Unlucky in Love

Why the hell was I here?

Seriously, this sucked so much. I may have been a little more comfortable had my dad and Margeaux chilled it with the whole lovey-dovey shit.

Especially when pictures of my mother were still littered about the house.

"Ember, what're you doing about school since you're down here?" Ashton asked me, actually looking at me instead of looking at his plate and not caring.

I swallowed the sip of wine I had taken. "I resigned from school, actually."

My father's reaction was typical: he was furious.

"Why on earth would you quit school?" He demanded.

"Because it's not what I wanted to do," I insisted. "I wanted to just be a mom for right now. And that's what I'm doing; I'm being a mom, and a pretty good one at that."

Ashton scoffed. "Ember, there's so much more you can do with your life. Don't settle."

His words made me bust out laughing. "Wow, okay, where was this man two years ago when he sold his daughter for a company?" I asked acidly. "Dad, all I've ever done is what you and Mom had asked of me."

"You had your rebelious moments," He jabbed in.

"Rebelious moments?" I quoted. "When was I ever rebelious?"

"There were times." He said flatly, taking a gulp of wine.

I scoffed. "I was an honor student," I began.

"Don't start," He warned.

My eyes narrowed. "I attended all of your parties and functions with a big smile on my face. I always looked perfect so as to make you look good. I never did drugs. I never drank. I never had sex...Now tell me, how is any of that rebelious?"

"Ember, the last few months you lived with us, you were nothing but a brat, and I can see you haven't changed. Sometimes I'm ashamed to call you my daughter."

"The last few months that I lived with you..." I paused and thought about what to say without exploding. "You told me at the beginning of my senior year that I had to get married to a guy I barely knew who was the brother of my ex best friend, and then expect me to be happy about it. You told me that we were getting married that December and had to go to Europe. You told me you wanted us to have a child to unite not only ourselves, but your companies." I noticed the hysterical look of shock on Margeaux's face as she whipped her head to Ashton. "I moved in with him, because that's what you wanted. I married him so you would give Mom the perfect life. We had a child, but probably sooner than either of you thought. Dad, I did everything you've ever asked me to do. What did I do wrong according to you?"

Ashton's eyes were watery at the casual mention of Andrea. "I lost Andrea." he murmured, almost to himself.

"So did I, and so did Isabel." I said gently. "She didn't even get to meet Emma." I told him, my voice cracking. All of a sudden I was aware that my eyes were filling fast with tears. "But she chose to do it, Dad. She wanted to be away from us. It's not your fault, and it's not my fault. You knew she needed help, so please don't act like it was a big shock."

"I never wanted to believe she needed help," Ashton said, his voice tormented. For the first time in a long time, I saw my dad.

I took in a shaky breath. "I didn't either. We were all so disconnected that we didn't even notice. I was too caught up in hating her that I didn't see that she just wanted us to be closer. And I really regret that," I ended in a whisper. I sniffled and wiped under my eyes.

Ashton cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "You're right, Emmie," he told me sincerely.

I chuckled a little at his use of Andrea's nickname for me. "Maybe we can try again?" I asked. "Just start with a clean slate?"

"I'd like that very much." he replied, and I smiled a little. Maybe some things really could be fixed.

* * *

"Emma, we're going to go on your first shopping adventure!" I said excitedly, dressing her in a white coat, jeans, and customized ballet flats I had given her for her birthday.

I took her into my room and set her on the counter in the bathroom to finish getting ready. I was in a navy blue sweater that was V-necked and had 3/4 length sleeves, dark sinny jeans, and black boots. I examined myself in the mirror and took my hair out of its wavy ponytail and shook it out. My long hair was all tousled around my face and shoulders, and I shook it out and ran some product through it to accentuate the waves.

Emma started digging through my box full of MAC cosmetics and grabbed my liquid eye liner.

"Em, give me that please," I said, holding out my hand to her. She shook her head and put the cap between her teeth and pulled. She tried to put the black liquid in her mouth, but I grabbed it and the cap from her before she could, and she began to cry.

"Mine!" she wailed. "Mine, Momma, Mine!" she demanded.

My jaw dropped. Great. She was in the "mine" phase. I thought I had another year at least.

I sighed and picked her up and blew in her face softly to get her to stop crying. It worked after a few moments, and she began to calm down. I set her back down on the counter and moved my make-up away from her.

When I finished, I wiped Emma's face with a damp washcloth to get the tears streaks and snot off her face, and then carried her downstairs.

"Hey, was she crying earlier?" Dominic asked me. I nodded and rolled my eyes in an exaggerated way.

"Don't ask. She's fine." I replied, bending down to grab my purse by the door.

Dominic raised his hands defensively. "Okay. Um, can I get a ride to my parents house? My mom's been using my car while we've been gone, and she's letting me have it back."

"Sweet, we're gonna be a two-car family!" I exclaimed. I was being sarcastic, but I was actually really happy about that fact. I wanted the VW all to myself.

By the time we got to Susan and Richard's house, it was already two in the afternoon on a Saturday, and I knew the mall was going to be absolutely crazy. But I didn't let it phase me.

Emma and I went to the Galleria Mall and shopped until about six o'clock. I got a bunch of Christmas presents for Emma, Dominic, and Daveigh (even though she doesn't deserve it). As we were exiting the mall, I bumped into someone with Emma's stroller, and I inhaled sharply.

"I'm so sorry!" I said. The guy got up and smiled, and I took a step back. "What're you doing here?" I asked, all friendliness gone.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Chase said, smiling arrogantly. "Did you miss me up there in Portland?"

I scoffed. "I never even thought about you," I told him in a harsh tone of voice.

Chase's smile faded slightly. "Well, it's good to see you," he started. "Can I get a hug at least?"

I shook my head immediately. "No, considering the last time you touched me was when you were trying to rape me." I kept my voice somewhat low due to the traffic of shoppers.

And saying "rape" in a mall is like saying "bomb" at an airport.

"So. I guess it was kind of nice to see you." I said awkwardly. "I have to go now." I pushed the stroller to the doors, and turned around when he called to me.

"That wasn't the last time I touched you," he argued. "You're forgetting your party, when you danced with me."

I shook my head. "That's been buried deep down, Chase. I don't want to remember it or you, so next time you see me, please walk out of my way."