There's No Price On Love

“Emma?”

I winced slightly then blinked a few times after opening my eyes. A light flashed into them and I let out a small groan of annoyance, placing my hands over my eyes and rubbing them a few times. I brushed my hair out of my face and breathed deeply.

Where was I?

“Emma are you alright?”

I re-opened my eyes, much slower this time and looked into the eyes of my mother. Her face looked tired behind her make-up and her hair was surprisingly messy. She let out a sound of relief and pulled me to her chest, giving me a chance to study the atmosphere around me.

I was outside, I could tell by the smell and the image of bright blue sky and green grass. The trees waved gently in the wind and the sound of birds chirping flooded my ears. The grass was scattered with plastic cups and other items, proving furthermore that I was back home even though I didn’t know how I got back.

I knew last night I had a party at my house. I knew also that I had left for awhile but I didn’t know where or how.

My mind was boggled and I reached up to place a hand on my forehead after my mother let go of me. I got to my feet and swayed slightly until my mother placed her arm beneath my shoulders and steadied me.

“We have a LOT to talk about once we get you inside young lady.” My mother lectured and led me toward the house. I nodded slightly and tripped, nearly face planting into the grass below.

“Is Charlie . . . Mad?” I asked and mom shook her head.

“The Fox’s and Theoret’s are here right now to help clean up. First off though, you’re going to get cleaned up and tell me where on Earth you went last night.”

“I’m surprised that we have company and you aren’t prim and perfect looking.” I said as she opened the back door where Gerard was waiting patiently. My mother sighed heavily and went to help me take off my shoes, only to find that there weren’t any on my feet. She glanced up in surprise and gestured to my feet:

“You’re also going to tell me where those went as well!” I smiled sloppily and ran a hand through my tangled hair. “Gerard, would you mind helping Emma to her room? I’m going to let Charlie know that she’s alright.”

Gerard nodded and helped me to my feet. My mother patted his shoulder gratefully and strutted out of the back porch into the living room, her voice ringing out with my name placed firmly along with the other words.

Gerard helped me up each step, each one feeling unsure and ready to collapse. I tripped over a stair and placed both palms down firmly to keep myself from biffing it until I could pull myself up again. My head was pounding and my mouth was dry.

“I probably look like shit right now, don’t I?” I asked Gerard as I flopped down onto my bed. Gerard ruffled my hair with a fatherly grin and laughed.

“Unfortunately Ms. Taylor, you might possibly look worse.” I glanced at the mirror across from my bed and winced. He was right as usual. “Can I get you anything?”

I let out a hefty breath and nodded, picking a few leaves and blades of grass out of my hair.

“Some tea would be great.” I replied tiredly and pulled my pillow to my chest.

“I’ll go and make you some.” Gerard left the room promptly and closed the door, leaving me alone to sort my jumbled thoughts.

Once I was sure no one would come in for a little while, I stripped off my dress and tossed it onto the floor. The poor item was torn and dirty, nearly unrecognizable from the dress I had purchased in the store just days before. I decided to be courteous to it and instead of leaving it on the floor, gave it a proper burial in my garbage can before entering my bathroom.

Hot water trickled down the back of my neck and over my sore muscles once I had gotten into the shower. The dirt and grime from last night was rinsed and drained, leaving my skin pale and exposed like a doll. Along with that, the memories of last night were stripped from my mind until something could help me remember what had happened.

I remembered talking to William outside of the house and how I had gotten angry with him for pretending to understand the complicated sides of my life. I remembered him asking me to go away with him, for a drive, and how I had agreed after awhile. After that, everything was blurry in my mind.

I wiped myself down and pulled on a t-shirt and shorts, pushing my brain into overdrive as I tried to remember what else had gone on. Some nagging feeling was cutting through my veins and I couldn’t figure out why.

I sat on my windowsill and brushed my hair, each brush feeling like needles through my skull until there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” I called and placed the brush back down on the dresser as Gerard entered the room with a steaming cup of chamomile tea. I thanked him and as he left, my mother entered the room.

I took a sip of the beverage and sighed in contentment, the warmth spreading down from my head to my toes.

My mother was now fixed up, her make-up perfect and hair pulled back in a stern bun. She was lucky she had the crew that she did; otherwise, she would be nothing more than a typical Plain Jane woman. She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow and folded her hands over her lap.

“Ready to talk about where you went last night?”

I placed my cup on the dresser alongside my brush and shrugged, licking my lips. My mother rubbed her temples agitatedly and sighed.

“Emma, you abandoned the party right before it was time for you to make your speech and accept gifts. No one had any idea where you had gone and from what Charlie had said, you didn’t run off with Samuel.”

I could remember that part. Sam was dancing in the crowd near Myranda and Derek, his face was so . . . Happy. A pang of guilt shot through my body and I bottled it up immediately, realizing now that I had betrayed Sam twice now.

