"Another business trip?" Jess quizzed her mother as the two prepared for the house party that would be taking place that night.
"Jessica darling, you know your father is a very busy man." Pattie smiled weakly, almost as though through convincing her daughter of why her father was absent, she was working on convincing herself too.
"I know, but I rarely see him anymore. How many people go on six business trips a year?"
"Successful people like your father."
"Will he even be here for the wedding?" Jess questioned, sounding increasingly whiny. Like most girls, when she'd pictured her wedding, of course she'd imagined her father being the one to give her away at the alter but as time was passing and the wedding drew nearer, she was beginning to think that that was going to be an impossible reality.
Her father was her idol, the one who had taught her from a young age that to be successful one must remain ruthless in their pursuits, the one that had earned her a place in property developing. How many people actually have a father like that?
"Of course he will, darling. He wouldn't miss your special day for the world." She beamed at her daughter but she couldn't prevent an undeniable hint of uncertainty finding its way onto her lips.
"Has something happened...between you and daddy?" Jess queried. As far back into her childhood as she could remember, her father had always gone away for long periods on business trips but those absences had steadily increased; her father becoming absent so often that sometimes she and Cody would go weeks without seeing him.
"No Jessica, why would you even ask me that?"
"If something was wrong, you would tell me right?" Jess continued her weak attempt at an interrogation as she settled down on the couch and kept her eyes glued on her mother.
"There is absolutely nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about." Pattie laughed mockingly, not directly answering Jess's question as had always been the case when Jess asked her mother any question which even remotely related to the prospect of conflict between her mother and father.
"Hey sis." Cody propped himself against the doorway, a half-hearted smile plastered across his face as he faced his sister and mother. His hair fell across his eyes, indicating a dire need for a hair-cut. In the daylight, his hair mimicked a soft brown absent of its usual red hue which was the only resemblance between him and Jess.
"Nice to see you're alive, Cody." Jess grinned up at her brother whom she'd finally seen after what was probably nearing five or so months. Her and Cody had never been very close siblings despite the age difference of only eleven months. She'd yearned for the kind of relationship Jax and Kylie had had growing up but much to her dismay, she'd never managed to achieve it with Cody.
"Is Kylie here?" A sheepish grin formed upon Cody's face. Of course, both Pattie and Jess were well-aware that Cody had only finally made an appearance at the promise of a long awaited reunion with Kylie.
"You stay away from that girl. She's nothing but trouble. The sooner the two of you come to realise that, the better." Pattie tutted at the two of them.
"Troubled, mother. She's troubled, not trouble." Jess sighed back at her rather ignorant mother.
"Whatever, is she here?" Cody continued ignoring his mothers' warning, the glimmer forming in his eyes suggesting that his intentions were anything but pure.
"Upstairs." Jess replied absent-mindedly, the thought of her best-friend and brother getting it on no longer phased her at this point. Oh no, that ship had long since sailed.
YOU ARE READING
Lethal Lust
General Fiction[COMPLETED] Elijah and Jess had been unbreakable since high school, so it comes as no surprise to anyone when the young couple decides to tie-the-knot. But when Jess's feisty and voluptuous best friend, Kylie, returns to the hometown for the wedding...
