Homecoming - 23. Chapter 23

Mia and Patrick scrolled through her portfolio as they were driven to their new lodgings. Patrick noticed Mia's bracelet and reached down to touch the gold band.

“Is this new?”

“No, I just never worn it before.”

“This would go so well with my outfit I was going to wear this weekend at the LARP.”

“Do you think there still will be one?”

“Leave it to Philip, he’s amazing at making things happen.”

“Yay, Philip. You can borrow it.”

“Thanks.”

“Only if I can borrow your earth color necklace you got from that, stallion while living in China.” Patrick blushed after being reminded of the handsome Yuri Jin.

“That was a nice gift.”

“Not to mention nice everything. I forget, why did you two break up?”

“I never said.” Patrick stared at her bracelet somberly.

“Oh yeah, you didn’t want to talk about it. Do you want to, now?”

“No. I’ve moved on and I’m with Adam now,” he said, looking at her and smiling.

“Okay. Sorry for bringing him up.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for Mia. You can borrow it.” Then Patrick remembered something. “Oh crap, my case with my jewelry is back at Adam's parent's house.”

“Well, you can pick it up later.”

“No, I mean I have another cell phone. It probably needs to be recharged...”

“Wait, you have a second cell phone? Why?”

“It’s the one I use to have when I dated Yuri.”

“You kept it?”

“Not intentionally. I put it there and forgot about it when I got a new one. I’ll just use it for now until I replace it again.”

“So, you’re going back to the farm?”

“Well, Adam will be at the police station with his mother. I don’t want to bother him over a phone. I’ll go back and get the bag.”

“How will you get in?”

“Tina is still there.”

The cab pulled into a lavish gated property of a grand house. In a secluded area near a stream, surrounded by trees, with an in-ground pool and spa in the back. Mia was speechless when they exited the car. Patrick grabbed her hand and walked her up the steps to the door.

“Patrick this is...”

“Too small?” She glared at him and saw him smirk from his comment. She squeezed his arm and laughed.

“Insane,” she continued. “We're not staying here for the summer.”

“I know, but I wanted to do this for you,” he said, opening the door and allowing Mia to enter first.

“Don't you mean you wanted to do this for Adam?” she asked. Stepping inside, Mia noticed the high ceilings and finished furnished home.

“I'd take him all over the world if he let me,” said Patrick, stepping beside her. His thoughts were on Adam and his lack of acceptance.

“How do you like Adam's World?”

“It's nice, his family accepted me.”

“So, you're going to give it a try?”

“If it makes Adam happy, I'll do anything.”

“Do it because you want to Patrick, or it all might backfire on you.”

“I want to. When we get home, Adam is going to see a new me.”

Mia’s cell rang. She fished it out of her pocket, hoping it would be Paul but the caller was unknown.

“Hello,” she said

“Hello, may I speak to Patrick Valdez?” Mia looked at Patrick.

“It’s for you,” she said, handing him her cell.

“Me?” he questioned taking the call. “Hello.”

“Mr. Valdez, this is your cellular provider, we are calling you to tell you we located your phone.”

“You did? How did you get this number?”

“You used it as your emergency number.”

“Oh yes, I forgot.”

“Yes, would you like the address?”

“Yes, just a minute.” He gestured with his hands for a pen and paper that Mia grabbed from a draw giving it to him. Holding the cell phone with his shoulder, he wrote down the address then smiled to himself as he hung up.

“Who was that?” asked Mia.

“My cell phone company. They found my cell phone.”

“How did they get my number?”

“You’re my emergency contact.”

“Where did they find it?”

“At Adam's parent's house.”

“I thought you lost it in the woods.”

“I did. Maybe the police found it and took it back there. Someone at the house charged it up.

“Well then, I guess you don’t need the other cell, now.”

“No, I guess not.” The cab driver finished bringing in Mia’s bags. Patrick gave him a handsome tip.

“Can you take me someplace else?” Patrick asked the driver.

“With tips like this, I’ll take you to the moon.” The driver left and Patrick started to follow.

“I’ll be back Mia. Make yourself at home and maybe call Paul.”

“Good idea.” Just as she said it her cell rang. She looked at the caller ID then to Patrick. “It's Paul.”

“Then take it. I’ll get my case and cell. The kitchen is stocked. I'll see you later.” Before she could respond, he left, leaving the key on the table beside the door.

************

Tina stiffened and almost released a scream when Ricky covered her mouth. She went from panic to annoy when she stared into the young male's eyes who was the same age as Adam. She yanked her wrist away as he dropped his hand from her mouth.

“Dammit Ricky, you scared me,” she snapped. He took a step back, dropping his eyes to the floor. She sighed collecting herself before addressing him. She watched, Ricky shift from one foot to another. “Alright Ricky, I suspect you saw the police?”

“I waited until they left.”

“Good, now why are you here when I told you to never come to the house?” Ricky considered telling her about the cell phone, but decided against it, not sure if he could trust her.

“The cops found the car.”

“So?” Ricky wasn't expecting that response from her and was unsure how to answer. Tina noticed this and decided to take a different approach with him. She stepped closer to him and placed her palm on his cheek catching his eyes with hers. “Ricky, don't tell me you're getting nervous?” Ricky smelled the sweet fragrance coming off her skin just like his mother’s. Her soft fingers slid down his face, waking his nerves under his skin and his growing arousal in his pants.

“No, I just thought you wanted to know. Why were the police here?” Tina walked around Ricky who stood still, with obedience. She leaned close to his back and whispered into his ear.

“The police were here, searching for evidence against Anton.”

“Did they find anything?”

“Oh yes, they did. I made sure of that.”

“Tina, I don't know about this,” Ricky said, glancing over his shoulder at her. “Adam’s mom...”

“I'm Adam's mother. Me!” she yelled into his ear before stepping away. Ricky flinched from her harsh tone. “Not him—not Anton! I carried all four of them inside me. They heard my, heartbeat, not his. So, he deserves to be punished. Those boys should have been raised by me and Troy. None of this would have happened if I was here to raise them.”

“Anton loved them,” said Ricky defending Adam’s mother who was always kind to him whenever he was over.

“He let the boys run free and didn't set boundaries for them. Now Damien is overseas, Adam almost had a mental breakdown and Kyle. Well—you know what happened to Kyle.” Ricky closed his eyes and shook his head agreeing.

“My sweet, Paul is the only one untouched. They need me to give them stability. Like I gave you when your mother died. Remember how ill she was Ricky? Her laying in her bed shitting on herself. Vomiting up the poisons inside her.” Tina faced Ricky who glanced up at her as her lips connected with him. The kiss grew heavy as Tina took control and pulled at Ricky's tee shirt and pants buckle. He assisted her in removing his clothes as they fell back onto the couch. Tina wore a simple skirt and top as she yanked the skirt up and removed her underwear straddling Ricky.

Ricky rode the waves of desire as he watched Tina. Neither paid attention to the cell phone slipping from Ricky's pocket and dropping to the rug covered floor.