Forever (Destroyed by Love #1) Read online

  “Well Marley, I think I have a shirt that can work.” Margie returns the tape measure to the desk and opens a closet behind it. She pulls out a white blouse with a black skirt. “Go try this on,” she points to the short hallway to the left of the desk.

  The bathroom is decent sized and nicely decorated. The skirt fits perfectly over my hips, which is sort of unusual since I’m a little curvier than I’d like to be, the black material goes down to my knees. The white blouse is a little snug around my boobs, more so than I prefer but it will do.

  When I exit the bathroom, Margie gives me a once over and nods. “I’ll order you your own, but for now you can get away with that. You can leave your clothes in the room next to the bathroom. You will have more than one uniform that will be dry cleaned, so that is where you will hang it. Tony has a closet in the kitchen where you can leave your stuff when you’re working. Now, do you know how to knot a tie?” She hands me a skinny black tie and a white apron.

  Tying the apron around my waist, I turn to the mirror on the wall. The door opens just as I’m knotting the tie around my neck. A guy dressed in the same uniform I am walks in. He says something to Margie that I don’t catch, handing her a sheet paper.

  I turn to face the room just as he’s heading back to the door, I don’t even think he noticed me. “Oh, Wyatt, can you take Marley to meet Tony? She’s Jill’s replacement.”

  The guy, Wyatt, glances at me before focusing back on Margie. “Sure thing,” his voice is deep and smooth; I can hear a slight Alabama twang in it. Being as my dad is from here, as well as my grandparents, and being from Georgia myself, I don’t really notice accents. But there is something in Wyatt’s voice that makes me notice his.

  “Great, it saves me the trouble of calling for you. I’ll see you later Marley. Be good to her, Wyatt.” I can hear the teasing lilt in Margie’s voice. He doesn’t reply and just nods at her.

  When he faces me, I almost gasp. His eyes are so light blue that they look almost clear, even though I know that’s impossible. His hair is dark, with the way the sun shines through the windows I can see hints of red.

  “After you.” Wyatt holds the door open for me. When we step outside, I can see that Wyatt’s hair is dark auburn with some brown mixed in, something you wouldn’t be able to tell unless you were also a natural redhead. It makes me wish I had my hair back.

  I follow Wyatt down the same walkway Rithy led me on half an hour before. It’s now that I remember to text Gran about the job and that I’ll be back later.

  Wyatt holds the door open for me. This one leads to a different hallway. Following him through another door, we walk into the back part of the kitchen.

  The smell of delicious and greasy, expensive food assaults my nose. I can’t help but take a deep breath. A tall guy with sandy colored hair and soft brown eyes looks me up and down. “You must be Marley. Margie just called and told me you were coming down. Thank God. Since Jill quit, we’ve been super stretched. Now you’ll work the morning shift on Saturday with Brenda in the Café. You’ll meet her tomorrow morning. In the afternoons you’ll be here in the main dining room. Wyatt will be your trainer. Get me if there are any issues.”

  It takes me a moment to realize that this is Tony, the kitchen manager; he speaks so fast it’s hard to keep up. As quick as he appeared he just as quickly disappears behind a door.

  What’s with all the doors and hallways in this place? Tony comes back a few minutes later and hands me a card. “This will give you access to the computers. It’s under my name for now. Hopefully, Davis will issue you a new one soon, but for now just use this one or Wyatt’s. Have you waitressed before?”

  “Yes, for about six months.”

  “Good, good. Then it should be easy. Some of these people are a little more uppity and high strung than others, but I think you should be fine. I’ll be either in my office, the kitchen, or circling the main room, come find me if you need anything.” Tony pats my arm and turns to leave. “Make sure you take care of this girl Wyatt,” he calls over his shoulder.

  “You can just follow me around for today.” It’s the most I’ve heard him say, his smooth voice stirring something inside of me, but I can’t afford to become attached. I have too much going on as it is. Besides, I’m not that girl anymore.

  Wyatt

  I watch Marley from across the room. The dinner rush died down a while ago, but I had to let her take over a few tables. Tony and I were swamped. She handled it quite well though. She smiles at the two old men at her table and as she walks away I can't help but notice them check out her ass.

