Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy (27 page)

Genevieve

I stared at the tiles in the hospital waiting room. They were filthy and cracked. How many people had sat in this very spot and waited to hear bad news? My situation felt extraordinary, but the truth is emergencies are common. Well,
most
emergencies are common. I’m willing to wager the amount of people who fake miscarriages and throw themselves down a flight of stairs is small.

I tapped my foot nervously and checked my watch. Only three minutes had passed since I’d last checked the time. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Luke. He passed by the front of the waiting room door. He refused to come in and sit with me. He’d taken to pacing the halls because he ‘needed to think.’

I suspect he didn’t want to be near me. As we waited for the ambulance, I tried to explain what my mother had done. I begged him to understand. I would never do something as heinous as push my mother down a flight of stairs, especially if she was pregnant. Luke didn’t respond to pleas for understanding.

“Your mother is what’s important right now,” he’d said.

I replayed the events over and over again in my head. The way she’d pulled out the plastic bag full of what looked like blood and spread it over the front of her jeans. It was clear she wanted it to look like her fall down the stairs had caused a miscarriage. Did that mean she was still pregnant? She’d never throw herself down the stairs hard enough to cause serious injury. She was faking, right?

The waiting room door opened. I jumped up, hoping to see Luke. It was the doctor. My heart sank. I knew my mother wasn’t seriously injured. I was hoping the doctor would prove I was telling the truth, though I wasn’t sure how.

“You are…?” he said.

“Genevieve. I’m Val’s daughter.”

“Right,” he replied.

He looked tired. He probably saw so many patients that he had a hard time keeping them straight.

“How is she?” I asked.

“She’s stable. Her shoulder was dislocated. We’ve reset it. She’ll have to wear a sling for a while, but it should heal on its own.”

This took me by surprise. She’d flung herself down the stairs hard enough to dislocate her shoulder? She was seriously committed to her role.

“However,” the doctor continued, “she unfortunately suffered a miscarriage.”

I sank down into my seat. She was pregnant and she’d given herself a miscarriage, why? Was she doing all of this simply to win Luke back? It was insane.

“I’m sorry.”

Absently, I nodded. She’d lost the baby. Luke would be devastated, and he would blame me. Maybe that was her plan all along: make Luke hate me, then win him back with sympathy? It was evil. I never imagined my mother was capable of this level of manipulation. I guess I never appreciated how desperately she wanted his money. She saw Luke’s fortune as being up for grabs and she was not going to let anyone get in the way of her payday.

“Do you have any questions?”

“You’re sure she lost the baby?”

“There’s no sign of pregnancy.”

The way he phrased his response intrigued me.

“No sign?” I asked. “Meaning: you can’t find any evidence she was ever pregnant?”

The doctor grimaced. “According to your mother, it was very early on in her pregnancy. If she suffered a miscarriage, it can be hard to determine exactly how far along she was, or-”

“Or if she was really pregnant?”

“You suspect she was not expecting?”

I laughed, earning a hard, judgmental stare from the doctor. Luke, of course, chose that exact moment to walk in.

“Are you the father?” the doctor asked him.

Luke swallowed hard. “Yes,” he replied meekly. He kept one eye on me. My hysterical laughing was doing little to endear him to me.

“I’m afraid your girlfriend has suffered a miscarriage.”

“Don’t you see?” I said. “She was never pregnant to begin with. This was all part of her plan to manipulate you.”

“Genevieve, this is not the time for these crazy-” Luke started.

I cut him off. “Tell him,” I demanded of the doctor. “She was never pregnant to begin with.”

Luke looked to the doctor expectantly. He shrugged.

“I cannot conclusively say one way or the other.”

“Her jeans were covered in blood,” Luke said.

“Yes,” the doctor said awkwardly.

“It was just on her clothes though, right? There was no evidence she was actually bleeding.”

“I didn’t say that,” the doctor replied defensively. “The paramedics removed her clothes in the ambulance; she was cleaned up quickly. Things happen so fast in emergency situations that it can be difficult to determine the exact nature of the problem.”

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Thank you, doctor,” he said, then asked when he could see Val.

“You can see her now,” he replied. “She’s resting comfortably.”

