How Can I Fix This Mistake

Chapter 1

Four years ago…

I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of Cambridge General Hospital. Cambridge is a small city in North Carolina and this is where I grew up. My phone rang and I looked to see it was Alex. I smiled and then my smile vanished a second later.“Hey.” I said.

“Hey, how is she? Is she getting any better?” Tears started to fall. “No, the doctor said she’s just not getting better but she’s not getting any worse either. So that’s a good thing right?” I said knowing that I’m just trying to convince myself. Alex could tell that I was crying, because he said “Hey, hey. Don’t cry it’s going to be okay, everything will be okay.”

“I just don’t know how to keep it together anymore, for years she has been sick and I just can’t take it anymore. I hate to see my very own mother like this.” My mother, Lucy Martin, had leukemia, she’s had cancer since I was ten years old. And now I was just losing my mind having to wait and see how long she really has. Three years ago the doctors said she only had two months to live but then the treatments started to work and she started getting better. But then just with the snap of the fingers, she got worse again and now here we are.

“I know but like they say, sometimes it’s going to get ugly before it gets better. Just hang in there okay? You know I’m here for you, I love you and I’m always going to be there no matter what.”

      

“God I love you, I honestly don’t know what I would do without you.” I said and I mean it, I really wouldn’t know what to do if he wasn’t here, I think that if Alex wasn’t here, I would simply give up altogether.

          

“Look I got to go but I’ll see you later at home and don’t forget we have dinner with my mom tonight.”

          

“Right, I forgot we had to be there. What knife should I bring in case I have to hurt someone?” I said sarcastically. Alex’s mother absolutely hates me for really no reason, other than her saying that I wasn’t good enough for him but she never explained the reasoning.

          

Alex laughed. “You’ll be fine trust me I already told her to be on her best behavior and the same goes for you too. Last time I was the one who had to calm everything down and fix all that went down.”

          

“It wasn’t that bad.” I said.

“You called her a b***h in front of one of her clients.”

“She called me a prostitute in front of that client!” I said defensively.

“And she shouldn’t have done that but it’s just going to be us and Lizzy for dinner.” Lizzy is Alex’s younger sister she just graduated from high school and is now going to cosmetology school. “Just behave for me please."

          

“Alright I have to go but I love you.”

          

“I love you too.” I hung up and sat in the car for another minute. I always feel so much better when I talk to Alex, he’s honestly my kryptonite, and I can’t imagine my life without him. I turn the ignition and decided to drive for a while, it was four forty five and we didn’t need to be at Alex’s mother's house until eight. 

By the time i got home it was six fifteen and I didn’t see Alexs’ car in the driveway. I went inside and headed upstairs to mine and Alex’s room. When I got in the room there was a shopping bag sitting on the bed with a piece of paper next to it. 

I saw this and thought it would look gorgeous on you because you are a gorgeous woman. Put it on and I know you will look amazing in it. 

P.S. Don't forget to behave tonight for everyone's sake.

Love Alex.  

I laughed at that last part, Alex knew me very well. I looked inside the bag and it was a dress, I took it out and it was a black dress that looked like it would fit me perfect. I got ready and I was right about the dress, it did fit me perfectly. I did my hair and makeup and when to put on the three inch heels I had just bought. I finished getting myself together and looked to see it was seven thirty. It was strange that Alex wasn't here yet, normally he would've been here by now to come and get me. 

I called Alex and after five rings it went to voicemail. 

"Hey since you're not here, I'm going to take my car and head over to your mother's house now, see you there." 

I put my phone in my bag and got my keys off of the kitchen counter, locked the house and got in my car. Alex's mother lived about twenty minutes away and I was really trying to take my time getting there. I seriously did not want to go over to her house. I don't know what all that happened, one day she loved me and loved me and her son being together and then out of the blue she started to shun me and started giving me an attitude all the time. For the last few years it's been like this and I don't know what I did wrong. 

I got to Alex's mother's house, I parked the car, got out and went up to the door and rang the doorbell. Normally Alex and I would just walk in but since he's not here with me and his mother hating me, I'm not comfortable with just walking in by myself. Alex mother, Eva, came and answered the door, she just looked at me but she didn't move. 

"You going to let me in or are you just going to stand there and be a gargoyle?" I said with my oh so famous sarcastic tone.

"Well I would but this house has a no tolerance for desperate girls like you." She said with a nasty voice.

"Wow Eva, whatever happened to greeting your guests with kindness?" I said all sweetly.

