Covet (12 page)

S
carlet and Barrett
were on opposite ends of the bed at the house in San Diego. After their walk on the beach it had been difficult for Scarlet to forget that there were many things Barrett still didn’t know about. And she couldn’t shake the knowledge that once Patricia found out about all of this, they would all be ruined.

Barrett could feel that was something was wrong. He’d known Scarlet long enough to read her moods. When she was nervous she would knead her hands and avoid eye contact. Her poker face was non-existent. Everything Scarlet felt was evident at all moments.

“Are you tired?” he asked. “We can sleep, get up early and have breakfast somewhere.”

She shook her head, “Not tired. Just a lot on my mind.”

He pulled her over to him, “Come here. Tell me.”

“I can’t. I mean, I will. But-“

She was interrupted by the doorbell.

They both looked at one another, completely confused.

“Who could that be? Don’t you have a gate?” Scarlet asked.

“Yeah,” Barrett slowly said, a terrible realization coming over him. The only people that had access to this house were Nancy, his father, and brother. “I think it might be Durham. My dad’s in Australia. Of all the damn weeks for him to show up here. Sorry, Scarlet, I know he’s not your favorite person.”

Scarlet sighed, “He’s just a little much sometimes.” Durham Evers had a personality the size of Canada. He was always
on
and he always liked to be the center of all conversation. He couldn’t be more unlike Barrett if he tried.

Scarlet crossed her arms and followed Barrett down to the front door. His driver and bodyguard Mark was already there, talking to whoever it was that had interrupted their conversation.

But it sounded like a woman, definitely not the animated Durham Evers.

As they both approached the door Scarlet thought she recognized the voice of her aunt. Sure enough, there was Nancy, a tense expression on her face.

Within seconds it was easy to see why. Accompanying her, and looking vexed, was none other than Patricia Evers.

T
he next morning
, Scarlet was sick.

Nausea had been randomly trouncing her the last couple of days, but this was the first time since their arrival at Easter Island that it had hit. She’d woken up earlier than Barrett, throwing up numerous times in the water closet. She couldn’t help but think that maybe it had been the sushi. The thought of food at all made her queasy.

She was brushing her teeth for the third time when Barrett finally stirred. He gave her a sleepy but confused smile.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked.

“About an hour or so,” she confessed. “I’m not feeling so hot.”

He was immediately up on his feet and by her side, “What’s wrong? Do you need me to call the doctor? They have one here on call.”

She shook her head, “No, I’m just a little nauseated. Maybe something we ate or the climate. It’s starting to pass. I’m fine, I promise.”

He gave her another look of concern, “We can take it easy today. The statues can wait until tomorrow.”

“No way!” she replied. “I’m super stoked to see them. I promise, it’s all good. I’m already feeling better. If I wasn’t, I’d tell you.”

He leaned forward and kissed her head, “I love you, Scarlet. I just want you to always be okay.”

She smiled at him, “I love that I get to see the sweet side of you.”

He laughed, “You’re definitely the only one that does.”

* * *

I
t was
a long hike to the moai and the two lovers took their time admiring the view from the hills and the statue heads that were sprinkled along the way.

“How did they get these up here?” Scarlet asked out loud. “They must weigh a ton.”

“A few tons I would imagine,” Barrett said. “No one really knows how they did it. But when you want something bad enough, you do everything you can to make it happen.” He looked at her knowingly.

Scarlet didn’t seem to catch the hint. She was still a little queasy, though she refused to admit that to Barrett, and she was also completely enthralled with the scenery around her. It was one of those moments where she wished she could be outside of her own body to gauge her reaction at seeing something so astonishing.

Just a little over two months ago she’d been just a regular girl working hard at her college studies with no inkling of what was coming her way in the form of Barrett Evers. She’d almost declined the offer to be an intern for Evers Holdings. It seemed so lame to work for the same company as her mom. She’d always wanted to branch out and do something that was uniquely hers. Her first morning as an intern she almost hadn’t shown up. Some friends of hers were going to Panama City Beach, Florida on a whim and she really wanted to go with. But the thought of disappointing her parents kept her from flaking out. And that was the morning she saw Barrett for the first time since she was a kid.

It was kismet.

Scarlet turned to tell Barrett what she was thinking. As she did she noticed he was already behind her.

Down on one knee.

