Untitled

by Jackie Chanel

  “No. I have nothing to say to her.”

  “Don’t you think something’s wrong with that? I mean, you were married to her. Maybe if she talks to you, you guys can reach some sort of settlement.”

  Talking to her is absolutely worthless. My settlement offer has been on the table for six months. She doesn’t want to settle and I don’t want to see her. Seeing her would be detrimental for both of us. After all the crap that she’s said about me and our marriage, I’d probably choke her on sight.

  “Stop by the liquor store,” I told my sister.

  “Why?” she glanced at me. “We just stocked the bar last week.”

  I ignored her.

  “Aiden, you aren’t supposed to be mixing your pain meds with alcohol anyway.”

  “Dee-Lee, shut up,” I growled. “I’m an adult. I can do what the hell I want. Just take me home if you’re gonna bitch about it.”

  “Fine!” she snapped and pressed down on the accelerator.

  We were silent for the rest of the short drive back to our apartment. Delilah pulled in front of the building and the doorman helped me out of the car. Even standing against the car, waiting for Tim to unfold my chair, was painful.

  “Is she coming to get you or do you need me to take you upstairs?” Tim asked after Delilah sped off in my car. She better just be parking it.

  I felt like such a jerk when I had to ask him to roll me up to my apartment. I just don’t have the energy to do it myself.

  The silence and emptiness of the apartment is actually welcoming. I just want to be alone and think about what I’m going to do. Delilah doesn’t need to be here anymore. She needs to go back to L.A and do whatever she does when I’m not around. I can take care of myself. She’s getting on my nerves.

  I wheeled myself over to the bar and grabbed the last bottle of Grey Goose and was inside my music room within minutes.

  I should be on tour. I should be traveling around the country, having the time of my life with my band, and making money. I should be doing interviews, and sleeping with as many gorgeous women as I can. I should be having the time of my life, playing the music that I love.

  But I’m not.

  I’m stuck here in this apartment, doing nothing while my wife spends her time badmouthing me and while every member of my band is doing their own thing because we aren’t on tour. I’m losing my mind!

  I don’t know how long I’d been in the room when Delilah’s soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I looked at the bottle of vodka. It was half empty. Hours must have gone by.

  “What?”

  Delilah poked her head in the doorway. “Kat’s on her way over.”

  I groaned. “For what?” She is the last person I want in my face today.

  “Obviously she wants to talk to you. You should be grateful that it’s just her. I was on the phone with Mom earlier and she’s itching to fly down here. Anyway, she’ll be here in fifteen minutes,” she frowned. “You should probably finish your drink before she gets here.”

  I already know what Kat wants to say. Ramey is getting on everybody’s nerves, including mine. I pulled up her latest blog entry and fumed. This is the reason that everybody is flipping out and wants me to put a stop to this bullshit.

  October 3, 2006

  Today was another meeting with my lawyers. Of course Aiden decided not to show up. He knows he’s being so unfair with his settlement offer. He’s acting like I’m the enemy and this is marital warfare. I haven’t done anything wrong during our marriage but support him. I’m not the one who is having an affair with their best friend.

  Best friend...Ha!

  Aiden and his supposed best friend are such a joke. I hate Sunny. She’s just some hippie stylist who’s not even that good of a designer. She needs to go to Europe and see real designers. It’s 2006. That whole “Give Peace a Chance” movement is over!

  Anyway, Sunny and Aiden have kept up this charade for years. But I’m not a fool. They cannot continue to try and deceive me. This affair has gone on long enough. They can have each other. Aiden knows that infidelity is grounds for a divorce. All I want is for him to finally do the right thing and not put me through this crazy divorce. Hasn’t he embarrassed me enough?

  “I wonder what Sunny thinks about this,” Kat said from behind me. I hadn’t heard her come in.

  “She’s going to kick Ramey’s ass.” I turned around. “What are you doing here?”

  I know why she’s here so there’s no need for small talk. I just want her to say what she has to say so she can leave and I can get back to doing what I’ve been doing...nothing.

