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ChapterOne
NIKKI
I stare out the window as we make the long drive out to Uncle Gordon’s. I’ve only ever met him a handful of times over the years. He hated the city, Mom said, and it’s why he lived out in the middle of nowhere but still managed to rule the family with an iron first.
Honestly I have no clue what he does. I think it might have something to do with stocks. Whatever it is, he does it well because he supports my mom and me. He showed up one day out of the blue after my father abandoned us, and our lives were forever changed.
We went from a trailer park to a fancy house in a gated community. I was taken out of public school and given my own teacher that came to the house every day to teach me one on one, and I got my high school diploma months ago.
I should have known something was up when Mom never talked about what would happen after I graduated. Then again, she doesn’t do anything. There was no talk of the future for me since each day was like the rest. I longed for something more, and I felt all alone.
Sometimes I’d ask Mom if I could do certain things, but she’d never let me. She would tell me it wasn’t permitted on the list of rules from Gordon.Allrules must be followed, or we’d be out on the street. At least, that was my understanding.
At first, it was all wonderful because we always had a fridge stocked with food, and I had a bedroom of my own. It was a big change from the life we’d had before.
I’d heard my father speak of Gordon before I’d ever met him. They weren’t close brothers, and my father loathed him. He’d get drunk and go on about how Gordon stole the family business out from under him and that since he was the older brother it should have been his. I got the feeling my father didn’t get the family business because he was disowned. He had a lot of bad habits, and I think my mom was one of them.
Someone once told me that my mom used to be a stripper, and that’s how she and my dad met. They even teased that the man I knew as my father might not actually be him. Looking at Mom, you’d never know that she once took her clothes off for money and maybe did other favors. Not as she sits next to me in a Chanel dress. Her outfit cost more than the trailer we once lived in.
I have no clue what was gossip around the trailer park or real. I was just happy to be out of there. Once my father up and left, I started to see a change in my mom. She started to pick up on some of my father’s habits and often didn’t come home. She would hop from one trailer to another, leaving me alone in ours when I was only twelve.
Then one day, Uncle Gordon was standing at the door of our trailer, looking so out of place in his fancy suit and car. I remember him being bigger than life then and just as intimidating. He had this aura of power that rolled off him, and even though I was thirteen, I still feel the same now. That’s the day we moved, and I never saw that trailer park again.
While everything was better as the years passed, I started to realize how isolated I really was. Especially now that I no longer go to school. It was always just Mom and me, but sometimes she goes out. Mostly I stay home, and when I do leave, security comes with me. If Mom left on her own, security would stay behind, which I never understood.
Gordon only shows up once a year like a check-in, and he and my mother would go over the rules. After that, he would be out the door, not sparing me a glance. I didn’t understand because he didn’t care about his brother, but he looked out for us. I shouldn’t question it, and if anything, I should be thankful, but things again are changing.
“Why do I have to move?” I ask my mom for the tenth time. Two days ago, I was told I was moving up to the family estate.
“It’s time.” There is a glossiness in my mom's eyes. I’ve noticed it more lately, and I wonder if she’s slipped into some old habits when she’s gone out.
“Time for what?”
“Your Uncle Gordon is all alone out there. He needs someone to keep him company.”
“He wants company?” The man hardly talks.
I didn’t think he liked me. When he did spare a glance my way, his face would turn hard, and his dark eyes seared through me. As big and scary as he was, there was something alluring about him. I had a weird fascination with him and often caught myself thinking about him and recounting the things my father said. He seemed cold, but I’m sure I’ll soon find out.
“Yes, he wants company.”
“Why aren’t you staying too?”
“He doesn’t want me.” Her lips purse. Maybe this isn’t a bad thing. Some space from my mom might be nice. She’s never been a warm and fuzzy mother. “Did you take your pills?”
“Yes.” That was another new rule that popped up when I turned eighteen. A doctor came out to the house to give me a physical. She gave me a few shots and started me on some vitamins. Mom said all girls do it when they turn eighteen.
At first I didn’t notice any difference, but after a while, I noticed changes, though it could be part of getting older. I’ve gained some weight, which my mother complained about constantly. I did not get her genes because she’s rail thin. My curves have filled out more, but what I noticed most were my breasts. They often ache, as do other parts of me, and now it’s starting to get almost painful. Maybe I should ask to see that doctor again.
“We’re almost there,” Mom says, putting her sunglasses on to hide her eyes. “You need to understand something, Nikki. Gordon has been good to us. If he asks you to do something, you do it. Remember our talk about men and their needs.”
“Mom,” I hiss as embarrassment heats my face and I glance toward the driver. Yeah, I remember that talk. It wasn’t one I enjoyed having with her. I preferred learning about it from my romance books. They might not be reality, but they could make me dream and long for more.
“Now is not the time to be shy.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re getting new rules,” she says, not answering my question.