I was impatient for him to leave. I needed to talk to Luke alone.

“Can I ask: how exactly did she fall down the stairs?” the doctor asked. He shot me a suspicious look. Had my mother told him I’d pushed her?

“She tripped, I believe,” Luke said.

The doctor nodded and gave me a hard sidelong look. He wasn’t buying it.

“If you have any questions, I’ll be on call for the rest of the night.”

“Thank you,” Luke said and shook his hand.

Finally, we were alone.

“Luke, you can’t possibly believe that I-”

He held up his hand.

“Don’t. Don’t say anything,” he whispered. He pointed over his shoulder to the door. “The paramedics overheard your mother tell me that you pushed her. You need to keep your mouth shut. If the police want to speak to you: decline. Say nothing. Don’t speak to anyone without a lawyer present.”

My heart beat like a jackhammer in my chest. Would they arrest me? What would they charge me with? Assault? Attempted murder? I braced myself against the wall and tried to breathe. The room was spinning around me. I felt Luke’s hand on my back. He rubbed it slowly. I glanced up at him; he wouldn’t meet my eye.

“I didn’t do this, Luke. You have to believe me. I was lying in bed and suddenly she was there. She pulled a plastic bag full of a red liquid out of her pants pocket and then-”

“This is insane.”

“Yes, it is. I wouldn’t believe it, if I hadn’t seen it.”

“Did you know she was pregnant?”

I bit my lip.

“Did you?” he demanded. There was an edge to his voice now. He was losing his temper.

“Yes. She told me three weeks ago. That’s why I cut you off. Earlier today she gave me her ring for safekeeping and then you texted me wanting it back and I thought it would be the perfect time to return it and say goodbye.”

I was starting to ramble. When I get nervous I speak quickly.

“That’s what tonight was? Your way of saying goodbye? Christ, Genevieve you really are a chip off the old block.”

“I’m nothing like my mother. I was trying to do what’s right.”

“By fucking me, and then…”

“Go on, say it. You don’t believe me. You think I pushed her down the stairs.”

“I don’t know what happened.”

“Why was she in your apartment? You don’t find that suspicious? Did you let her in?”

“No.”

“Does she have a key?”

“No.”

“Don’t you see what’s going on? She’s trying to manipulate you into hating me.”

“You sound nuts.”

“Fuck you. I was going to tell you everything. I knew she’d try to trap you with a pregnancy. Now, I’m not even sure she was pregnant to begin with. I thought you were smart enough not to fall for it, but clearly I was wrong. The two of you deserve each other.”

I heard him call my name as I pushed past him and stormed down the hall to my mother’s room. The nurses watched me curiously as I practically kicked down the door to my mother’s hospital room. My mother was sitting up in bed with two pillows behind her neck. Her arm was secured tightly to her chest in a sling. Her eyes narrowed when she saw it was me.

“Feeling better,
mom
?” I asked with acid in my words.

She smirked. “You really are a sore loser, sweetheart. You have to learn to control your temper. I’ve told you repeatedly that it’s awful for your skin. You’re going to need Botox by the time you’re twenty-two.”

“The police are going to arrest me. Luke hates me. I’ll never get into college. You’ve ruined my future. I hope you’re happy.”

“Why would the police arrest you?”

“The paramedics overheard you tell Luke that I pushed you down the stairs.”

She waved her free hand in the air dismissively. “I’ll tell the cops it was an accident- that I tripped. I can’t let my only daughter become a convict. What would people say?”

I scoffed. “Of course. The most important thing is your reputation.”

“Sit down, sweetheart. Let’s talk.”

She pointed to the seat beside her bed. I couldn’t believe how calm she was, though I shouldn’t be surprised. Everything was going exactly to plan. She was getting everything she wanted: Luke.

“I’d rather stand,” I replied.

“Suit yourself. I just want you to know there are no hard feelings. We’re even now.”

“
No hard feelings?
People think I intentionally pushed you down the stairs to give you a miscarriage. I don’t think you were even pregnant to begin with.”

“You’re a smart girl just like me.”

A strange look passed over her face. For a moment, I thought she looked proud of me. My disgust with her rose to new heights. I turned to leave.