  Wiping down my last table, I help her clean off the one the men just vacated. It’s after nine, the dining room is almost dead, “We can go fold some towels and clean up a little before we leave. Tony has it from here.” Marley nods and follows me back to the kitchen.

  We’re halfway through a pile of freshly dried dishrags when my phone goes off. I internally curse when I see it’s from my sister, Ava.

  Mom left

  “I have to go, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I don’t wait for Marley to respond, I just gather my things as quickly as I can and head to my car.

  It’s a twenty-minute drive from the club to my house. The five car garage is empty save for my bike. I can feel the anger towards my mother rise in me. She was supposed to stay with the girls tonight. She apparently can’t even handle the responsibility for one fucking night.

  The house is dark, and I trip on a barstool as I rush through the kitchen. I find my eleven and four-year-old sisters in Ava’s room. Adele is curled up in Ava’s arms, her strawberry blonde hair covering her face. How my mother can just get up and walk out on her children, I’ll never understand.

  “Hey, Adele, can you look at me, please?” I gently sit on the bed and stroke her head. Shifting my gaze to Ava I see nothing but coldness in her baby blue eyes. I force myself to swallow my anger.

  “I want Mary,” Adele’s soft voice says through the curtain of hair.

  “Mary will be back tomorrow. Why don’t you come see me? I missed you.” I try not to let my emotions show in my voice. The fact that my baby sister wants the nanny instead of her mother is enough to wound me. Shifting on the bed, I comb Adele’s hair out of her face.

  She lets me pull her into my arms. “Let’s get you to bed, okay?” She just nods against my chest. Ava doesn’t say anything as I walk out of the room, not that I expect her too.

  Adele is silent the whole time I put her in her pajamas and tuck her into bed. Pulling out the worn copy of Goodnight Moon, I lay next to her in the bed.

  I get halfway through the book for the third time when she falls asleep. Kissing my sister on the head I turn on the nightlight and shut the door. Taking a deep breath and glancing across the hall to Ava’s closed door, I decide against checking on her. She’d probably just yell at me.

  Closing the door to my room softly, I spin around and punch it. “Fuck.” The word vibrates through the room. I’m thankful I’m further down the hall from the girls. Hitting the door again before collapsing on the bed, I try to keep the anger from rising.

  My body shakes as I think of my selfish bitch of a mother leaving her two kids alone at night. Everything my mother has done in the past year comes back to haunt me. I turn eighteen next April. When that happens I control everything and the first thing I'm going to do is cut my mother off.

  If it weren’t for the money my father left me, my mother wouldn’t be able to do half the shit she does. Sure, she comes from a well-off family and gets child support from Adele and Ava’s dad, but it’s the monthly stipend from my father’s estate that fuels her every move.

  This house, every nice and expensive thing she owns, belongs to me. And I know she hates that. She hates that her sixteen-year-old son has so much control over her, if it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t get anything.

  According to what my father’s lawyer told me shortly after I turned sixteen last year, when I turn eighteen, everything belongs to me. I don’
t know what that means yet, but I plan on finding out and doing everything I can to take the girls from my selfish alcoholic bitch of a mother.

  If I manage to survive this shit that long.

  Chapter 3

  Marley

  My first-period teacher, Ms. Jones, points to an empty seat towards the back of the room. She tells me to sit on the left side, so I’m guessing that someone else sits on the right.

  I like the way this class is set up, with the desks arranged in pairs. The one I’m in is the last one in the row, so I don’t have to worry about anyone behind me. It’s also at the farthest corner of the room from the door, so I’m able to watch as students file in, taking their places. The seat next to mine continues to remain empty, even as the late bell rings.

  “Class we have a new student, Marley Fallon, please be kind to her and show her around,” Ms. Jones says from the front. This is the exact reason I made sure to arrive early, to avoid a situation like this. Of course, I knew that they were going to notice that suddenly a new kid showed up in their class, but I hoped to avoid the awkwardness of my new classmates finding out who I am right away.

