Pool of Lies: All Lies Have Consequences...

by Small,DJ

  Ava turned to look at her as she fastened the pants that she had just put on. “What about my weekend job? And heart surgery isn’t a day job, Kacey, it’s a career.”

  Kacey’s eyes widened and she held up her hand. “Whoa, hang on.” Ava finished putting on the button up shirt that she had picked up off of the floor, but she didn’t button it. Kacey’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re a doctor?” Ava nodded and Kacey laughed then she asked, “What the fuck are you doing dancing on the weekends?”

  Ava chuckled, then she walked back up the steps of the elevated platform that bed was on. She sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over to give Kacey a kiss. As she moved away, she said “We’ll talk about it later. Then maybe you can tell me about your scar?” Kacey’s expression became guarded but she seemed to be fighting whatever wall had gone up. Ava trailed her hand through her hair to comfort her. “You don’t have to tell me, Kacey. I don’t want to you relive whatever it was that put that scar there.” She gave Kacey another quick kiss then whispered in her ear. “As much as you make me happy, I want you to be happy too.”

  Ava stood up from the bed and Kacey smiled up at her. “You do make me happy, Sunshine. Happier than I have been in a long time.”

  Ava returned the smile then said, “I have to go.”

  She turned to walk down the two steps but she stopped when Kacey took hold of her hand. “Wait a second.” Ava turned back around to see Kacey roll over to her side of the bed. She got her phone then moved back to the side of the bed that Ava was standing next to. Kacey held it up. “Take it. I’ll text my new number to it once I get it.” Ava got a confused look on her face, and Kacey explained. “You’re married and you’re lying and cheating on your wife.” Ava understood what Kacey was doing, but she still wasn’t certain if she should take the phone or not. “Take it, Ava,” Kacey urged. “If you need me for anything, call me.”

  Ava took the phone, even though part of her didn’t want to. She slipped it into her back pocket then finished getting dressed as Kacey watched. Before she left, Ava gave Kacey one more kiss. As she was walking out, Kacey hollered, “Have fun saving lives, Dr. Sunshine!”

  Ava scowled, but she kept walking. She was already late, and bickering with Kacey would only delay her even more.

  ∞

  Ava got through her first surgery with no complications and two more were scheduled for that afternoon. She was in the lab researching her samples - finally making headway on them - when her phone began to ring around two in the afternoon. Ava jotted down a quick note and pulled off her gloves, then answered the call. “Hello?”

  Robin scoffed in her ear as soon as she picked up. “I’m surprised you answered, since you didn’t call me this morning. Nice to know you made it through your shift last night.”

  Robin was pissed and she had every right to be. Ava bit her tongue to stop the expletives that wanted to fall from her lips, and she shook her head. She had forgotten to call Robin because she hadn’t been thinking about her. In fact, she hadn’t thought about Robin at all besides the few times she and Kacey had mentioned her. She let out a soft sigh. “I am so sorry, Robin. I passed out in an on-call room, and after an emergency surgery I got lost in my research.”

  Robin didn’t say anything and Ava was certain that she was about to go off on her. An aggravated breath came from her wife. “It’s fine, Ava.” She blew out another breath then asked, “Do you want to grab lunch? The team and I are in the city training with the police department.”

  Ava grimaced at the suggestion; she didn’t want to see Robin. What she really wanted to do was avoid her until she was ready to tell her that she wanted to end their marriage, but she knew that wouldn’t be feasible. As Ava opened her mouth to answer, Kacey’s phone went off in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the screen: Can I have you for lunch?

  Ava grinned at the device, then she set the phone down on the counter of the station that she was at. She cleared her throat, ignoring the salacious thoughts that were now in her head. “Babe, I wish I could, but I have these samples I need to get done by the end of the day so I can contact the patient.” Ava bit the corner of her lip. She was going to have to continue with the façade until she and Robin talked. “I should have everything done within a few hours, so I’ll probably be home early.”

  That seemed to put Robin in a better mood. “Awesome!” she exclaimed. “Maybe when you get home, we can finally celebrate our decision to get the ball rolling on us starting a family.”