“Gigi, don’t go.”

“What?”

“I’m going to set things right. One of my Daddies has a son that’s your age. He’s obscenely wealthy, smart and cute. You’d be perfect for him. He loves books and art just like you.”

“I don’t care. I’m not playing your game anymore.”

“Spend some time with him. In the end, you’ll see that this was all for the best.”

I left the room without a word. I didn’t see the point in arguing with her. She would never see the error of her ways. All that mattered to Val was getting what she wanted. Collateral damage didn’t concern her.

As I walked towards the exit, I heard one of the nurses calling after me. I didn’t care. Whatever problems my mother had were hers to deal with. I was done.

Luke

I desperately needed a stiff drink. I threw myself down in the chair where Genevieve had been sitting. It was still warm with her body heat. In that moment, all I could think was how much I hated Trent. The bastard had been right about everything: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Genevieve was exactly like her mother. She’d lied and manipulated me; she’d made me into a fool. No. That’s not fair. Genevieve didn’t turn me into a fool. I am one by nature.

How could I have trusted her? Once her mother had tried to take advantage of me, I should have known Genevieve would follow. Still, something bothered me. Doubt nagged at the back of my mind. What if Genevieve was telling the truth? It was preposterous to think Val would fake a fall down a flight of stairs and induce, or fake, a miscarriage. What could her motivation be?

I searched our past, but came up empty. She’d try to force me to marry her once; when her planned failed had she decided to take it to the next level? I shook the thought away. Even for Val, it was insane. And the baby… would she risk the life of her unborn child just to secure a marriage to me?

Tears welled up in my eyes. I swallowed hard and blinked them away. I was going to be a father and I never even knew. Now it was too late. The baby was gone. But who was responsible? Val? Genevieve?

I didn’t know Genevieve well, but I refused to believe the sensitive girl I’d known for a short period of time would try and kill her unborn sibling. She must have really believed Val was never pregnant.

The stain on the front of Val’s jeans passed through my mind. Was she bleeding, or had the blood been placed their like a spill? It was impossible to know for sure. The room had been dark and in the chaos of the moment all I could think about was getting Val to the hospital.

There was one way to find out: I could just ask her.

I jumped to my feet and marched down the hall to her room. I threw open her hospital room door, expecting to find Genevieve, but the room was empty except for Val. She was lying propped up in bed, her arm in a sling. Dark circles left deep marks beneath both her eyes. Her makeup was smeared as if it had been half-removed.

For the first time, I could Val’s age. She looked about a decade older than usual. She was still beautiful, but she looked rough around the edges. It was understandable; she’d been through a lot.

When she saw me, she smiled weakly. She opened her mouth to speak. Her voice came out scratchy and barely a whisper. I went to her side and took her hand.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Okay,” she said meekly. “It’s not true what the doctor said, you know?”

“What’s not true?”

“I didn’t lose the baby. I couldn’t have. Oh, Luke, say it isn’t true.”

Her voice broke and her face twisted. I couldn’t pull her to me because of her shoulder so I did my best to comfort her. I leaned over and wrapped an arm around her.

“Have you talked to Gigi?” she asked. “I’d hoped she’d come to visit me. I’m sure she didn’t mean to… to…”

Her voice caught in her throat as she choked back a sob.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

She wiped her eyes. I noticed there weren’t any tears falling down her cheeks. Was she faking?

“I have to talk to her. I don’t know how my baby girl could do such a thing. She must have been confused. I’m sure she didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Val, what were you doing in my apartment?”

She looked down at her hands.

“I wanted to apologize to you in person. What I did was unforgivable. I was so blinded by my feelings for you. When I used your credit card to buy the engagement ring, I thought it would be a story we both laughed over, a story we’d share with our grandchildren.” Her voice cracked again. “We’ll never have grandchildren now, will we?”

I rubbed her back.

“I still had the key you gave me a couple months ago, so I thought I’d let myself in. I was going to surprise you and return the ring… as soon as I found it, anyway. I discovered it was missing earlier. I was terrified I’d lost it. I’d had it insured though. If it was missing I would have paid you the insurance claim. You believe me, don’t you? Say you do. I can’t stand the idea of you thinking of me as a liar and a thief.”