  I can hear the murmurs as the gossip starts. I hear my last name a few times, but I can’t tell where it comes from. My grandparents have quite a reputation in this town. They are considered one of the wealthiest families in town, but unlike most, they aren’t snobs about it. Gran and Gramps are the most down to earth people I’ve met.

  Gramps’ reputation as a kick ass architect follows the whole family in this town. I’m sure many of these privileged snobs live in a house he designed. Ms. Jones tries to quiet the class down just as the door opens. “Five minutes late, Mr. Hensley.”

  “Sorry, it won’t happen again.” My head immediately swings to the boy standing at the front of the room, I recognize that smooth voice. Ms. Jones gives Wyatt a look that says she doesn’t believe him, before waving him in my direction.

  I look around the room as Wyatt heads this way, there are no other empty seats. Meaning Wyatt is my partner. I’m not sure how to feel about that. We didn’t talk that much during our shift on Saturday, he didn’t leave in such a hurry like he did Friday, but he did leave rather fast.

  I have Sundays and Mondays off, so I didn’t expect to see him again until tomorrow. I figured he was around my age, but I assumed older. Shows what I know.

  Wyatt pauses three desks down from ours. He stares at me for a moment before walking much slower. He’s dressed in dark wash jeans; they look worn, not like he bought them that way, but like he wears them a lot. His shirt is a blue button up, the dark material clashing against his light eyes.

  It’s hard to tell what color his eyes actually are since he’s wearing black-frame glasses. I guess he wears contacts when he’s working since this is the first time I’ve seen him wearing glasses. I have to admit, they look good on him.

  Wyatt sits next to me. I can’t help but notice he sits as far from me as he can. Ms. Jones continues with her lesson, I don’t think Wyatt pays any more attention to her than I do.

  ***

  The cafeteria is a mix of noise, bad lighting, and suspicious-looking food. I follow Kala, the girl I met in second period to a table with two girls and three guys. I like Kala, she seems to be really cool, but her friends look like the type of people I want to avoid. They remind me of my old life.

  “This is Marley; she’s in my English class. I told her she can sit with us today since it’s her first day.”

  “Great,” the girl with dark tight curls down her back says, a fake smile plastered on her face. “I’m Mikayla, that’s Marcy, Teagan, Chad, and Nick.” Kala motions for me to sit next to Nick, I see Mikayla’s smile falter when I place my tray next to his.

  Nick is cute, but his dark blue eyes and blond hair remind me too much of Jonathan for me to really appreciate. On the other side of him, is Teagan, who has hair as dark as Mikayla’s, just not as curly. They have similar facial features and skin tone.

  Marcy and Chad both have blond hair, only it’s obvious that Marcy’s is dyed. Mikayla sits across from me, her tight curls hang down her back, and her dark eyes look me up and down. She tries to keep up a nice persona, but I can see right through her.

  Kala sits on Mikayla's left, her blonde hair is cut in a cute A-line style, yet the tips are dyed a bright turquoise color.

  “So Marley, where are you from?” Mikayla asks, I know she’s not really interested.

  “I moved here from Georgia with my dad.”

  “She’s the Fallons’ granddaughter,” Kala supplies.

  “Really? Teagan and I have a brother who works for your grandfather.” I look closer at Mikayla and Teagan; they do resemble each other quite a bit. They both have wide mouths, and straight noses, dark hair and eyes.

  “Well, he works for my dad now. Dad’s taking over so that Gramps can have some down time.”

  “What about your mom?” She’s fishing for information, not that she’s going to get anything from me, but it’s fun to watch her try.

  “I don’t have one.”

  “Siblings?”

  “Only child.” That lie hurts more than the one about my mother. I have to avert my eyes, so I don’t give anything away. The sting of tears irritates the contacts, but I don’t let it show.

  Right away I’m drawn to the boy in the corner. Sitting at a table by himself is Wyatt, staring down at his hands. The harsh lighting does nothing for his dark hair, but I can’t help being attracted to it.