  Ava cringed as she thought about Robin touching her. Robin wasn’t Kacey, and she couldn’t bear the thought of her hands on her body. Ava took a deep breath then spoke with false enthusiasm. “Sounds like a plan.” The words left a bitter taste in Ava’s mouth, and she wanted the conversation to be over so that she wouldn’t have to continue to fake her way through it. “Robin, I’ve got to go. The alarm for my cultures is going off. I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay. I love you.”

  Ava froze for a split second, uttering the only answer that would come to her mind, “Okay” then she hastily ended the call. She didn’t want to give Robin the chance to question her choice of words. Ava couldn’t tell Robin that she loved her. It was physically impossible for her to do because she knew that it wasn’t true. Ava drew in several deep breaths. and picked up Kacey’s phone. All the tension left her body as she opened the message and replied: If you can get over here before two thirty.

  Ava set the phone down on the black counter of the workstation and chuckled to herself. Kacey actually did make her happy; and it wasn’t forced, or her deluding herself. It was a genuine happiness that made her heart race. Ava shook her head to prevent herself from getting lost in thoughts of Kacey, then went back to her cultures, though concentrating was going to be a hard thing for her to do now that Kacey had stoked her desire.

  ∞

  It was six thirty when Ava walked through the front door of the loft; a time that was early enough that Robin wouldn’t be upset, and a lot better than her not coming home at all. Ava had gotten out of work at four; but she had spent the last two hours with Kacey. It had been the most interesting two hours that Ava had ever experienced and they didn’t even have sex. Ava had tried to get Kacey to talk about her day, but each time, the woman had managed to find some way to avoid the question.

  Instead, they talked about the rest of Ava’s day, and Kacey had wanted to know more about her. The flow of conversation between them had been so natural and comforting that Ava was reluctant to leave when she noticed the time, but she knew that she had to go home. Kacey, in her usual blunt manner, had told her to blow Robin off, but Ava told her that she couldn’t.

  Ava was still on her Kacey high as she headed for the stairs that went up to second floor of the loft, and she continued to remain lost in her thoughts as she headed for the bedroom. Ava was thinking about what type of business Kacey would be doing tonight. She had mentioned it when Ava had asked her what she was going to be doing for the rest of night. Ava worried her bottom lip as she walked into the room and headed for the bathroom. As she stripped out of her clothes, she hoped that whatever Kacey was doing wasn’t going to be dangerous. Ava pushed open the door to the bathroom, and as soon as she did, she swore at herself for not checking to see if Robin was home. The shower was running, and Robin was in it. “Babe, is that you?”

  It was too late for Ava to back up and pretend like she hadn’t walked into the bathroom; Robin had already peeked over the frosted glass of the shower to see if it was her. Ava cleared her throat. “Yeah, it’s me. I feel like it’s been days since I’ve seen you.”

  Robin laughed. “I think it has been.” She opened the shower door, and there was a suggestive grin on her face. “You wanna get in with me?”

  Ava tried not to recoil at the suggestion as she pointed over her shoulder. “I just remembered I left my cell phone on vibrate.” It was a horrible excuse, but she wasn’t mentally prepared to be in the same space as Robin.

 
; Robin’s eyebrows scrunched together in thought and confusion. “Okay…I don’t think that’s all that important Ava.”

  Ava rushed to come up with an explanation. “I’m on-call tonight and I-”

  “Ava, we haven’t had sex since last Saturday, almost a week ago, and I haven’t seen you in the last twenty-four hours.” She narrowed her eyes. “Now you can’t find the time to have shower sex with your wife?”

  Ava stood rooted in her spot by the door as guilt and anguish came over her. She couldn’t do this; it wasn’t right to Robin, and it wasn’t right to Kacey. She shook her head and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t, Robin. I-I’m sorry.” She rushed out of the bathroom and went back into their room, walking over to the dresser. Ava opened the second drawer where she kept her sweatpants.

