Chapter 30

I walked across the stage with a grin on my face. I stopped to accept my diploma from the principal and shake his hand before I made my way off the stage and back to my seat. As I sat there holding my diploma, I thought about how I couldn’t believe I’d actually made it this far. Graduation day had finally arrived and I knew that meant the beginning of freedom for me. I couldn’t wait to begin that phase of my life.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur until finally the cheer went up and we all tossed our caps in the air. As we were dismissed, I began to find my way through the crowd towards Sarah.

The moment we saw each other, she shrieked and threw her arms around me as I grinned. “We did it, girlfriend!” she exclaimed. “We actually graduated!”

I laughed as we pulled back to look at each other. “Yes, we did!”

She chuckled, “So? Ready to go celebrate?”

I nodded, “Yeah, let’s go find my family.”

Sarah and I made our way through the crowd searching for my family. Every single one of them had actually made it to the ceremony. My parents, Alishia and Danny, Samantha, and even Kevin, who came because mom had made it a part of his apology to me.

In fact, it was Kevin and my father that Sarah and I first spotted. I noticed that my father was shaking Mark’s hand, congratulating him on his own graduation. Turning to Sarah, we shared a look and I rolled my eyes.

As we walked up to them, my father grinned, “Alexandria! Sarah! Congratulations, girls!”

“Thanks, dad.” I said as he gave me and Sarah a hug.

“You girls ready to go celebrate?”

Sarah nodded, “Oh yeah, I’m starving!”

My father chuckled, “Okay, then.” He nodded to Mark, “We’ll see you at the restaurant, okay Mark?”

“Sure Mr. McCain…”

“Alex?”

All of us turned to see Jonathan approaching with Darryl in tow.

I smiled when I saw the teddy bear Jonathan held in his hand. The little bear had on a graduation cap and carried a diploma in it’s paw and a single white rose in the other. He came up to me and handed the bear to me as he said, “Congratulations, beautiful.”

“Than…”

“Mr. Parker, I thought I made it clear that you were to stay away from my daughter!” my father growled.

I frowned up at him as I said, “Dad, it’s okay.”

My father ignored my comment and continued on, “You have no business coming here at all! I suggest you leave immediately!”

I sighed, “Dad!”

This time it was Mark who stepped up to Jonathan. “You heard the man, Parker. Get lost.”

Jonathan didn’t look at Mark at all, instead his gaze still rested on my father. “Mr. McCain, I understand you are upset, but if you would just hear me out, I can…”

“There’s nothing to hear!” My father interjected, “My daughter doesn’t want anything to do with you!”

As I moved to stand between Jonathan and my father, Kevin moved to my father’s side and Mark stood on the other.

“Dad…” I started, but Mark interrupted again.

“Don’t make us remove you, Parker! My family is here!”

“Yeah,” supplied Kevin, “and everyone knows they’re the best in the business!”

I growled, “Guys! Back off!” My father opened his mouth, but I beat him to the punch, “No! I mean it dad! It’s okay, I need to talk to him.”

My father frowned as Mark said, “Why do you need to talk to him? He did you wrong! All he wants is for you to forgive him so he can get back in your pants.”

I narrowed my eyes at Mark, “Really? No doubt you are speaking from experience?”

Sarah and Darryl snickered in the background as I turned to Jonathan, “Did you come with Darryl?”

He nodded, “He invited me to see you two graduate, so I drove us here.”

Turning to my father I said, “I’m going with Sarah, Darryl, and Jonathan. I’ll see you all at the restaurant.”

“Alex…”

“I’ll see you at the restaurant, dad.” Without another word, I turned and walked away from them. As Sarah caught up to me, Jonathan and Darryl walked behind us. I could still hear my father grumbling to Kevin and Mark about women and their sensibilities.

When we neared Jonathan’s car, Sarah and Darryl excused themselves to go for a walk around the campus so that Jonathan and I could sit in his car to talk.

We sat in silence for a few awkward moments before I looked up at him. “What happened, Jonathan?”

He turned in his seat and said, “I was set up.”

I nodded with a frown, “Yeah, I suspected as much.” I sighed, “Do you know who did it?”