  Kat sat on my futon and popped her gum, staring and waiting for my undivided attention. I’ve seen this look often.

  “What?”

  “Boy, don’t ‘what’ me. Who do you think you’re talking to?”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. “What’s up?”

  Kat frowned. “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly why I’m here. When are you going to deal with this? I’m so sick of you just sitting in this dreary ass apartment, wallowing in your own grief and letting that tramp get away with talking all this shit about you.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” I asked.

  “I don’t know what you should do, Aiden. But at least you won’t be hiding in this apartment like a little girl. At least some of those same cameras that are all up in her face every damn day can finally get you on camera. Do something, damn it!” Kat yelled in frustration.

  I shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m trying to recover, Kat. Ramey is the last thing I have on my mind.”

  “Baby, I know this is tough on you, I do,” Kat said, her voice a hundred times softer than it was thirty seconds ago. “I know you and I know you’re going to do whatever you can do to get back on stage. But you have to have a little more fight in you than this. You’re stronger than this” she pointed to my chair, “and you’re better than that.” This time she pointed to my half empty bottle of vodka.

  “All she’s doing is whining on camera and writing shit on her blog,” I protested. “There’s nothing for me to fight against. She’s digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole every time she logs in. I have great lawyers. They’ll handle her.”

  Kat kept frowning. “When you say shit like that, it makes me think that this stupid combination of depression, liquor, and pills is making you crazy. And I’m tired of seeing you like this.”

  “Like what?” I sighed, exasperated by the entire conversation and everyone’s pity.

  “You’re not the same Aiden,” Kat replied. “There’s no life in your eyes. You don’t laugh, you don’t joke. When is the last time you’ve picked up your guitar? It’s like you’ve given up and it hasn’t been long enough for you to be so completely hopeless and lost.”

  “I’m not hopeless!” I yelled, finally losing my cool. “But what the hell would you like to see me doing? My marriage is over! My career is at a standstill, and I can’t fucking walk! If I’m a little depressed over that shit, damn it, I have a right to be!”

  “You married that gold-diggin’ skank,” Kat rolled her eyes. “You’ve decided to let your career stall, and you can walk and will be walking better after your surgery. Be depressed if you want to, but depression ain’t ever helped nobody accomplish shit in life.”

  “But, I’ll tell you this, boy,” she continued as she got up from the couch. “You can go all suicidal rock star crazy on me if you want to, but I swear on my first husband’s grave, Aiden, I will knock the shit out of you if you end up passed out on the floor of some seedy ass motel room from a drug overdose. You’re too young and too fucking talented to turn your life into some E! True Hollywood Story.”

  I didn’t laugh. Neither did Kat. She’s serious. She’s worried about me. So is everyone else. They don’t like what’s happening to me anymore than I do. Only, I’m the one it’s happening to. That’s why I don’t care what they think. I don’t want to hear what they have to say.

  I’m not telling them t
hat I’m going out to L.A in a few days to meet with my divorce lawyer. They don’t need to know all of my business. With Ramey playing hardball like she is, this meeting isn’t going to end well. I’m going to fight her on everything since she won’t accept my settlement offer. She’s not getting a penny more than what I’m willing to give her, not one red cent.

  ****

  I gingerly leaned against the door of Paulie’s Jeep, trying to ignore the excruciating pain in my back while he took my suitcase out of the car.

  “Aiden, you want your chair?” Paulie yelled.

  I looked around. At least three members of the paparazzi had followed us from the airport and were parked across the street from Paulie’s condo. I’d come to L.A with a different purpose and letting them see me in my wheelchair is not part of the plan.

  “No, I’ll walk,” I told him. I’d walked through LAX at a snail’s pace. A few more steps into the condo isn’t going to kill me.

  Paulie shut the trunk and walked up beside me. “Aiden, man, you don’t have to do this. There’s no one out here that you need to impress.”

