K. Robinson - Twisted Ties

“Why? I figured you would have found a shop to work at here.”

“What’s the point? My mom freaks out every time I mention wanting to tattoo. She wants me to go to college and do something with my life,” he said the last part sarcastically.

“It’s your life. You get to choose what you want. No one else can control your decisions.”

“Tell my mom that.”

“Not a chance on your life. I stood up to my mom. You have to stand up to yours.”

“It’s not about standing up to her. I don’t want to hurt her. She doesn’t want me to end up in the same place we were before we moved here with Mark. So, I’m in college, trying to get a business degree. Just think how hot I’ll be if I have to wear a business suit.”

“I’m sure you’d look awesome in a suit, but do you really want to spend your life in one?”

“I will, if it means I can give you a nice life.”

“Jesse, we’ve been over this a million times. I don’t care how much money I have as long as I’m with you. All I want is to be happy.”

“You might not care, but I do. I want to make sure that you’re taken care of. I know I can’t give you what you have now, but I’ll try my hardest to get you as close to it as I can.”

I dropped my head back onto his chest in defeat. “You’re the most hardheaded person I’ve ever met.”

“You like me when I’m hard,” he teased as he ran his fingertips up and down my arm.

“Pervert.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Quit changing the subject.” I sat up and smiled at him as a thought struck me. “I have an idea.”

“Does it have anything to do with my hard head?”

“No. I have a solution for your problem. Why don’t you get your business degree like your mom wants and use what you’ve learned to open your own tattoo shop? By that time, I’ll be over twenty-one, so my trust fund will be available to me. I can give you the money to get started.”

“Not a chance. There’s no way I’m going to let you blow your money like that. Plus, I’d have to go through an apprenticeship on top of school.”

“First of all, I’m not blowing my money. It would be an investment for our future. And second, so what? It would take a while to do the apprenticeship, but it would be worth it in the end.”

“Emma, I don’t feel comfortable doing that.”

“Just think about it, okay? We have four years to figure this stuff out.”

“I like the we in there. It’s nice to hear it again.”

“You’d better get used to it.”

He pulled me to him. “It’ll be hard, but I think I can manage.”

His mouth was on mine before I could respond. I was glad that we didn’t have to decide on anything right now. I’d much rather spend the next four years right where I was—in his bed.

I straightened my skirt in front of the mirror again. I pulled it down a bit, wondering if it was too short. I didn’t want to look like a skank.

“How long do you plan to stand there, staring at yourself?” Jesse asked as he watched me from the bed.

“Until I think I look okay,” I said as I stared at him in the mirror.

“You look fine. Actually, you look better than fine. You look amazing.”

“I’m nervous.”

“Why? You already met my mom.”

“That was two years ago. She knows something happened between us, and now, we’re back together all of a sudden.”

“And?”

“I don’t want her to hate me.”

“Emma, I already told you not to worry. My mom has never hated you, and she’s not going to start now.”

“You don’t know that. She might secretly hate me.”

He threw a pillow over his head and groaned into it. “Shoot me now.”

I fiddled with my skirt for a few seconds longer before turning to him. “I think I’m ready.”

“Finally. Let’s go before you decide you need to recheck your hair or something.”

“Oh, you’re right! I should check my hair.” I turned back to the mirror and pretended to inspect my reflection. “I think it looks bad like this. Maybe I should straighten it.”

He jumped from the bed and grabbed me. I shrieked as he threw me over his shoulder. He laughed as he carried me through the house and out the door while I kicked and tried to get free.

So much for making sure that my skirt is straight.

“If you don’t stop freaking out, I’m going to make you walk into their house naked,” he threatened.

“Hardy har har,” I grumbled as he put me down beside his car.

“We’re going to be late for dinner, thanks to you. Maybe my mom really will hate you since it’s your fault.”

I stuck my tongue out as I opened the passenger door and got in. He could make fun of me all he wanted, but I was still nervous. I’d destroyed Jesse two years ago, and while he might have forgiven me, that didn’t mean his mom would.

