Kristin Coley - Summer Escape

Summer Escape

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

SUMMER ESCAPE

First edition: June 15th, 2017

Copyright 2017 Kristin Coley

Written by Kristin Coley

Summer Escape

Abbi was looking for a summer away from her demanding younger siblings. Any escape would do. Playing housekeeper for the spoiled son of one of her stepfathers business associates?

Piece of cake.

John West was country music royalty with a list of hits a mile long. His face was instantly recognizable around the globe.

With the exception of his new housekeeper.

A minor irritation.

She was number six in as many months and if he ran her off like the others his parents were going to intercede. Considering the secret John was trying to keep that wasnt an option.

One summer can change everything.

Chapter One

D id someone say escape ? I prayed what Id overheard was true since one more day much less an entire summer with my colicky twin siblings might drive me to madness. Mom exchanged a look with my stepdad and reluctantly nodded. I could see it cost her since she didnt want to be left alone with the vomiting duo either, and I felt bad for her.

Really.

I did.

Just not enough to stay in the hell that was dirty diapers, projectile vomiting and near twenty-four hour crying.

See, if there was just one it might not be so bad.

Maybe.

I wasnt entirely certain of that fact because I still remembered Avas infancy. Shed come along about six months after Mom had married the stepdad clearly waiting till marriage was something only meant for me but I wasnt judging.

Seriously, I wasnt.

Its not like everyone didnt automatically think she belonged to me anyway. I mean, really, whos more likely to be the mom? The teenager or the almost forty-year-old woman?

Well, these days it might be a tossup, but thats beside the point.

Most people automatically assumed Ava was mine. Maybe my mom just didnt look the type to remarry and decide having another kid at thirty-eight was a brilliant idea.

I wont think about what that implied about me.

The fact that I was Avas primary caregiver didnt help matters. Mom and the stepdad worked...a lot....to support this new life in the new ( read: expensive ) house where we would magically become a family.

Ha .

Ha .

Ha .

You may be wondering at the caustic laughter. Let me set one thing straight for all the second and third marriages out there. A new house does not a family create especially when theres a new baby and you wind up feeling like the nanny slash housekeeper. Which makes me sound bitter. I swear Im not.

Really.

Maybe a little.

Anyway.

They got me a car which would have been fantastic except it was a minivan .

Yep. You read that right.

A minivan for a sixteen-year-old. Not only that, it was a brand-new minivan. And before you start assuming I was an ungrateful brat...I was super appreciative. I swear. Wheels are wheels, right?

Wrong.

This one came with stipulations. Like picking baby Ava up from daycare every day and shuttling her to the doctors appointments my mom could never seem to make and some strange ass baby yoga class that was clearly pointless since Ava never relaxed. Talk about an uptight baby. If crying was an Olympic sport she would have brought home gold.

I will give my mom and the stepdad kudos on one thing.

Infants truly are the worlds best birth control.

Ava definitely kept me from getting knocked up in high school. Of course, that also could have been because I had no social life what with taking care of Ava and all, but I digress.

We were talking about escape. Specifically, my escape from the diabolic duo and Ava the Terrible. Whoever came up the idea of the terrible twos missed the memo because it should have been called the Terrible Toddler Years.

Youve probably already figured out where the twins came from, but in case you havent Ill fill you in so you can truly understand my desire to escape.

College was supposed to be my time. My chance to spread my wings. Freedom, you know? Live in a dorm, party all night, stumble to class hungover...okay, so I probably wouldnt do that, but sleeping through the night without a two-year-old waking me up to tell me about how much she loved Peppa Pig would have been enough. Seriously , it would have been enough.

I was ready. I could shed the teen mom persona I hadnt wanted and be me, Abbi, for the first time in two years. There would be intellectual debates, flirting with cute college boys who didnt know me as the easy girl with the baby, and you know, the chance to pee by myself. Its the little things in life, right?

Until A-day. A-day being short for announcement day for the uninitiated, and the day I found out my freedom was nothing but a lie.

That day I was happily scrolling through my social media account liking cute cat videos when I spotted it. Mom and stepdad with ridiculous grins on their faces, each one holding an ultrasound picture with the words, Oops, I did it again.

That was Moms pregnancy announcement.

Some old nineties pop song.

Yep. I found out my Mom was pregnant again through social media. We live in the same house! Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? Because really, I thought it was common courtesy to inform immediate family members before posting it on social media. I stormed downstairs to confront her, because yes, I was home when she posted it to their joint account.

Joint account. What a joke.

I knew for a fact that the stepdad had his own social media account using some stupid nickname he had in high school. Its where he liked porn stars pictures and posted political rants that were the polar opposite of the joint account. If Mom knew, she pretended ignorance which was probably best for all concerned.

Oops , got a little sidetracked there.

I stormed downstairs to ask if this was some cruel Aprils fool joke.

Mom, you cant post stupid shit like this on Aprils Fools day. There are women struggling with fertility that dont appreciate jokes like this! I ranted as I entered the massive kitchen no one ever cooked in. I tried once, but the stepdad had such a freak out about keeping it clean I gave up.

What are you talking about? Moms eyes rounded in surprise, but I wasnt taken in by it. She could give Oscar winners lessons on how to act innocent. I held up my phone with the photo evidence staring out. I hadnt even bothered to like it because what was there to like?

Oh, that.

Yeah, that . She might have the innocent thing down, but I excelled at sarcasm. Were you gonna tell me or did you just hope Id see it? I glared at her, but inside I was shaking. Anger warred with disappointment as I considered the fact that my own mother couldnt be bothered to tell me something so important but felt it acceptable to post it instead.

We were going to tell you tonight when we went to dinner, she lied without a hint of remorse.

Was that before you left or after you came back? Because when she said we went to dinner she meant her and the stepdad while I stayed home with Ava the Terrible. Wed tried the whole family night out once, but after Ava threw her spaghetti on the woman in the white dress at the table next to us and insisted on calling me Mama all night to no ones amusement but her own, it hadnt happened again. So, I spent my Friday nights at home with her while the stepdad took Mom out for date night which brought us right back to...