"I guess you are not a welcomed guest. The only reason you're here is because of my son. If it was me, you wouldn't even be able to get past the driveway." But she moves aside and I walk through the door. 

The house was big, almost like a mansion but not really flashy like some mansions you see. Yes this family was rich, Eva is a lawyer and her husband was also a lawyer. He died about eight years ago from a car crash and everything in his will was given to Eva and his kids. 

I walked through the foyer and into the living room. "Where's Lizzy?" I asked. 

"I sent her out for a while, I wanted to talk to you alone. But where is Alex?" 

"I don't know I thought he would be here. I tried calling him but went to voicemail." I said.

"I don't think he will be long but anyway I wanted to talk to you about you and my son."

"Listen Eva, you and I have already had this talk a million times over. You don't like me now for whatever reason, you think I'm not good enough for Alex. But guess what? Alex and I don't care about how you feel about our relationship. We've been together for  four years now. You just have to get over it." I said with a strong argument.

"I don’t need to explain my reasons to you as to why I don’t like you or want you with my son. I just don’t like you is reason enough.”

 

"I love Alex with my entire life and I will do anything for him to make him happy." 

"Which brings me to this. I want you gone and out of Alex's life. And I will make sure of that." Eva said a little too seriously. 

"What are you going to do? Run me out of the country and put me on some unknown island?" I said sarcastically. 

"I will offer you an ultimatum. Either you take the money that I am willing to give you-" 

"How much money are we talking?" I asked.  "Again maybe you didn't hear me correctly but I said that I love Alex with my entire heart."  

"Or I can make sure that the people in this town knows what you and your mother have done in sunset two towns over."

I sat there in utter silence. My mom was once a stripper when she was twenty one. Let's just say that her life wasn't all that stable when it came to money. She was taking day classes in a community college, while taking care of me at five months old. Her parents were big on no sex before marriage and my mother wasn't married by a far shot when she had me, it was with someone that she had a thing with on and off for a few years. So things with them didn't go well and my mom could barely afford me but she wasn't giving me up. So she became a stripper to help get by.

Once my mom was diagnosed with leukemia, all those hospital bills really started to add up. At the age of sixteen, I worked at a strip club to help pay the house and all of the hospital bills. It was about a year and a half later when I quit due to all of the disgusting, old, seedy men that came in the club.

My mom and I are not proud whatsoever about being once strippers. But sometimes you got to do what you have do. Eva was a big help when a few guys that were at those clubs during my time came here to Cambridge and saw me and started to say things about what happened in sunset. Eva was able to make those guys shut up and made sure that no one would ever find out about those times. That's why I've always been so grateful to Eva but now she just hates me. 

"So what you're saying is that if I don't break up with Alex then you're going to tell the entire world about mine and my mother's past? You're unbelievable."

"Yes. I don't want you in Alex's life at all. Plain and simple, end of story."

I just sat there and processed what Mrs. Knight just told me. I can't believe that she would pay me money or tell the other entire town, which by the way judges way too much, mine and my mother's past just so Alex and are no longer together. Like that's anyone else's business.

"I’ll give you a hundred million dollars to get far away from this town." My jaw just hit the floor. I opened my mouth to say something but I was speechless. 

It was silent in the room for a few minutes when I finally got my thoughts together. "I don't think you are understanding what I'm telling you Eva. Mine and Alex's relationship is none of  yours or anyone else's business." I said pissed off. "I love Alex. Alex loves me. I'm not breaking up with him. I'm not leaving this town. I am not taking your f*****g money. And you sure as hell are not telling anyone in this town about my family's past!" I yelled. "There is nothing that you can do about Alex and I." I said.

Just then the sound of a car door was slammed shut. Eva looked at me and said "Just think about all of it." Alex walked through the door and saw us standing there. He looked at us cautiously to make sure that everything was fine."I really hope that you two are getting along right now." 

"Oh we are. We were just having a friendly conversation." Eva said all innocently.

"Mom." Alex said warningly. 

"We were Alex, don't worry, you told me to behave and that's what I'm doing." She said.

"Yeah if trying to pay off someone is behaving." I muttered sarcastically.

"What?" Alex asked obviously not hearing what I said. Eva just looked at me with a warning glare. Hey not my fault that you're such a b***h Eva. 

"Nothing Alex. Your mother is right we have been behaving. I swear." 

"Alright Lizzy should be here any moment so let's go in the dining room." Eva said. And so we went into the dinning room to go and eat.