by Aly Martinez
"Screw you. Send me whatever divorce papers you want. I'll happily sign so that you can finally be rid of me once and for all."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. You're going to have to work for it, the same way I have for the last four fucking years."
"Okay, this conversation is over. When you are done acting like an ass, send me the papers." I'm turning to walk away when I see her rear back, surprising me, as she slams her fist into the side of my mouth.
"You bastard! You don't get to make all the decisions. You don't get to decide when this is over." I've never in my life hit a woman. I sure as hell would never lay my hands on Sarah. But this woman standing in front of me, is really testing the limits of my self-control. I dab the blood from my lip, snatch my jacket off the back of the chair, and stride out the door before I can say or do something I will forever regret.
Standing in front of my car, I pat down my pockets trying to locate my keys. "Fuck." I mutter when I remember putting them on her table, along with my cell phone, when I first arrived. It sucks that I forgot my keys, but without my cell phone, I can't even call Caleb for a ride. I have no choice but to go face that crazy woman again.
I wait a few minutes giving us both time to calm down after our heated argument before walking back up to her front door knocking quietly. "Who is it?" I hear her sing-song from the other side.
"It's me. I left my keys and phone. Can you just hand them to me, and I'll leave you alone."
"Oh, no problem, sweetheart," she says, cracking open the door.
Sarah is standing in the doorway with a shit eating grin on her face and holding my phone to her ear when she drops the bomb on me, "I was just chatting with Jesse."
Jesse
"WELL, HELLO, officer," I say when Brett's number pops up on my phone.
"Jesse?" I hear a woman’s voice on the other end of the line. I pull my phone away from my ear checking the caller ID again. Yep, it definitely says Brett.
"Yes."
"Hi, this is going to sound strange, but I found your phone number in my husband's phone. I know this is crazy, but we have had some infidelity issues in the past, and I had such a bad feeling when I ran across your number."
"Um, okay?" I stumble out.
"Do you know Brett Sharp?"
"Yes," I whisper as my heart drops to my stomach. Brett's words from the Bears game flash into my mind. “I'm married.”
This must be some type of mistake though. He specifically told me he lost his wife in a car accident. Crap, what if he lied to me? I don't know him outside of the coffee shop, who knows what he has going on at home. Felling sick, I walk towards the bar stool to sit down before my suddenly flimsy legs give out underneath me.
"Well, my name is Sarah Sharp, I'm Brett's wife." And with that one sentence, all of my fears are confirmed. "I just wanted to speak to you myself, make sure he wasn't cheating on me again. I'm sorry. I know how awkward this must be for you. Trust me, I'm embarrassed myself. It's just that I love him so much, but sadly he has a bit of a wandering eye, if you know what I mean. I just can't seem to convince myself to leave him, though. Jeez, now I'm just rambling. Anyway, I'm sure there is some explanation for all of this and I'm just overreacting. Do you work with Brett?"
"No," I say nothing else, trying to keep the tears that start to pool in my eyes out of my voice.
"Do you know him from the gym then?" she asks with a weird jovial tone to her voice.
"No." The tears start to flow down my cheeks and into my lap. It's ridiculous to feel this upset over a man I have been seeing for five days, but I stupidly thought Brett and I had something special. After hearing that he has been unfaithful in the past, I know those were just my own misguided feelings. I'm nothing special to him at all.
"Well, can you tell me where you did meet?" she snaps. I can't even be mad at her attitude. She is just as much a victim here as I am.
"He…um, comes into Nell's coffee shop for breakfast every morning. I work there, so we met a few months ago, but only started seeing each other, uhh, romantically a few days ago."
"Oh gosh, I can't believe he is doing this to me again! Are you sleeping with him?" she asks a little too calmly for a woman who just found out her husband is seeing someone else. Jeez, he really must do this a lot, for her to be taking it so well. I'm more of mess than she is right now.