“Kevin and Mark.”

“My father?”

“I don’t think he had anything to do with this one.”

I looked into his eyes, “Are you sure, Jonathan? I mean, I know you want me to be on good terms with my father, but…”

He shook his head, “Cassandra said Mark was the one who contacted her and when she went to meet him, Kevin was there.”

I arched an eyebrow, “They paid her!”

He shook his head, “No. Mark found out that she once knew me. Remember the story Alishia and I told you about the stalker who gave me the nickname?”

My eyes widened, “That’s her!”

He nodded, “Yep.”

I sank back into the seat and mumbled, “No wonder she kept calling you that. It makes sense now, especially since she hinted about old times.” Suddenly, I turned a narrowed gaze on Jonathan. “But you said it was only one date with a kiss on the cheek and you didn’t lead her on. So, why was she acting like she’d been intimate with you before?”

He sighed, “She was doing what Mark told her to do. Cassandra said when she met with Mark and Kevin, they filled her in about you and I, then told her what they wanted her to do when you got to my place.”

“I see. Well, how do you explain how she ended up wearing your clothes?”

He scowled, “She spilled wine on her dress.”

“What?”

“Yeah. It was really weird, Alex. After I stopped modeling, I never saw her again. Then suddenly she shows up at my place on the verge of tears. She tells me she didn’t know where else to go and she really just needed someone to talk to. So, I invited her in and we sat on the couch so I could listen to her. She made up this really good story about this guy she was in love with and how she just found out he was cheating on her. She said he had apologized to her and promised never to do it again if she gave him another chance. She told him she needed time and went to find someone to talk to about it.”

“And that’s where you come in?”

“Yes, but she admitted it was just a story. It never happened. She just used it to get into my place so you would catch us together. She was so good at convincing me that she needed a shoulder to cry on. So, I listened and comforted her and offered her a drink. She asked for wine and I gave her some. We sat there talking and she said she was feeling better. I asked how her sister was doing and she started telling me some stories. We got to laughing about them and that’s when she spilled the wine. She did it well, it drenched the entire top of her dress. So, I told her to go into the bathroom to get out of it and I’d give her some clothes she could wear while we soaked the dress.”

I folded my arms over my chest, “Damn, she’s good.”

Jonathan nodded, “Yeah, I believed everything she said up to the point she walked out of the bedroom calling me honey. I mean, my alarms were already ringing when I saw the confused look on your face after I asked what you were doing there, but then she came out and started that spiel and I just knew something was up.”

He paused for a moment before he said, “After you left, I went back inside and demanded that she tell me what was going on because I knew that whole thing she did in front of you was an act. When I threw it in her face that we only had that one date and were intimate at all, she finally confessed.”

“She told you Mark set it up.”

He nodded, “He called her and asked if she was still interested in me because he was certain that I was interested in her. So, she met with him and he told her that to get me back, she had to make sure I broke up with you. He told her that I wanted to break up with you, but you wouldn’t let me. So, this plan they came up with would make you do it.”

I gasped, “She believed that!”

He rolled his eyes, “She said she’s still obsessed with me. She’d do anything to be with me.”

I made a face, “Geez, how did you get rid of her?”

“I told her that if I lost you, I’d make her life miserable.” He turned to look at me, “I said a whole lot more than that, but she got the message. By the time I was done, she was crying for real and apologizing all the way out the door.” He shrugged, “I told her to pray I’d forgive her one day, but not to ever come near me again.”

I sighed and closed my eyes, “Do you think she went back to Mark and told him she failed?”

Jonathan shook his head, “No. I made sure she understood not to talk to him again.”

I nodded, “Okay, so as far as Mark knows, the plan worked.” When Jonathan nodded, I looked out of the window and frowned.

As I sat there thinking, I could see Darryl and Sarah walking towards the car, holding hands. Jonathan didn’t say anything for a few moments.

“Beautiful?”

At the sound of his nickname for me, I blinked and turned to look into his worried eyes. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

I stared at him for a moment before I said, “I’m thinking it’s time we headed to the restaurant.”

