on the table with my fist.

  Melanie jumped in her seat and stared at me with fear in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I know,”

  “No, you don’t.” I perused the diner.

  I couldn’t contain my anger.

  “Is Alyssa Sylvester’s?” I barked through gritted teeth.

  “Yes, she is.”

  “You’ve lied about everything else. How do I know, you’re not lying about Sylvester?”

  “Your brother showed up a few days later after Alyssa was born. He asked for a DNA test, you know the one you buy from the drug store. We bought it together and that night I babysat Alyssa when Madison went to work, and we did the test.”

  “If you’re lying to me, I’ll put a bullet in your head,” My breath quickened.