Bound to You

Chapter 11: Mamma's

Darcy came skipping down the stairs bright & early the next morning. She felt happier than she had in a long time. She and Riker’s rooftop conversation from the night before had temporarily put all worries about Sean out of her mind. She hopped down the last few steps and stepped into the kitchen. Stormie was standing in front of the stove, making pancakes from what Darcy could tell by the aroma in the air. Rydel and Rocky were sitting on the stools at the high-topped counter beside the entryway. “Morning!” Darcy said brightly as she settled into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Rydel stared at her incredulously. “Well you’re up early.” She said, surprise evident on her features. Darcy shrugged. “I couldn’t go back to sleep.” She replied. She pulled out her phone and began absentmindedly scrolling through Pinterest. Her foot tapped anxiously against the floor. She was nervous about seeing Riker. Was he going to acknowledge her? Were they friends now? Was what happened on the roof just a onetime thing? It certainly didn’t seem like it. He’d appeared to be truthfully sorry about his attitude over the past few months. She had taken the events from the previous night to be the beginning of a friendship between them. “Oh my God, mornings suck.” A voice muttered gruffly. She snapped her head up to see Riker come tromping slowly down the stairs. His usually sleek blond hair was wavy and tousled from sleeping. He was wearing a pair of black framed glasses. He stepped into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge before crossing the room to the kitchen table. He flopped down into the chair next to Darcy. “Good morning.” He said before taking a long sip from his water. Darcy glanced back down at her phone screen. “Morning. I didn’t know you wore glasses.” She replied. He nodded as he took another drink of water. “I do. I only wear them when I’m feeling lazy.” She glanced back up at his messy hair. “I kind of figured today was a lazy day for you.” She teased. He rolled his eyes as a slight grin broke out across his face. “You’re one to talk, curly-top.” He retorted, gesturing to the thick, red curls she’d pulled up into a messy bun. Darcy was suddenly aware of the silence that had fallen over the room. She and Riker simultaneously turned to face the rest of the family. Rocky, Rydel, and Stormie were all staring at the two of them, mouths hanging wide open. Riker took another long sip from his bottle. “Yes?” he asked expectantly. Darcy giggled, knowing exactly why they were so stunned. Riker hadn’t spoken five words to her since she’d arrived. Well, actually he had. When she’d first arrived. He’d been quick to let her know how much he loathed her presence in the house.  Stormie pointed back and forth between them. “You…her…wha-what……when?!” she cried finally. Riker shrugged. “What? I mean I can always go back to being rude if you’d like…” he said teasingly. Stormie and Rydel both shook their heads quickly. “No, no…carry on.” Stormie said, still eyeing him oddly. Riker stood and tossed his water bottle into the trashcan. “Well I’m meeting Curt and some of the guys. I’ll be back tonight.” He crossed the room and began walking up the staircase. He stopped suddenly and turned back around. “I’ll talk to you later, Darcy.” He said, smiling kindly at her before turning and jogging up the staircase. Darcy smiled in return and turned her attention back to her phone. She could feel the other three Lynch’s eyes on her. She glanced back up; sure enough, they were still staring at her. “What?” she asked defensively.