There was a sign in front of Horizons which said the restaurant was closed for a private party. Dad had arranged a celebration dinner for Sarah and I and our families. But when I walked in and saw the O’Connors there, I knew he had expanded that to include them.

I walked in with my arms folded over my chest and Jonathan walking silently at my side. Sarah and Darryl came in behind us.

As soon as my father saw us, he grinned. “There they are! The guests of honor have arrived.”

He walked up to me with arms wide, “Congratulations, Alexandria!”

“Thanks.” I mumbled as I walked right past him and headed straight for Mark. He grinned at me, “Alex, your dad…”

He didn’t get to say another word as my hand connected with his face. The slap silenced the entire room.

Ignoring the silence and the stares, I hissed at him. “How dare you! How dare you think you could ever get away with this!”

“Alexandria? What’s going on?” asked my father.

I continued to ignore him as I glared at Mark. “Did you really think I would ever believe that Jonathan would have done that to me?”

Mark straightened up and looked me in the eyes, “He did.”

“No, he didn’t! You set him up!”

Kevin, who had been standing next to Mark, turned to look at Mark before looking at me. “What! Is that what he’s telling you?”

I turned my glare on him, “He didn’t have to tell me that, little brother! I already knew it.”

This time even Jonathan was looking at me in shock.

I growled at Mark, “Answer me this Mark, what is my favorite flower?”

He frowned, “Roses.”

I inclined my head to Jonathan, “Jonathan?”

“White roses.” he answered.

I watched as realization began to sink into Mark. “When we were together, how did you address me? Did you ever use a term of endearment?”

Mark swallowed, “Alexandria.”

I arched an eyebrow, “Jonathan?”

“Beautiful.”

Mark glanced at Jonathan for a moment before turning to look at me. I stood there resisting the urge to hit him again as I hissed, “If you were going to pretend you were Jonathan, the least you could have done was get it right.”

Kevin frowned, “Mark? What did we do wrong.”

Mark groaned as my gaze snapped to Kevin and I smiled in triumph. Kevin had just confirmed that they had indeed set Jonathan up.

“The flowers the two of you sent to my house were red roses, not white. Which Jonathan clearly knows are my favorite. And the note. It addressed me as Alex, not beautiful. Jonathan rarely ever calls me anything else.”

Sarah chuckled, “She’s got that right. Jonathan almost always calls her beautiful. It’s his name for her.”

My father frowned at Mark, “You set this up?”

Mark looked at him as he said, “What else was I supposed to do? Nothing else was working. So, I thought if she found out he was going back to his old ways, she’d dump him.”

As my father sighed, I snapped at Mark. “Get this straight Mark, even if Jonathan and I broke up, I would never ever go back to a manipulative asshole like you!”

“Alex…” my father warned.

I turned to glare at him, “Don’t you dare stick up for him again! You will hear what I have to say! All of you!” I shouted as I turned on Mark once more. “I don’t care if you are the last man on earth! There is no way I’d ever marry a man who constantly slept around with other women! You know you can’t lie about that! I heard it from the horse’s mouth, Mark! All these things you keep trying to pin on Jonathan! They are all true about you! You are the one who is always cheating! You are the one using blackmail! Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a druggie or alcoholic to boot!”

“Alexandria! Now is not the time…”

“Daniel McCain! Don’t interrupt her again!” my mother snapped.

My father turned to glare at my mother as I snarled at Mark, “High school is over Mark. And all these little games of yours. They will stop! I don’t ever want to see you anywhere near me or my family again! If you ever do, I’m slapping a restraining order on you!”

“You can’t do that!” he growled.

“Try me.” I growled right back.

“Alex, you’re being unreasonable. Think about this.” muttered my father.

“There’s nothing to think about. Mark isn’t worth a damn! Why the hell do you have to keep defending him!” I roared.

“He was just trying to protect you! It’s what he does!”

“You call that protection! What about protection from him? Jesus dad, he tried to rape me!”

My mother’s eyes went wide as gasps were heard around the room.

“Alex, we talked about…”

No! We didn’t! I tried to tell you, but you just accused me of spreading lies about him! Why would I lie about that! And when I tried to tell you what a kind of man he was sleeping with all these girls, you told me he wouldn’t have done that if I’d just let him fuck me!”