  I shook my head stubbornly. I’m not trying to impress anyone but he’s wrong. I’ve been sitting in Atlanta looking like an ass while Ramey plays the role of a scorned wife. People are starting to think that I’m cheating jerk, when really, she’s the bitch who walked out on me when I needed her. I’m done taking this shit lightly. I may not be able to do anything about my career right now, but I can surely do something about Ramey.

  “I’m okay,” I told him and pointed to the cars parked across the street. “It’s better if they see me walking. At least they’ll have some shots of me not in the wheelchair.”

  “If you say so.”

  The walk to Paulie’s front door was painful and slow but I kept the pain from showing on my face. The paps have really good zoom lenses. As soon as we got inside, I sat on the couch and popped two Vicodin.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Paulie asked. “Are we just gonna pop up everywhere Ramey’s at this week and talk to the tabloids? Or, do you have something else in mind?”

  “Not really,” I admitted. “Tomorrow, we meet with our lawyers. If she doesn’t accept the settlement this time, I’ll show all of her fans what a bitch she is. I’ll get on TMZ, Extra, Inside Edition, and everyone else who’s been calling Tracy to get an interview just to do that.”

  “She’s gonna be pissed,” Paulie laughed.

  “Good.”

  “You have to be careful about what you say, though,” Paulie advised. “Right now, with all the lies she’s been telling, you and Sunny have grounds for a slander case. Don’t give her any ammo.”

  “That’s why you’ll be with me.”

  Paulie snickered. “Like always.”

  Paulie was quiet for a minute. “Dude, did you ever think that we’d actually get out of Mt. Vernon and be living this kind of life?”

  I shook my head. “I always thought that you’d get out,” I told him. “I mean, you had a goal, plus you’re smart. As much as I wanted to leave, I had no clue how it was going to happen.”

  “Until your dad gave you the guitar?”

  “Nope,” I shook my head again. “It wasn’t until your dad gave me my first lesson. If it wasn’t for you and your dad getting me into music, my ass would still be in Mt. Vernon, bored as hell, probably working for Eli Lilly with my dad.”

  “Really?” Paulie looked surprised. “Is that what you think?”

  “Yeah man, I owe my entire career to you and Eric. I mean, Roxy, Sunny, and Joey have been huge in getting me this far, but you and Eric are the ones who got me started. You guys exposed me to the good shit that I wanted to learn how to play.”

  This is the reason why I take care of them like family. It’s the reason that I make sure Paulie never has to worry about money and he’s included in everything that I do. When he passes the bar, I’ll be his first client. He’s my best friend. Why wouldn’t I take care of him?

  ****

  When Ramey walked into Perlstein & Associates, after six months of not seeing her in person, my heart jumped in my chest a little. Ramey Hall is still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. Our relationship was fun and I loved her more than anything. Our marriage went from good to bad faster than I ever expected. I’m angry that I married her without a pre-nup.. Divorce without a pre-nup is a pain in the ass.

  Lesson learned. Marriage is for fools and suckers.

  Ramey wouldn’t even look at me while our lawyers went back and forth over my proposed settlement offer and what Ramey thinks she’s entitled to. Every time her lawyer made some ridiculous request on her behalf, I got more upset. This is a waste of time.

  “Are you fucking insane?” I yelled at Ramey, ignoring my lawyer’s advice not to speak directly to her. My outburst forced her to finally make eye contact with me.

  “You’re wasting my fucking time! If your lawyer doesn’t understand community property laws, get a new lawyer! You’re not getting my house, my cars, or any of the other shit I bought before we got married so stop trying.”

  My lawyer put his hand on my shoulder, silently urging me to calm down. The smug expression on his face confirmed that I’m right and Ramey’s an idiot.

  “We are not modifying our original offer,” my lawyer said. “Half a million in cash, the Mercedes that was given to her as a gift, the furniture in the L.A home, and twenty-five hundred a month in spousal support for twelve months. That’s our final offer.”

  “Your offer is bullshit,” Ramey finally spoke. “Aiden, you know you made more than a million dollars while we were married. I’m entitled to half of that.”

