Read Forsaken for Free Online Page A

protected
all of us.
    Even
if my mom had agreed to let me go back to Sanctuary, the Alec
I'd envisioned during the short time we'd been together hadn't really
existed. There was no point in broaching a subject that would just
leave us both unhappy, not when it was so impossible.
    "I
don't know. For now, I'd just like to get away from the city."
    "Adri,
you hated Sanctuary. For nearly the entire first month we were there
every other word out of your mouth was a complaint about Utah. You
just don't deal with change very well, sweetie. Give New York a
chance; it will grow on you just like Sanctuary did by the end."
    I
shrugged and turned to go to my bedroom but my mom cleared her
throat.
    "Adri,
honey, we're going to have a guest for dinner tonight."
    I
should have known something was up when I saw that Mom was cooking.
She didn't have dinner with me very often these days because she
spent a lot of time networking with other people in the industry.
Those people seemed to come in two categories: 'important' which
meant they ate at some four-star restaurant, or 'reasonable' which
meant that Mom could bring them back to our place and order takeout
to eat while they brainstormed ideas.
    Mom bringing someone back to the apartment and actually
preparing a meal for them automatically told me this wasn't a work
thing, or at least not just a work thing. I waited silently, refusing to help Mom along with her
explanation.
    "Russ
is one of the financial backers for the Lasserti show. He saw me
setting up before the shoot and sent me two dozen roses before the
night was over. We've seen each other a couple of times since then,
but I thought it would be good for the two of you to meet each
other."
    Her
words kind of hung in the air and it felt to me like they'd
created an impenetrable barrier between us. I turned to walk away.
"I'm not feeling very hungry. I'll just study in my room and
leave the two of you alone to eat."
    "Adriana
Paige, you get back here right now. You're not going to snub Russ.
He's a nice guy, and this is important to me."
    I
hadn't wanted to get into a fight with Mom, not when we had so little
time together, not when she was all I had left, but her words gave
the anger floating around inside me a focus that had been missing
since we'd arrived in Manhattan.
    "Really,
Mom? After everything that you said about first Brandon and then
Alec, you're really going to bring this guy in here and tell me that
he's a 'nice guy'? I know the kinds of shoots you've been doing,
especially lately. Any 'financial backer' for one of those is going
to be worth millions. You can't have it both ways. Either rich guys
are jerks who can't be trusted, like you told me when we were in
Sanctuary, or they are nice guys."
    My
mom opened her mouth to respond but I kept right on talking. "How
nice can this guy be if he hangs around fashion shows? He's probably
just trolling for some hot model to sleep with."
    I'd
slowly been moving towards Mom as I'd spoken which meant that I was
within arm's reach, but her slap came as a complete surprise.
    "How
dare you. You don't know Russ, and I don't appreciate what you're
saying about my judgment."
    My
hand came up to cover the stinging on the left side of my face, but
the blow was nothing compared to what Agony's men had done to me.
    "It's
not just your judgment that I'm questioning, Mom. Dad hasn't even
been dead for a year yet. I've spent the entire time since he and
Cindi died trying to piece myself back together, but apparently
you've just been waiting for someone richer to come along."
    She
slapped me again, but I didn't care. In some ways the physical pain
helped. It took away some of what I was feeling inside, lessened it
somehow. I walked out of our apartment and didn't look back, even
when my mom called after me.
    I
texted Isaac while I was still in the elevator.
    Changed
plans...leaving my place...really needed to get out of the
house...u don't need to follow me.
    Isaac's
response came only a few