“But judging from your actions the night before, I made sure to check if William was there. Turns out, he was gone as well.”

I didn’t reply. My mother reached out a hand and placed it on my own, squeezing slightly.

“You don’t realize what you’re jeopardizing by cheating on Sam, Emma. Samuel is smart, funny, rich, and has a great future planned out for him. William . . . William has nothing to offer but his money, what good is that for you?”

My lips tugged into a deep frown and I pulled my hand away.

“Nothing’s happening between me and William, Mom.” I muttered huffily and reached for my cup of tea.

“Then if nothing’s happening, you’ll be smart enough to tell me where you two disappeared to. You’re lucky that nobody noticed you two leave toward William’s limousine.” My mother’s voice was slightly threatening and I immediately felt defensive.

“Who told you that we were heading toward his limo?” I asked coldly, narrowing my eyes into a glare at my mother.

“Charlie seen you two leaving.”

“Bullshit. I saw you and Charlie dancing in the corner, somebody else saw you.”

My mother smoothed down the loose hairs of her hairdo and pursed her lips angrily.

“I don’t have to tell you anything Emma until you give me an explanation. Now, tell me why you left with William Theoret.”

William’s face appeared in my mind’s eye, handsome and perfect. Disgustingly perfect. Something in my brain clicked, giving me a picture that I hadn’t seen before. Inside the limo, William had given me something to drink . . . Champagne was what it looked like. I remembered the funny taste and the bubbles trickling down my throat.

I glanced up into my mother’s eyes and clenched my jaw tightly.

“I threw my new car keys in the grass when I got into the limo. That’s something useful and something you probably have business knowing.” My mother let out a low growl and got to her feet, pointing a finger in my face.

“You don’t get any answers from me until I get answers from you. Until then, you’re grounded. You aren’t allowed to see Myranda, use your cell phone, talk to Sam or see William.” She grabbed my cell phone off of the night table and placed it in the pocket of her slacks with a defiant look on her face. “Also, you’re going to drive your brother to and from soccer practice until I get a proper answer from you.”

“That’s alright with me; I’ll talk to them at school.” I gave her a fake smile.

“This isn’t a joke Emma, William has a known reputation. Mrs. Von Westl-“

I got to my feet and balled my fists by my side.

“Right. Mrs. Von Westle told you all about William and his life because she knows absolutely everything about everyone.”

“I didn’t say that she did!” My mother exclaimed, her face now turning flushed. “Mrs. Von Westle knows more than what people give her credit for.”

“That doesn’t mean she knows William or anyone for that matter!” I shouted defensively and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Since when do you start defending him? You’ve hated William since day one and all of a sudden you guys are best friends?”

“I’d defend anyone who’s been harassed by Mrs. Von Westle.” My mother scowled at me and lowered her eyebrows further.

“She has some pretty accurate descriptions of what people are like. She told me that William’s been known to mess around with drugs like ecstasy and cocaine. I wouldn’t expect you to know anything about that.”

The word triggered something in my brain for a brief second but I was too angry to take note of what it was.

“Well I’m sure that she has a pretty accurate description of what you’re like: Perfect mother, nice lady, hardworking. Too bad she doesn’t know that the words to describe you are really ‘bitch’ and ‘whore’.”

My mother recoiled like she’d been slapped. Her face crumpled slightly and without a word, she left my room while making sure to slam the door. I ran a hand through my hair and trailed after her, leaning over the banister to watch her trail down the stairs. She was wiping her eyes and stopped for a moment, breathing in deeply to regain her composure before entering the living room with the fakest smile I’ve ever seen.

A door opened and I watched Brett come out of the bathroom, his strawberry blonde hair half flattened on his head and the other half spiked out. He stretched then glanced over at me, blinking his big blue eyes.

“Get in another fight with mom?” He asked as he made his way over to me. He pressed his skinny arms on the banister and stared at me while waiting for an answer.

“Of course.” I replied dully and sniffled. Brett looked down toward the living room and half-smiled.

“I heard most of what you said to her.” I laughed slightly and then brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

“So then you heard about William.” Brett shrugged and gave me a sympathetic smile.

“I skipped over most of that stuff; I was more interested in what you were saying about Mrs. Von Westle.”

“Well most of what I said about her is true. She really is just an old bag with nothing better to do than gossip.”

“I’m happy that you get to drive me to soccer practice though. Chad never wants to talk about anything other than his dumb girlfriend. I’d rather talk about something other than Brooke.” I hugged my little brother and kissed the top of his head. Sometimes, I’m lucky to have Brett in my life.

“Well if you’re happy then I’m happy.”

Brett pulled away and looked up at me, his little face slightly worried.