  I looked at my lawyer. “Shouldn’t we discuss how much she made while we were married? It may have looked like all she did was sit on her ass, but I’m sure she made more money than I did. Am I not entitled to half of that?”

  Ramey’s ice blue eyes went cold. The bright flush on her cheeks gave away her nervousness. Of course she doesn’t want to give me half of anything. Bitch.

  “I want the condo,” she replied. There was a nervous quiver to her voice.

  “What condo?” my lawyer asked. “There’s no condo. The only property Mr. Tyler owns is the L.A house and the apartment in Atlanta.”

  “That’s not true,” Ramey said. “After we got married, he bought another place in West Hollywood. Add that to your offer and I’ll sign the papers.”

  I clenched my hands into fists. It took every ounce of willpower I had in me to keep me from reaching across the conference table and choking Ramey. How dare she! How fucking dare she!

  “What is she talking about?” Richard asked me. “There’s another property?”

  “No, it’s not mine,” I answered. “It’s Paulie and Delilah’s place.”

  “But you bought it!” Ramey interrupted. “Therefore, it’s ours and I want it.”

  “You’re just being a bitch,” I said through gritted teeth. “You’re actually sitting there saying you want the condo that my sister lives in? Have you lost your damn mind?”

  “She can live somewhere else,” Ramey said in a nasty tone. “You certainly pay her enough to move.”

  “Ramey, don’t even think about it-”

  “If there’s another piece of property, then Mrs. Hall has the right to ask for it in the divorce settlement,” her Dr. Doolittle looking lawyer stated.

  “I don’t own that condo,” I replied, grinning at Ramey. “Paulie does.”

  The confused expression on Ramey’s face was priceless.

  “Do you really think I’m stupid enough to marry you without a pre-nup and then purchase anything that you might want later?” I asked.

  I turned to my lawyer. “It was a loan,” I explained. “I loaned my best friend some money and he used it to buy the condo. Nothing I can do about that,” I shrugged my shoulders. “Can she ask for the money I loaned him back?”

  Ramey was heated. “I hate you, Aiden!” she growled and grabbed her purse off the table. She
stormed out of the room before her lawyer even had time to gather up his paperwork and shut his briefcase.

  “Don’t leave yet,” Richard told him. “I suggest that you get your client back in here. There’s still the matter of her recent postings on her website to discuss...unless she wants to open herself up for lawsuit.”

  “We’ll have to reschedule for another day,” her lawyer replied. “I have to speak with my client.” He rushed out behind his client.

  I laughed. “Too easy.”

  “We’re still fighting, Aiden,” Richard said. “Next month, if you guys haven’t reached some sort of agreement, the judge is going to recommend mediation. This thing can go on much longer than you’ve planned.”

  “I’ll fight her on everything until she settles,” I said. “She’s not getting anything else from me.”

  I’m serious. Ramey’s showing her true colors. By asking for my sister’s condo, I see how spiteful she is.

  Well, two can play this game. I’m not gonna let this bitch win. I’m not going down without a fight.

  Chapter 45

  The Atlanta skyline is almost as gorgeous as the New York City skyline, but standing on my balcony, two months after my surgery, I’m just not feeling the beauty. I want to see snow and Christmas lights.

  I slid the patio door open and yelled inside the apartment, “Dee-Lee, let’s go home for Christmas!”

  Delilah looked up from her phone, probably irritated that I interrupted her text conversation with this guy she’s seeing that she won’t talk to me about.

  “I went home for Thanksgiving,” she reminded me.

  “So. We haven’t been home for Christmas in years. I think Mom will be happy if we come home.”

  “I’ll call her and see what she says.”

  I walked back into the house and opened up the refrigerator. Empty as usual.

  “Let’s go to Rabbit’s and get some food,” I suggested.

  “Oh...My...God, Aiden!” Delilah moaned. “You know, I’m really happy that you’re out of the wheelchair and all, but why the hell are you so restless? You’ve been bouncing off the walls around here for days. Can you please sit down somewhere?”