Dare Me Not | 18+ ✔

9. Mother (Parker)

The café where I meet my mom is a few blocks from the Hayes Headquarters building, but the traffic is shit. Under the stinging sun and accompanied by the sound of the vehicles groaning and honking on the busy street, I stride along the packed sidewalk. I'm sweating like a pig but driving there is just no point right now. I don't want to be late going back to work. I'm not going to give Xander the satisfaction of witnessing others look down on me.

It would have been easier if we met up in the coffee shop in the Hayes building, but she doesn't want to stray too far from the audition venue. Plus, people will recognize us, and the next thing we know is people speculating why Mom wants to see me at Hayes on my first day. No. I don't want them to fabricate another story about her.

I'm practically drenched when I arrive at the café, which is located across the convention hall, where Rick is having his acting audition now. The terrace is packed with business people enjoying their fancy lunch; the social class Mom loves to be a part of. I don't have to search for her among the crowd because her shocking pink sundress is just too easy to spot. She waves at me when I walk to her table, her brunette curls dancing on her bare shoulder as she moves.

"Hi, Mom." I lean forward and give her a peck, embracing her familiar floral fragrance. "Have you been here long?"

"Parker, sweetie. Well, actually I've been sitting here and writing a bit for, hmm, an hour maybe," she replies, raising her hand at a waitress.

Once the waitress takes my order, I shift my attention back to Mom. "How have you been doing? Enjoying your stay so far?"

She groans. "I lived here before but I'm still not used to the heat! No matter how low I set the temperature in the hotel room, I sweat and my skin flushed all the time! I just wanted to write in my room with the city view in front of me, but it's impossible with this angry sun. This is outrageous!"

I laugh at her exaggeration. "Oh, come on. It can't be that bad. Or just close the curtain then. I'm not a fan of the burning sun, either."

"You know I need the sun, sweetie. I need to keep my serotonin level in check. It's good for my writing routine."

"Almost done with your current book? I'm still waiting for the copy to beta-read."

"Well, I had some extra ideas to add to the plots. So, it might be a bit later than scheduled." Mom's delicate fingers tap on the crystal glass; the same fingers that braided my hair when I was young or tickled my tummy to wake me up. "But unlike my previous book, I think I will nail it this time. It's going to hit the market."

"Yeah?" I reply, smiling. "Did you kill someone again in your book?"

She laughs and the sound caresses my ears. "No. I'm being kind this time. Well, apparently, readers don't appreciate sad endings. That's why my previous book sale didn't do well. I've learned my lesson."

I stare at her pretty face, watching the fire in her brown eyes blazing every time she talks about the characters in her books. She never had this enthusiasm for as long as I can remember, even when she was still married to Dad. Things went down to shit when she lost the custody battle, and the pain gradually sucked the life out of her. It was when she started to jump from one asshole to another jackass. One day she told me she found a new promising hobby, writing fiction, and she has been on it ever since. I wasn't convinced in the beginning, but seeing how writing has given her a sort of fulfillment, I couldn't argue with her.

"I can't wait to read your new book," I say.

"I can't wait to share it with all my betas as well." She takes her tablet out of her bag and her forefinger dances on its screen. "Look, I had a few new betas ready because, well, I don't think my old beta readers are up for the genre I'm currently working on. I heard they're good and probably a tad bit more expensive than the last ones."