“Alexandria! I am your father! Don’t you ever…”

“That is enough, Daniel!” My mother yelled.

When my father tried to say something else, she hissed at him, “Not another word! If you defend that boy again, I will be right there next to my daughter slapping an accomplice to rape suit against you.”

My father sullenly shut his mouth as I glared at him, tears in my eyes. “You’ve wasted your time on the wrong man father. After everything that’s happened. After everything Mark did and you let slide. Jonathan still tried to convince me that you were doing it because I was your daughter and you just wanted what was best for me. Jonathan always gave you the benefit of the doubt, he always took your side.” I paused, swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in my throat.

As my lips trembled, I whispered, “Every time you shot him down, every time I told him what you said about him, he never stopped defending you. Why couldn’t you ever see how good he is? Why couldn’t you ever take our side?”

Jonathan moved to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist. As I leaned against him for support, I spoke one last time to my father. “I never thought there would be a day when I actually hated my father. But I do. I will never forgive you for this. Ever.” I turned to look at Mark and Kevin, “Don’t ever come near me again. I hope you both are happy in hell together.”

I turned in Jonathan’s arms and hugged him, “Take me home, Jonathan.”

Without another word, Jonathan led me out of the restaurant, leaving behind a silent gathering.

Jonathan and I packed up my things in silence. After leaving the restaurant and getting into his car, he asked me where I wanted him to take me. I told him I wanted to go back to my house to pack my things to move back in with him, if he would have me.

Once we were at my parent’s house, inside my room, he’d asked me where we should start. That had set off the tears and Jonathan had rocked me in his arms as we sat on the edge of my bed.

When I’d finally gotten myself under control again, I sniffled and told him what I wanted to pack. We’d taken the suitcases out of my closet and began to pack the things I wanted to take with me.

We had been packing for a good twenty minutes when the doorbell rang. Jonathan and I looked at each other with a frown before he said, “I’ll see who it is.”

I nodded and watched him leave the room before going back to my packing.

A few minutes later, Jonathan returned with Sarah and Darryl in tow.

I looked up at Sarah as she gave me a teary smile, “Oh girlfriend, I’m so sorry.”

I nodded as I walked into her open arms. Returning her hug I said, “I’m sorry for ruining your graduation dinner, Sarah.”

She tsked as she moved back to look into my eyes, “Oh please! As if I wanted to celebrate with those losers anyway.” She gave me a smile, “You guys are all I need right here.”

I chuckled, “Thanks, girlfriend.”

“You’re welcome.”

I turned to look at Darryl. “So, did she have to threaten you to get you here?” I teased.

He laughed at that. “Nah. We thought you could use a hand.”

I arched an eyebrow as I looked back at my best friend.

Sarah nodded, “We thought we’d come help you pack. That is, if you want some help.”

I laughed as I hugged her again, “Of course! I’d love that!”

“Great! Just tell us what to do and we’ll get to it.”

Before I had a chance to begin, Danny’s voice interrupted, “Don’t forget us!”

We all turned to see Danny and Alishia coming through my bedroom door.

I laughed, “You two are going to help me move too?”

“Alex! Of course we are! I wouldn’t be a very good big brother if I didn’t would I?”

“And I wouldn’t be a very good sister in law either,” Alishia chimed in.

We all shared a few laughs as we all began to move my things.

Danny had called a friend of his and asked if we could borrow his pick up truck. When he agreed to swing by and drop it off along with the extra boxes he had in his garage, we had all discussed how to move my things. The bigger items would be put into the truck, while the smaller items would be loaded into Jonathan’s, Sarah’s, and Danny’s cars.

Everyone was now going in and out of the house with boxes and things, while I remained in my room packing up the rest of the things I was taking. That was how things were when my mom returned home with Samantha.

“Alex?”

I looked up from the box I was packing to see my mother standing in the doorway with a sad expression on her face.

“Mom, I…”

She shook her head and walked over to me, “Don’t apologize. You have nothing to apologize for Alex.”

I nodded as she stopped and slid her fingers through my hair. “I’m so sorry, baby,” she whispered.