He turned up the radio once we were on the interstate. I couldn’t help but laugh as he sang along with the songs. Singing was definitely not a strong point of his.

“Are you making fun of my singing?” he asked, pretending to be offended.

“Not at all.”

“Good—because I sing like an angel. I could have made a career out of it.”

“Sure, you could,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

He continued to sing as he drove down the interstate. His mom and Mark lived in Weston, which was about an hour or so away from Morgantown. I stared out the window as we went farther south. This was the farthest away from Morgantown I’d been so far.

I couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful West Virginia was. The hills went on for miles and miles until a larger one blocked out the ones behind it. It was late September, and the leaves were already changing. The colors were striking. Deep reds and burnt orange colors dominated the landscape. Only a few trees held on to their green leaves at this time of year.

I remembered Jesse saying that his mom had wanted to come back to West Virginia to look at the leaves. Now, I understood why. The landscape was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I glanced over at Jesse and smiled. Okay, after Jesse, it was the second most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

He hit the exit ramp at the Weston exit and then turned on to a narrow two-lane road. My nerves were shot at this point. I knew we were close. I glanced out my side window to see us passing a humongous barn with Weston Livestock Auction written across it. I smiled. That wasn’t something to be seen in California—at least, not where we had lived in California.

We continued to drive until the houses started to thin out. They were replaced with wide-open fields. My eyes widened as I stared at the cattle grazing in some of them. It was the first time that I’d ever seen a cow in real life. They were kind of cute.

He gave his signal and turned up a gravel driveway. Trees surrounded us on both sides as we drove down the curvy road. The trees were pretty when they were far away, but it was nothing compared to seeing them up close. Jesse laughed at my excited expression over something as simple as leaves.

“What? I think they’re cool. Did you see the cows back there? They’re so cute!”

“Oh god. You’re starting to act like a girl.”

“That’s because I am a girl.”

“I never would have figured that out if you hadn’t told me,” he said sarcastically.

I opened my mouth to smart off, but I froze as the trees opened up to reveal a large meadow. At the center was a huge house. While it wasn’t as impressive as my mom’s house, it also wasn’t anything to stick your nose up at. Jesse pulled into an empty spot next to a brand new Ford truck.

I looked up at the house. I hadn’t expected something like this. I was so used to Jesse living in a trailer, and for some stupid reason, I’d expected him to live in one here. That was dumb because I knew Mark had money. The house was a two-story log cabin with a garage sitting next to it. The banister around the front porch was made of smaller logs. It looked like something out of a movie.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

We stepped out of his car and started walking toward the porch.

“It is. My mom loves it here.”

“I can see why.”

He laughed. “I thought she was going to pass out the first time she saw this place.”

“I’m glad she found Mark.”

“Me, too. I didn’t think I would be, but I am.”

He reached for my hand and threaded his fingers through mine as we stepped up onto the porch. The front door opened, and his mom came running out.

“It’s about time you decided to visit! I’ve missed you,” she said as the screen door slammed shut. Her eyes widened when she noticed me. “Emma?”

I gave a small wave. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Damn. You guys didn’t make me go through the whole, ‘Emma, this is my mom, Trish,’ again. I was looking forward to that,” Jesse joked.

“What a surprise! I never thought I’d see you again! What are you doing here?” Trish asked, ignoring Jesse.

I glanced up at Jesse. I wasn’t sure how much he wanted his mom to know about everything that had happened with Ally.

“It’s a long story. The important part is that she’s here.”

His mom stepped forward and hugged me. “It’s good to have you around again.”

I hugged her back, relaxing as I realized that Jesse had been right. It was obvious that she didn’t hate me.

She released me and grabbed Jesse to hug him, too. “I missed you, kiddo.”

“I missed you, too, Mom.”

She pulled away and opened the door. “There’s no point in standing out here. I have dinner ready inside. I was worried that I’d made too much, but since Emma is here, we should be fine.”