"Um..." I drone out, trying to buy myself some time to figure out how to answer this question. I don't know this woman, and I surely don't want to explain to her that, yes, I've been naked with her husband, but not actually had sex with him. Crap, Brett is someone's husband! I'm assuming she would consider what Brett and I did on Monday night to be cheating, so I decide to just give her the abridged version, sparing us both the pain of the details.
"Yes, but just once. It was on Monday night. He took me out to Lang's, then we went back to his place...Oh God, did I do it in your bed?" I ask, and I swear I hear a muffled laugh. I can't imagine what she could find humorous in this situation. But before I have a chance to wonder about her strange reaction, she responds.
"No. He has a place in Chicago where he stays at when he has to work late. The kids and I live about thirty miles outside the city. It's hard for him to commute sometimes. Gosh, I thought that apartment was such a good idea when he suggested it, but now it seems like he takes every woman he meets there! I just assumed he was working late. I'm such a silly woman." She sniffles into the phone.
"You…you have kids?" I cry harder imagining beautiful green-eyed babies who look just like their father.
"Yes, two girls. They are the ones hurt most by his...extra-curricular activities. They miss him so much when he stays in the city."
My heart breaks for those innocent children. I can't believe he would do this. He seems so genuine and sincere, yet he’s out cheating on his wife every opportunity he gets. Great, he’s cheating on his wife and children with me! As I dry my eyes, I decide I no longer want to be a victim here. She needs to know the man she is married to so she can finally get free of his lies.
"He told me you were dead." I tell her quickly and quietly, before I lose my nerve.
"Oh, no, sweetheart. I am very much alive." She begins to loudly laugh into the phone. It confuses the heck out of me, because she doesn't even attempt to cover it this time. For the life of me I can't figure out what could be funny right now. Whatever. I guess we all react differently in stressful situations. I just need to fill her in, so I get off this phone and forget all about this conversation and Brett cheating Sharp.
"He said he lost you in a car accident." I pause as something dawns on me. "Crap, did he lie about Caleb's fiancé too?" I hear a loud bump, then nothing but cold silence.
"Hello? Are you still there?"
"I'm...here," she says, and for the first time since I answered my phone, I hear real tears in her voice. It's all probably sinking in for her now. Maybe her shock has worn off, mine certainly hasn't though. I listen to her sniffle for a second knowing that, in a way, I am responsible for this.
"God, I'm sorry. I had no idea he was married. You should probably know he doesn't wear a wedding ring either."
"Yeah, um... I should go." She answers as I hear a knock at her door over the phone.
"Hold on just one second, Jesse" I can hear her go to the door. Her voice clears up as she completely transforms from the sad woman she was only few seconds ago. "Oh, no problem, sweetheart, I was just chatting with Jesse."
"Sarah, what the fuck!" Brett's voice roars over the line.
"She needed to know."
"Really, what did she need to know?"
"That you're my husband."
"Jesse, hang up the phone!" I hear him shout over the phone as they exchange a few muffled words.
"You are such a dick, Brett! Is that any way to talk to the love of your life?" And that is all I need to hear in order to close this screwed up chapter in my life. I hang up the phone leaving Brett and "the love of his life" to hash it out between themselve
s.
I turn off my phone falling into bed crying over a man who doesn't deserve my tears. I try to forget, but I can't take my mind off of him. I think back over the time we have spent together, wracking my brain for all the signs I should have seen. I wonder what he told his wife while we were together. Would he sneak away from his family to call me every night? How long would he have strung me along before getting bored and moving on?
I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I'm awakened by an angry knock at my door. Half-asleep, and forgetting the craziness from earlier, I wander down the hall to see who is causing such a racket at...jeez it’s only nine P.M. I must have crashed out. I peek out to see Brett standing outside. Lord, he's sexy even with his face contorted through the oval glass of the peep hole. Suddenly, everything about the last few hours comes back into focus causing me to slide down the door just to keep myself from opening it.
