Losing Control Read Free Page A

back to Stanton.
    “Thank you Stanton,” I said. “You can go back now. Enjoy your day.”
    I had no idea who this guy was but in the light of day that smile looked like a mirage. I might have been vulnerable last night, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay weak. I can’t believe he actually thinks this is cute? The whole stalker romantic-hero routine? The way he was talking to me on the phone just now, he seemed certain I was going to say yes. Are all men that presumptuous? But I wasn’t about to let him ruin my walk into a brand new existence.
    Every day is the first day of the rest of your life.

THORNE

     
     
     
     
     
    She sounded angry. Of course she sounded angry I was being an idiot! What was I thinking? I should have been careful but when it comes to Elena sometimes I tend to forget my manners, or my sense of reasoning. But that needs to change. People look up to me, I’m Thorne-fucking-Ryker, not some doormat stalker-boyfriend wannabe. I need to rethink this. But for now, my mother, dressed in a Valentino that she must have bought for the brunch with her friends, was standing next to the breakfast bar and despite the wine glass in her hand with some of my best Cabernet, she didn’t look happy. I could tell there was something she wanted to get off her chest and I was afraid I knew what it might be.
    “Why is he here?” she asked, bluntly.
    “Lane? He needs a break so he’s staying here. What’s the big deal?”
    “Why isn’t he staying with us? With his father? Let him take care of it. You think you can keep an eye on that boy? You’re not even around most of the time. Are you going to leave your work and babysit him from now on?”
    “Mom—”
    The door opened and Lane barged in, wearing his running clothes and I could hear the distant beats emanating from his iPod. The minute he saw us he stopped and took out the earphones. “Mom,” he said. He looked like he didn’t know what he could possibly say after that.
    “She’s just visiting,” I said.
    “You mean checking up on me,” Lane said.
    “Lane, it’s not like that…” I tried to speak but Mom beat me to it.
    “That’s right,” she said. “I am checking up on you. It’s not exactly uncalled for, after everything that’s happened!”
    Lane looked like he had a few comebacks but he didn’t say them. “I’m going to take a bath,” he said to me instead and disappeared upstairs.
    “Mom,” I said the minute he was out of earshot. “Why’re you making this difficult? What happened wasn’t his fault. We’ve been through this before.”
    “I just don’t trust that boy,” Mom said, and stood.
    “And we all know why Mom,” I said, a bit angrily this time. I couldn’t stand people talking bad about Lane, even if it was my mother. “And it’s got nothing at all to do with what happened a year ago.”
    Of course Mom knew what I was talking about but as always she tried to ignore it. “Just be careful around him,” she said. “You never know what that bad seed might be up to.”
    “Mom!”
    “Don’t take that tone with me, Thorne. I’m your mother. It’s my job to look after you.”
    “It’s your job to look after him too,” I reminded her but she wasn’t one to listen to reason. It was best to just let her go and see her friends. Perhaps they would be better company for her. At this point, I was just dying to get rid of her because I didn’t want Lane and her arguing. Lane actually showed restraint just now where a year ago he would have stood and fought and given her hypertension. Now, he just avoided the situation by distracting himself with a shower. That was progress. If only I could get my mother to show some as well.
    A few minutes after she left, Lane walked down the stairs with a towel in his hand that he was using to rub his hair dry. He sat at the breakfast bar. “I need to eat,” he said. “Don’t you have a maid or someone who cooks?”
    “She’s got some errands to run,” I