An open box with a very large diamond ring set on velvet in his hand.

“Oh my God,” she said. “Oh my
God
.”

“Scarlet Bloom,” he said, his voice shaking. “I love you. So much more than I could adequately express. And I know it’s crazy to ask you this so soon, but once I know what I want, I don’t want to wait for it any longer.” Scarlet was crying now, but he could tell she was happy. And very shocked.

“That being said,” he continued. “I’m asking you if you’d like to make this summer last forever. Will you marry me?”

She threw herself on him, nodding her head and calling out, “Yes! Yes! Yes, Barrett Evers! I’ve never wanted anything in my life more than you!”

He caught her and they kissed passionately up against a moai statue that had a very stoic expression on its face, despite the desires being met against the ancient volcanic rock.

They kissed and they laughed and Barrett took Scarlet right there on top of a mountain that overlooked the Pacific and what felt like the entire universe.

“
M
om
?” Barrett asked. “Nancy? What the hell are you two doing here?”

Scarlet stood behind Barrett, shaking from fear. Patricia’s hazel eyes were shooting lasers at Scarlet. No warmth emitted from them.

Nancy stood next to Patricia looking exhausted, “She insisted I bring her here. I texted you but you must not have your phone on you.”

Barrett sighed, “I haven’t even looked at it today. I told you I would be busy.”

“And it looks like you certainly are,” Patricia interrupted. “Seems like a reunion has been happening here.”

Barrett glared at his mother, “No thanks to you, but yes. Scarlet and I have been catching up. On many things.”

Patricia glanced at Barrett, her eyes softening for a moment, “And I suppose she is putting the blame on me? Right?”

“She’s not
putting
the blame on anyone. You
are
to blame. You pushed her away from me and threatened her and her family. You took my entire happiness away, watched me drink myself into oblivion,” he added. Scarlet looked at him, sad. She didn’t know.

“I did what was best for the Evers,” Patricia said. She sounded bored and unashamed. “And now, despite what I advised Scarlet would happen if she came back, here she is again. I suppose she thought my memory was short. But Scarlet, you’ll be disappointed to hear it’s not. And I wasn’t threatening her. I meant every word of what I said. It’s called consequences, not threats.”

Nancy looked at Barrett and Scarlet, “What is she talking about?”

Scarlet held onto Barrett tight, “Barrett, I need to go. I can’t be near her. Please.”

“Mom, you need to leave. Nancy, I’m disappointed in you but we’ll talk about it later,” Barrett said walking towards them. “Get back on the plane you rode in on and leave us alone. You have no power here anymore.”

Patricia’s eyes narrowed and a smirk spread across her face, “You really have no idea, do you?”

Barrett stood between Scarlet and the woman who had given birth to him but had never been much of a mother, “I have plenty of ideas. And it doesn’t sound like you’re denying anything.”

“Scarlet, you haven’t told him everything, have you?” Patricia purred. “Such a shame. I really hate to be the bearer of such secrets.”

Nancy turned to Patricia, “Leave her alone.”

Patricia barely glanced at Nancy, “Nancy, remember who signs your checks and shut up. Scarlet, when were you planning on telling him?”

Scarlet was shaking now, “I was actually just about to tell him when you came here and interrupted.”

“Sure you were,” Patricia spat out. “Well, don’t let me intrude. Go ahead, Scarlet. Tell him what you’ve been hiding from everyone.”

Barrett turned to Scarlet, “Let’s go upstairs. You can tell me in your own time. Mom, I swear to God I will call the police on you. And the Washington Post to let them know Patricia Evers had to be escorted off her son’s property. How would you like to explain that at the next junior league meeting?”

Nancy tried to take Patricia by the arm but Patricia pulled away, walking towards her son, her features contorted into an ugly grimace on her usually perfect face.

“She was
pregnant
when she left you, Barrett,” Patricia practically growled. “Pregnant with your baby. She left you after I paid her to. I didn’t need to threaten her. She took the money and she
left
you. And clearly there’s no baby, so that tells you what kind of girl Scarlet Bloom is.”

Scarlet fell to the floor, her sobs echoing off the marble floors of the foyer.

Barrett was frozen in place at the revelation. Time stopped, and with it, any hope that he had that somehow this could all work out.

Everything he thought he knew, and everything he had naively hoped for, was now destroyed.