“Do you really think that mom’s a bitch?” I laughed again and ruffled his hair.

“Don’t swear, mom’ll get mad at you.” Brett rolled his eyes at me.

“Whatever, it wouldn’t be the first time. Don’t avoid the question Emma.” I pursed my lips and placed one hand on the banister again.

“I have my reasons for thinking it but it’s nothing that you need to hear right now.” Brett shrugged my hand off and hopped onto the banister, hooking his feet around the bars to keep him from falling.

“I’m old enough to know and I think I know most of it anyway.” He replied in his matter-of-fact voice. I raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“I highly doubt that.”

“Really Emma, sometimes you treat me like a baby. I know that it has to do with your mom moving on so quickly. You’re pissed about that aren’t you?”

I looked away and my mouth formed a thin line. Brett slid over closer to me and peered at my face. “I’m right aren’t I, Em? I just . . . I just hope you don’t hate me or anything. Because well, I wouldn’t be here if Charlie wasn’t and I don’t want you to hate me ‘cause you’re actually a pretty cool big sister.”

“I don’t hate you, Brett. You’re a great little brother, which is surprising because younger brothers are supposed to be really annoying.” Brett beamed a smile at me then hopped off the banister.

“Good. I have to go call Millie now but I’ll talk to you later.” Before I could say anything, Brett ran off and left me alone.

I trotted down the spiral staircase and past the living room toward the kitchen. It was empty because Hubert had the day off and so did the sous-chef. I stopped in front of the fridge and pulled out a carton of organic orange juice, dropping it in surprise when I seen William leaning against the door frame.

He was wearing a tight white button-up shirt and black slacks, his sandy brown hair slicked back formally. The dimple in his chin showed as he smiled and his eyebrow was raised questionably.

“You’re jumpy today.” He observed, picking up the carton and placing it back in my outstretched hand. I stared at the carton then glanced up at his face, giving him a slight glare.

“You shouldn’t scare me like that.” I snipped and placed the carton on the counter as I reached for a glass in the cupboard. William laughed and closed the cupboard, blocking my way toward the glass I needed.

“Your mother’s angry with me, isn’t she?” His gaze was so focused that it made me squirm. I grabbed a glass out of the dishwasher and poured the juice into it, taking a big sip before answering.

“She says that I’m not allowed to communicate with anyone for the next few months. Worst part is that I don’t even remember everything that happened.” Something that looked like relief crossed over William’s face and I eyed him suspiciously. “You remember don’t you?”

“I just remember the two of us having fun until that idiotic blonde homeless guy threw me up against a wall for touching you.”

“You WHAT!?”

William sighed heavily in annoyance.

“It was nothing bad, we were just having fun is all.”

That’s right.

I remembered sitting in the limo and William dragging me out of it, ignoring my sounds of protest. I remember his expression as the blonde boy held him up against the wall, his muscles rigid with fear. That boy . . . He had helped me and was completely rude after.

I slammed my glass on the counter and glared at William.

“You weren’t having fun. You told me . . . Shit. I can’t remember what you told me.”

William shrugged absently and drained the carton of juice. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and moved closer to me.

“It doesn’t matter what I told you. The bigger question is: Where do we go from here?” I resisted the urge to puke in disgust and moved away from him, throwing the empty carton into the recycle bin behind me.

“Answer: Nowhere.” I retorted and went to exit the kitchen. He moved in front of me, making me stop mid-step.

“We can’t just leave this hanging Emma. There’s something there, both you and I know that.”

I rolled my eyes and placed a hand on my hip.

“Know what? That the only thing there is really distaste for your wardrobe and lack of humour? Please. Get over yourself.” His face faltered slightly and yet he still kept a calm expression.

“Whatever Emma. You’re nothing but a waste of time anyway.” William answered coolly before moving out of my way.

“I’m not a waste of time, I just happen to hate you. A lot.”

“It always starts out that way.” He gave me a wicked grin before trailing out of the kitchen but heading into a different direction. I stopped for a moment to calm myself down before pulling on my flip flops and hitting the buzzer.

“Michael, I need a ride into town.” I said and then left the house.

I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes as I grabbed my purse and left the house. Mom was sure to be pissed off later, but it didn’t matter. I had a certain alleyway I needed to get to in order to get some answers.

Michael pulled up alongside the large marble staircase leading up to our house, getting out of the limo to open the door for me. I smiled and got into it, opening a bottle of champagne for myself and waiting for the motion to resume.

“Where are we headed today Ms. Taylor?” Michael asked while adjusting his hat. I swirled the bubbly liquid in my glass then shrugged.

“No where special. I need to get to the boutique that I bought my dress at. I can’t remember the name but I’m sure you know where I’m talking about.”

Michael smiled and nodded, putting the car into drive.

I had a little business to take care of.