  “What do you mean you can’t, Ava?” Robin demanded as she wrapped a towel around herself and followed Ava into the room.

  “I mean there is a lot of shit going on with me right now and I-” She stopped and continued to get dressed as she thought about what she was going to say to Robin. Ava wanted to lie, but she also knew that doing so would only complicate things further. She sighed, looking at Robin. “I can’t deal with you touching me right now,” Ava admitted, as she pulled a t-shirt over her head.

  Robin stared at her. Her eyes were full of disbelief one moment, but then, as if a switch had been flipped, they became hard and angry. “You can’t deal with me touching you?” Robin repeated. Her tone was full of resentment and she challenged Ava to say something that would push her further into the anger that she was trying to keep at bay.

  Ava swallowed hard as she stared at the piercing green eyes that were fixed on her. There was a barely contained fire in them, and it frightened Ava. Not only had she never seen such rage in Robin’s eyes before, but it was directed at her. She didn’t want to anger Robin any further, so she said, “I’m not going to-”

  Robin rushed over to her and she took hold of Ava’s shoulders then slammed her back against the dresser. She held her against it and growled. “You are going to have this fucking conversation with me. Why don’t you want me touching you? You’re my wife. I have a right-”

  “I am not your fucking possession Robin. I don’t want to have sex with you!” Ava shouted as she tried in vain to break away from her.

  A sadistic grin came to Robin’s face. “No, you’re not my possession, but you are my wife. And as my wife I get to touch you however I damn well please.”

  The look in Robin’s eyes made Ava’s blood run cold. She had never seen the woman this uncaring and cruel before. Robin was looking at her like she was an object, and not the woman she loved. Ava swallowed the bile that was at the back of her throat and tried to reason with her. “Robin, this isn’t you. Please, let me go.”

  Robin let out a wicked chuckle that caused the fear in Ava to rise. “I don’t think so.” She moved one of her hands to Ava’s throat then leaned in, whispering, “We’ll see how you feel about me touching you once I’ve had my way with you.”

  Unshed tears burned Ava’s eyes, but she refused to cry and show Robin how weak she was. Robin kissed her hard on the mouth, and Ava fought to push her off, but her efforts did nothing. Her fight or flight response reached a point of desperation, and Ava balled her right hand into a fist, then she punched Robin in the stomach as hard as she could. Robin stumbled away from her and held onto her stomach as she groaned in pain.

  Ava rushed out of the room and ran down the stairs, heading for the front door. After she grabbed her keys and jacket, Ava fled from the apartment. She took the stairs down to the garage and hurried to her car. She got in, then sped out of the parking space. Ava didn’t relax until she was on the highway, heading towards the city. She didn’t think about what had occurred in the apartment with Robin. If she did, she would probably lose control of the car and get into an accident. Ava focused on her driving, reassuring herself that she would be okay soon.

  Ava got to Kacey’s apartment building in record time, and she quickly parked her car before she ran into the building. Ava was barely able to keep herself together as she took the elevator up to the floor that Kacey lived on. She leaned against the back wall of the car and bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep herself from crying. Her mind wandered to Robin’s violating hands touching her, and Ava flinched at the mental image before shaking her head. She only had to keep it together for a few seconds longer.

  The elevator came to a stop, and as soon as the doors opened Ava rushed out of the small space that was starting to suffocate her. She jogged down the hall to Kacey’s door and frantically knocked on it. When it wasn’t answered, she began to bang on it, the emotions that she had held at bay finally sinking their hooks into her. Ava slapped her hand on the metal door in front of her, then whispered, “Dammit Kacey.” She rested her forehead on the cool door as silent tears began to make their way down her cheeks. The unthinkable had just happened to her, and the one person she trusted to comfort her wasn’t home. Ava let out a quiet sob and covered her mouth.

  She was close to succumbing to her tears of agony when she remembered that she had Kacey’s phone. Ava pulled it from the pocket of her jacket, then dialed the number that Kacey had text her from. After one ring, Kacey answered, and Ava cried out, “Where are you?”