Fresh tears welled up in my eyes as my mother hugged me to her. I stood there hugging her back.

“Oh mom,” I sobbed.

“Shh. It’s okay, baby. I know, I know.”

When I slowly pulled back, she looked into my eyes and smiled, “So, you’re moving back in with him?”

I nodded, “I’m sorry mom, but I can’t stay here.”

“I know.” She sighed, “It’s okay, it’s time I let you grow up anyway. You are going off to college in the fall, so it’s only fair to let you go.”

“I’m not going far, mom. I’ll still be in the city. We can still see each other every day. And I promised Sam I’d be there to help her get used to her new school.”

She smiled, “Right. She did mention that to me the other day.” She let her eyes travel around the room, “So, you look just about done here.”

I nodded, “Yeah, everyone is just packing it up into the cars.”

She chuckled, “Need any more room? We can use the suburban and my BMW.”

I laughed, “I don’t know, we’ll have to ask the guys. They’re doing all the coordinating.”

“Okay, I’ll go ask them.” She turned to look at my room again, “Are you going to take all of that stuff to Jonathan’s apartment?”

“No, Jonathan is renting a storage space, so I’m going to put most of the stuff in there and take what I need to his place. That way anytime I need anything, I can just go get it from the storage unit.”

“That’s good.”

I gave her a smile before she made her way to the door, “Okay, I’ll go see if they need more cars.”

“Mom?”

She turned to look at me, “Yes?”

“I’m sorry. If I ruined things between you and dad.”

She shook her head as she came back to my side, “No Alex. I told you, you have nothing to be sorry about.”

She caressed my cheek as she said, “I should be the one apologizing. I never knew what that boy tried to do to you, to my daughter. And Daniel, he never said a word. I believed everything he told me about Mark and I never questioned it.” She paused for  a moment before she whispered, “I failed you, Alex. I failed to be a good mother. And I failed to be there to protect you from him.”

I sighed as I gave her a hug, “It’s not your fault. I didn’t tell you that it was Mark who came with Kevin that day. I should have been honest about what happened, even about Jonathan.”

“I know why you did it, Alex. Believe me, I know and I don’t blame you.”

I moved back and said with a smile, “Okay, so let’s just forgive each other for not being open with each other and move on. Hopefully we have learned from this.”

She laughed, “Yes, that’s a wise decision, oh smart daughter of mine.”

We both giggled at that before she gave me one more hug.

Jonathan came in wearing a frown on his face, “Beautiful, is there much more? Because we’re running out of cars.”

My mother and I looked at each other and laughed again.

Turning a smile to Jonathan, my mother said, “No such luck, Jonathan. But at least you now have my car and the family suburban at your disposal.”

He grinned, “Thanks, Laura.”

She nodded, “Let me go get the keys and I’ll help with the loading.”

As she disappeared out the door, Jonathan came up to my side. “How are you holding up beautiful?”

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist, “I’m good.”

He pressed a kiss on the top of my head.

“Jonathan?”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry for running like that. I just…”

“It’s okay, Alex.”

I shook my head as I looked up into his eyes, “No. It’s not, Jonathan. I knew you would never do that to me. I knew it. It was just. Just seeing you with her. It brought all these images to my mind about the things you told me you used to do. About what you were. How women always flocked to you. I was just jealous.”

He caressed my cheek, “You have nothing to be jealous about beautiful. I told you that.”

I nodded, “I know. You have no idea how hard it is for me to convince myself of that. I’m trying Jonathan. It’s just that there are some days when I still can’t believe that someone like you could ever love someone like me. And I find myself thinking that maybe you deserve better.”

Jonathan closed his eyes as he whispered, “Alex.” He paused for a moment before opening his eyes again and looking into mine.

Curling his fingers around the nape of my neck, he pulled me to him and leaned his forehead against mine, “Someday I’m going to convince you that you are exactly what I deserve. I‘m going to spend the rest of my life trying to convince you that you are the only one I’ll ever love, beautiful.”

I smiled as he lowered his lips to mine and sealed his proclamation with a kiss full of all the love he had for me.