**

Darcy flinched as Ross slammed on his brakes once again. “Crap…sorry.” He apologized. He glanced down at the map in his hands. “I don’t even know where this place is.” He muttered. Darcy sighed and looked out the window. According to their schedule from Sean, she and Ross were supposed to be having lunch at a cozy Italian restaurant called “Mamma’s” in the heart of LA. He had already called ahead and made reservations for them at 2:00. It sounded nice on paper. Unfortunately for them, they had absolutely no idea where it was. “Don’t look at me; I’ve only been here for three months. If it were up to me I’d just go to McDonald’s.” she grumbled. Ross laughed as he turned down yet another narrow Los Angeles street. “Same here.” He said in agreement. He drove slowly for a few minutes, keeping his eyes on the buildings that lined the left side of the street. Darcy did the same for the right side. A small, red-bricked building wedged between two larger, marbled buildings suddenly caught her eye. “Mamma’s! There it is!” she called, pointing towards the sign hanging in front of a window covered by black curtains. Ross suddenly snatched the steering wheel towards Darcy and whipped his car into a very tight parking spot between two much larger vehicles. Darcy glanced angrily over at him. “Next time, I drive.” She said tightly. Ross laughed as he stepped out of the car. “You wish.” He teased. He walked around the front of the car to open her door. She smoothed down the front of her lacy skirt before stepping out onto the pavement. Ross immediately wrapped his arms around her waist. “Getting started a little early aren’t we?” she asked under her breath. She was mildly amused by his eagerness. He smiled wryly and leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. “Paps. About three of them a few yards down. Just go with it.” He breathed. He pulled back just enough to bring his lips crashing down onto hers. She stepped back slightly, taken aback by his kiss. She lost her balance and felt her back hit the car door; it shut with a loud ‘thud’. Ross’s lips never left hers. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, trying to go along with whatever it was he was doing. He pulled away after a few more seconds, leaving her completely breathless. “Sorry. I’ll explain later.” He mumbled. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before taking her hand and crossing the sidewalk. Darcy followed behind, slightly stunned. She felt a bit embarrassed that hers and Ross’s random sidewalk makeout session would more than likely be plastered across magazines all over the country, meaning her parents would more than likely see it. She stepped gratefully into the dimly lit restaurant after Ross. The scent of garlic mingled with basil and tomatoes instantly greeted her. She breathed in deeply; Italian food was her absolute favorite. “I wouldn’t mind more outings like this.” She whispered, wrapping her arms around Ross’s waist. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and reached into his pocket with his free hand. “Same here.” He replied quietly. He snapped a picture of the “Mamma’s” logo displayed across the front stand. She peeked at his phone screen as he uploaded the picture to Instagram.“Lunch with my favorite girl. ;) @darcydavis” “Welcome to Mamma’s! Ross and Darcy I presume?” A female voice cut through the air. Darcy looked up to see a young blonde girl, probably around Ross’s age, standing before them. Considering the fact that she’d recognized Ross instantly, Darcy assumed she was a fan. Ross nodded as he slid his phone back into his pocket. “That’s us. We have reservations for 2:00.” He said matter-of-factly. She nodded and picked up two menus. “This way.” She said, gesturing for the two of them to follow her. Darcy disentangled herself from Ross and allowed him to lace his fingers through her own. They followed the pleasant young girl to a private booth in the back of the restaurant. She placed a menu in front of each of them as they sat down. “You can order whenever you’re ready. What can I get you both to drink?” she asked, pulling out a small notepad. “I’ll just have a Coke.” Ross said absentmindedly. He was already studying the menu. The blonde turned to Darcy. “And you?” she asked. Darcy smiled hopefully. “I don’t suppose y’all serve sweet tea here?” she questioned hesitantly. The blonde shook her head. “We don’t actually, but whoever called and made the reservations for you two specifically requested that we brew a pot just for you. Would you like lemon, or no?” she asked. Darcy smiled happily. “None, thank you.” The blonde nodded as she jotted down the drink orders on her notepad and walked to the back. Ross peaked up quickly at Darcy from behind his menu. “Well that was oddly nice of Sean.” He commented. Darcy nodded as she reached for her own menu. “It was…” she said quietly. She stared blankly at the menu, puzzled by Sean’s act of good will. Perhaps he was sorry for how roughly he treated her the day before. Maybe it was his way of apologizing. She felt her stomach drop once the realization hit her. It wasn’t an apology; it was a warning. A threat. A bribe. ‘Here’s some sweet tea, which I know you haven’t had in a while. Now keep your mouth shut about yesterday. Or else.’ She felt a shiver roll down her spine. Sean was truly beginning to scare her. She had a pretty good intuition, and right now every fiber in her body was telling her to run. She shook off the nervous pit that had practically become a part of her and turned her attention to the menu. Everything was going to be fine. She had Ross and the rest of the Lynch family. And now, she also had Riker. They would protect her. They wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She was sure of it.

**

“So…what was with that little kiss-bomb earlier?” Darcy asked, glancing up at Ross out of the corner of her eye. They were strolling aimlessly through downtown L.A., walking off their lunches. Ross half-smiled shyly and kept his eyes on the sidewalk before them. “Sorry about that. It was Sean’s idea; he left a little note on my copy of the schedule. He told me to spring something like that on you if we saw any photographers. He said it’d make for really cute pictures.” He shrugged. Darcy nodded and turned back to face forward. They walked in silence for a few minutes. “So…next time we go in for a meeting with Sean I think you should ask about that Twitter thing. You know…the tweet on your account from the KCAs.” He reminded her. Darcy kept her eyes on the street. “I actually already talked to him about that.” She replied casually. Ross snapped his head over to look at her. “What?” he asked, glancing curiously down at her. She nodded. “Yeah, while you were at your Teen Beach Movie meeting a few days ago I went by the office.” She said, trying to keep her voice even. She had no intentions of telling Ross about everything that went on during hers and Sean’s little meeting. Ross nodded, indicating he wanted her to continue. She glanced briefly at him before turning her gaze forward once more. “He told me they had the right to use both of our accounts for promotional stuff. Like the ClevverTV interview. I don’t think they’re going to do it often. But it was written into the contract.” She finished. Ross nodded again. “I was afraid of that. At least it’s not forever. It’ll all be behind us by next year.” He suddenly looked down at Darcy. “Not that I want to get rid of you or anything.” He said quickly. Darcy laughed and shook her head. “Honestly, you wouldn’t get rid of me that easily. I’m pretty sure Rydel is going to try to hide in my suitcase when I head back to New York.” She joked. She felt a sudden pang of sadness thinking about her inevitable return to the east coast. If thinking about leaving after just three months made her this upset, she knew she’d be a wreck next year. She didn’t want to think about leaving. She’d grown accustomed to life with the Lynch family. Although she hadn’t told anyone yet, she’d actually been researching fine arts colleges on the west coast. It was just a thought. After all, by the time her contract expired she might actually be ready to go.