“I believe you,” I said, though I wasn’t sure I did. I couldn’t remember ever giving her a key to my apartment either. Had she stolen it?

“When I snuck in, it was dark. I thought maybe you were still at work, then I heard a noise upstairs…”

She let her words linger dramatically.

“I thought it was you. I went upstairs to find Gigi naked in bed.”

She looked up at me with big blue eyes. They looked glassy. I couldn’t tell if it was the effect of tears or the pain meds she was on.

“What was she doing there, Luke? I know you would never sleep with my daughter. Did she try to seduce you? Did you know she was upstairs in your bed naked? What a stupid question. Of course you did.”

She covered her face with her free hand and made loud sobbing noises. I stiffened and glanced at the door. Sleeping with my exes’ daughter was not the smartest decision I’d ever made, but I’d thought Val was out of my life for good. That may not make it right, but I couldn’t help being drawn to Genevieve. We had a connection I couldn’t ignore.

“I deserve the pain. I deserve it all after what I did to you. Maybe Gigi was right to push me down the stairs. I’ve been a horrible mother. I’ve neglected her. If I’d spent less time with you and more time with her, maybe she wouldn’t have lashed out like this. It’s all one big cry for attention, don’t you think? She couldn’t stand the idea of sharing my love with a new baby. Poor Gigi. I’d forgotten all about my first baby. I’m going to fix things. This is all my fault.”

Despite my nagging suspicions, I found myself comforting Val.

“It’s not your fault. You’re not a bad mother.”

I remembered Val abandoning Genevieve after that fateful dinner a couple weeks ago. It was a shitty thing to do, but it didn’t make her a terrible mother, did it?

“I’m sure you were just overwhelmed,” I said. “Being a single mother isn’t easy.”

“No, it isn’t.”

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard.

“Luke, I want you to know something. If you decide to choose Genevieve over me, I completely understand. I’ll respect your choice and step aside. And, I’m going to find your ring and return it. I haven’t forgotten about it.”

“I have the ring.”

“What? How?”

“Genevieve brought it to me tonight.”

Val’s face fell. “She stole it. She knew she could use it to weasel her way into your life.”

What Val was saying made a kind of sense. Genevieve was young. Girls her age fall for men easily. They get swept away in a fantasy and they do what they can to make sure it becomes a reality. But that didn’t explain why Genevieve had refused to return my calls until I threatened her with the police.

The memory still made me cringe. It had been one of a series of foolish things I’d done. I’d accused her of lying and manipulating me when I’d done the very same thing to get her to agree to meet me. I had no business snapping at her the way I had.

Genevieve had seemed sincere when she’d said she planned to stay away from me after being told by Val she was carrying my baby. She’d said she wanted to return the ring and have one final goodbye. Was that really so unreasonable?

Yet again, I’d made things worse.

Still, I had a hard time believing Val would fake all this. It was extreme- even for her. I needed to talk to Genevieve. Val squeezed my hand.

“Before you make a choice,” she said, “there’s something you need to know about Genevieve. She’s not well.”

“What do you mean? She’s sick?”

“Yes. Not physically, but mentally. A year ago I had to have her institutionalized.”

“Why?”

“She attacked me.”

I dropped Val’s hand. It couldn’t be true. Genevieve in a mental institution? I couldn’t picture it.

“Ask her yourself if you don’t believe me,” Val said.

That was exactly what I would do. I stood and started to leave. Val grabbed my shirt sleeve.

“If this is it, will you kiss me goodbye? I’d hate to think the last time I ever saw you, you stormed out of my hospital room, leaving me to wonder if I’d made the worst mistake of my life. One last kiss. Please?”

I leaned over, intending to kiss her on the forehead, but Val was too quick. Her lips found mine, soft and sweet. Her mouth opened and her tongue brushed against mine. I cradled her face gently as she kissed me harder.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped and turned to find Genevieve standing behind me. A look of shock and rage twisted her face.

“You two really do deserve each other,” she said with disgust as she ran out of the room.

“Gen, wait!”

I ran after her to the sound of Val’s sobs.