  There was obvious concern in Kacey’s voice when she asked, “What’s the matter, Sunshine?”

  Ava was too distraught to answer the question; all she could think about was Kacey not being home when she needed her the most. “You’re supposed to be here, and you’re not. I thought whatever the hell you were going to do was going to be quick. Why aren’t you fucking here, Kacey?” Her voice broke at the end of sentence, and more tears began to fall from her eyes.

  Kacey’s voice was calm, but there was an underlying edge to it when she spoke again. “It took a look a little longer than I expected.” She paused, then continued in a cautious tone, “Can you calm down for me?”

  “No I can’t, Kacey. You’re not here and I-I-“ She lost whatever hold she had on her emotions and sank to the floor as she cried harder. “I need you and you’re not here.”

  “I’ll be there Ava. Just hold on. Don’t move. I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Kacey told her, her voice tight with tension.

  Ava nodded her head and whispered, “Okay.” The call ended and she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Nothing made sense to her. What had happened at the loft with Robin…Ava cried harder as flashbacks consumed her. That hadn’t been Robin. She didn’t know who that person was, and it hurt Ava to know that she had brought out that darkness in her. She knew that the woman had moments where she lost her temper, but what Robin had shown tonight went beyond that. That level of possessiveness and heartlessness were traits that Ava didn’t think existed in the woman, considering what she had done for her.

  Ava drew in a shaky breath, and making a futile attempt she tried to make herself presentable. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to downplay how upset she was. Kacey would take one look at her and know that Robin had done something to her, then the proverbial shit would hit the fan. Ava let her head fall back and rest against the wall as she closed her eyes. All she wanted was a moment of peace before all hell broke loose.

  True to her word, Kacey walked down the hall ten minutes later. Seeing the woman caused a sense of relief to wash over Ava and tears sprang to her eyes again and blurred her vision. When Kacey was close enough, Ava got off the floor and rushed to her. Kacey took her in her arms and held her tight as Ava started to cry. As soft sobs racked her body, Kacey kissed the side of her head and murmured, “I’m right here, Sunshine. I’ve got you and I’m not going to let anything hurt you. I promise.”

  Ava continued to cry, and Kacey allowed her to. When she had calmed down enough to form coherent sentences, Ava sat up and wiped at her eyes. She drew in a shallow breath then asked, “Can we go inside?”

  Kacey nodded. “Yeah, we can.” She unlocked
the door then opened it for Ava. “Go inside. I need to get rid of these two knuckleheads, then we’ll talk.”

  It was then that Ava noticed the two men that were standing in the middle of the hall. She nodded, then went into the apartment. Ava walked into the living room and fell onto the couch. She rested her head back and closed her tired eyes. All she wanted to do was curl up on the couch with Kacey and forget about everything that had happened.

  A couple minutes later, Ava heard the front door open, then the locks were turned. She listened to Kacey’s footsteps; instead of the woman walking into the living room, she went into the kitchen. When she started to make her way towards the living room, Ava opened her eyes. Kacey walked around the couch, holding out a glass of water. Ava sat up and took the glass, taking a long drink from it as Kacey sat next to her. The other woman started rubbing Ava’s back, and tears began to form in her eyes. Kacey was taking care of her, even though she wanted to know what happened. Ava lowered the glass, then leaned forward to place it on the coffee table.

  She moved closer to Kacey, and put her head on her shoulder, then held on tight to her as she rested against her. Kacey wrapped her arm around Ava’s shoulders then kissed her forehead, and the two of them sat in silence. Ava appreciated that Kacey wasn’t pushing her. She didn’t think she was emotionally stable to tell her what had happened at the loft with Robin. Ava’s hold on Kacey tightened as images of what happened flashed in her mind again. Needing a distraction to keep herself from thinking about them, Ava cleared her throat then asked, “Who were those men that came with you?”

  Kacey sighed then rubbed Ava’s shoulder with the hand that was resting on it. “They were extra muscle.”

  “Extra muscle?” Ava questioned, her eyebrows furrowing. She didn’t know why Kacey would need extra muscle.