  From this distance, even if he were looking up I wouldn’t be able to see his eye color, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have them memorized. I’ve only seen them up close a few times, but the clear color is burned into my mind. From this angle, I can get a good view of his profile. There’s no denying how attractive he is. Straight nose, strong jaw, with his head bent slightly the line of his neck leads down to his broad shoulders. His arms are nicely defined, showed off by his rolled up sleeves.

  “Wyatt Hensley, I wouldn’t even bother looking.” Mikayla’s sharp voice breaks into my thoughts.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Look.” She leans forward, like she’s got some big secret. “I know that Wyatt is nice to look at, but it’s a waste of your time. He’s not interested. He stays to himself, doesn’t talk to anyone. He doesn’t even pay attention to any of the girls around here. That doesn’t mean they don’t try but, well it’s no use. I’m just saving you from embarrassing yourself.”

  “Well, then it’s a good thing I’m not interested. We just work together.”

  “You work at The Club?”

  “Yeah,” I feel like she’s accusing me of something.

  “Your family is practically royalty in this town, and you work?”

  Leave her alone Mick,” Teagan says in a bored tone, like he’s used to his sister judging others.

  “So what? My family’s money means nothing to me. I didn’t earn it. I want to work. I’m sorry that’s such an issue.” Standing up I grab my tray, “It was so nice to meet y’all. Well most of you,” I say looking straight at Mikayla. “See ya around, Kala.”

  I dump my tray and try not to let my anger show as I walk out of the cafeteria. I can’t help but turn around when I get to the door; I have a feeling that someone’s watching me.

  My eyes lock on Wyatt’s. We stare at each other, waiting for the other to break. It ends up being me. I push open the cafeteria door as hard as I can trying to escape the hold he has on me.

  Running to the nearest bathroom, I say a small prayer that it’s empty. Splashing water on my face, I look in the mirror. My hair is starting to frizz, my eyes look empty and dead. “Get a grip, Pagan,” I whisper. “You can do this, you need to do this. No distractions, no complications.”

  Shutting the water off I dry my face and take a long breath. “You can do this, Pagan is dead, and it’s time for Marley to step up.” I leave the bathroom before anyone catches me talking to myself.

  It’s hard to run from your
past, to pretend that it doesn’t exist. It’s even harder when the thing you’re running from is yourself.

  Wyatt

  I can’t help but look for Marley after school. This is dangerous; I can’t get attached to anyone. I have two kids to raise. But for some reason, she intrigues me. Maybe because she’s so different, maybe because she’s hiding something too. I can see it in her eyes; it’s easy to know when someone is hiding when you’ve been doing it yourself.

  I have a few hours before Mary brings the girls home. Mom was passed out on the sofa when I got home. Carrying my mother to bed while she’s drunk is not my idea of a good time. But it’s reality. I try to shield the girls from it as much as I can, but there’s only so much I can do.

  Flopping face down on my bed, I can feel all the tension and stress settle into my back and shoulder muscles. Throwing my glasses on the nightstand, I sigh. Another thing I must do is order the prescription for my contacts. I really don’t want to go to work tomorrow, but I have to. I don’t do it for the money I have plenty of that thanks to my father. I do it for myself, so I can prove to myself and to my sisters that money isn’t everything. I don’t want my sisters to come up spoiled like my mother.

  Unlike me, the girls didn’t have a father who left them a bunch of money and half a company. And honestly I like working; it gives me something to do for a few hours.

  I can feel the weight of responsibility crash onto my shoulders, especially when I hear the sound of feet pounding on the stairs. You’d think in a house this size it’d be hard to hear what happens on the other side of it. But thanks to the empty walls and my loud sisters, I can hear just about everything that goes on without ever having to leave my bedroom.

  Sighing, I roll over and close my eyes. I don’t feel like dealing with the girls today, but Mary has to go home eventually, which means they become my responsibility.

  I love my sisters, I’d do anything for them, but I’m sixteen, I’m not supposed to be a dad to them. I’m crushed by the hand I was dealt. People at school silently judge me. I used to have a small group of friends, until keeping up appearances was too difficult, like high school isn’t hard enough.