“
M
om
,” Barrett said, slowly, looking down at Scarlet, who was a pile of tears on his marble floor. “You need to go. Now. You’ve done your damage.”

Patricia opened her mouth to say something but then quickly closed it.

“I’ll take her back to the plane,” Nancy said, her voice small and missing its usual assertiveness. “Then I’ll come back here.”

Patricia glared at Nancy, “I don’t need
you
to take me anywhere. Mark will drive me back to my Gulfstream.”

Mark, Barrett’s driver, looked over at his boss for affirmation. Barrett was still looking down at Scarlet.

“That’s fine,” Barrett said. “Take her and come back.”

“I’ll call you later,” Patricia said.

“Please don’t,” Barrett snapped back. “Ever. Again.”

Patricia flinched slightly at his words, something that was uncharacteristic of her, “One day you’ll know this was for the best.”

And with that, she was gone.

Meanwhile Scarlet was struggling to stand up. Barrett held out his arm and she reluctantly took it. Scarlet looked at him but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers. She shook her head.

“I wanted to tell you,” she said. “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long. It’s why I couldn’t face you and it’s why I am completely fucked up, Barrett.”

Barrett clenched his fists, trying his best not to erupt, “Scarlet. You had no right to keep this kind of information from me. And is it true? You were pregnant? And my mother paid you off to leave me?”

Scarlet’s eyes filled with tears again, “There’s so much more to it. If you could give me a chance-“

“I’ve been with you for four days. And you left me. Five years ago. What more of a chance did you need?” he replied. “Were you even really going to tell me anything? I can’t even fucking look at you right now.”

Scarlet started sobbing again. Nancy had been standing there, awkwardly, watching the scene unfold, unsure of what to say or do.

“Scarlet,” Nancy said, trying to sound gentle. More like Michelle. “Did your mom know about any of this?”

Scarlet shook her head, “No one knew. Not Ben. Not Mom or Dad.”

Nancy sighed, “Oh, sweet child. Why didn’t you tell any of us?”

Scarlet looked at Nancy, her eyes filled with pain. It crushed her to see her only niece in this kind of position.

“I couldn’t,” she whispered. “It was part of the deal.”

Barrett slammed his fist into the wall on the other side of the foyer, making both women jump.

“Barrett,” Nancy’s voice held a cautionary tone. “You need to calm down and listen to what Scarlet has to say.”

“I just don’t understand,” Barrett’s voice rose. “There’s nothing she needed to be afraid of. I could have protected her. Scarlet, you didn’t trust me. And what’s worse is you took our baby…” His voice cracked.

Scarlet ran over to him, “Barrett. Listen to me. Look at me!”

He turned away from her, the first time he’d ever been able to resist her touch.

“I could have made everything okay,” Barrett said quietly. “You didn’t even give me a chance.”

She touched his arm, “Please.”

Nancy walked over to the front door, “Barrett, I’m going to a hotel for tonight. You both need to talk.
Really
talk.”

“I’m tired,” he replied. “Scarlet, maybe you should go with her.”

Scarlet stared at him slack-jawed, “You’re sending me away? You won’t let me explain anything?”

Barrett wanted nothing more than to rewind time and go back to the place where he didn’t have any of this new knowledge. But he couldn’t. And until he could get a handle on it, he couldn’t be near Scarlet. Having her next to him would compromise his judgement; it always had. He needed space. Even just for one night.

“I’m not sending you anywhere,” he replied. “If you want, I’ll go to the hotel and you both can stay here. But I need a night alone. I need to think.”

Scarlet had never felt this kind of despondency. Days ago she would have done anything to run away from him. But after their time together, she couldn’t bear to be apart. It wasn’t possible for her. Not anymore.

“Please just look at me,” she whispered, taking his face in her hands. “Promise me you will give me a chance. Even if I don’t deserve it. I can’t leave here unless you give me that.”

Her eyes were filled with anguish and a large part of him hated to have her leave. All he wanted to do was love her, but this was too much. Barrett was someone who was usually pragmatic and logical. His emotions didn’t tend to get in the way of much. Scarlet was his Achilles heel and he needed to be away from her.

“I promise,” he finally said. “Go and rest. I’ll send Mark for you in the morning. We can talk then.”

It wasn’t what Scarlet wanted. But she knew when it was time to push and when it was time to let go.