"Jesse, open the door," he says quietly. I have no idea how he knows I'm here, but the fact that he doesn't shout at the closed door lets me know that he does. "I can see where you’re blocking the light at the bottom of the door. It wasn't there a minute ago." He answers my unspoken question.
Knowing I've been caught I quickly flip off the hall light sending the room into darkness. "And now, I know I was right because you just turned off the light completely. I'm a detective, remember?" I drop my head back against the door causing a loud thump. Wonderful, now I've confirmed his suspicions.
"Please, gorgeous. I have no idea what Sarah said to you, but let's talk about it."
"Go away." The sharp pain in my chest is too much.
"That's not going to happen. Let me in."
"I can't...I want you to leave me alone. Go back to your wife and kids. It's not right for you to be here." I begin to choke back the tears all over again. This is just ridiculous. I can't believe he even has the audacity to stand outside my door after his wife called me. "Go home!"
"I can't go home Jesse, not knowing that you are in there, hurt and upset," he says, and the pain in his voice is almost enough to make me want to reach out to hug him. Almost.
With his wife's words ringing in my ears, I remind myself that I am no one's dirty little secret. As much as I like Brett, he's a lie. It’s better I found this out now, before I have a chance to fall in love with the facade. I rise to my feet squaring my shoulders, ready to fight for the only person I can really trust. Me.
I yank open the front door to see him instantly meet my gaze. His assessing eyes glide over my tear-stained cheeks. Rushing forward he pulls me hard into his chest. He holds me, caressing my back, but I don't reciprocate. Tucked tightly into this man’s arms, my anger begins to fade from my body, but I refuse let it go completely. I stand limp, feet anchored to the ground, the rest of my body sways barely balanced enough to stand. He won't let me fall, and that realization hits me like hard a punch to the stomach. I mentally allow myself one minute to melt into his safe and comfortable arms, smelling his scent and feeling his strength as he kisses the top of my head. I enjoy this feeling for one last second before snapping out of the trance.
Shoving him as hard as I can, I push myself out of his grasp. I must have caught him off guard because he stumbles backwards a few steps.
"Get out, go home, and never speak to me again. Find a new place to eat breakfast, too. You may think I'm a naïve, easy play, but I'm not falling for your crap anymore. I know who you are Brett."
"Oh really? Who am I Jess?" He roughly runs his hand through his hair. Tousling it in the sexiest way. Crap!
"You’re a liar and a cheat. You played me which is bad enough, but for God’s sake, you played your own family, too."
"What did she say?" he asks, and I can almost see the flames shooting from his ears.
"Go home."
He sucks in a deep breath trying to collect himself. "Jess, when I'm angry I cuss...a lot. Last time I cussed at you, you freaked out. So let me prepare you, because I'm about to say a lot of words that you may not like. Please, don't take this personally, but I won't be able to watch my mouth." His calm voice raises to a shout as he obviously loses whatever control he collected just second ago. "Especially when you are telling me to go home to my wife and fucking kids. Now, before my head explodes, what the fuck did she tell you?" he screams.
"It doesn't matter what she told me. None of this is her fault, so don't you dare try to blame it on her. You're the one who lied to me. Why don't you try telling the truth for once? You would be amazed how liberating it feels. Jesus Brett, you told me you wife was dead. How do you sleep at night?"
"I never told you my wife was dead," he says, clearly befuddled.
I throw my hands up in the air and walk away leaving him standing in the doorway. I grab a beer from the fridge, not even bothering to offer him one. "You told me you lost her in a car accident. You said Caleb lost his fiancé too. Do you two work together? Lying about your dead wives to gain sympathy from unsuspecting women just to get them into bed?" I ask, taking a much needed sip of the beer.
Still standing in the foyer, his biceps bulge when he crosses his arms across his chest. Seriously, I have got to stop checking him out. No wonder he got me into bed so quickly. This man is good. Even knowing he's a big fat liar, I can't stop myself from lusting after him. Damn it!
"I told you I lost my wife in a car accident and that is the truth. I didn't realize that you thought she was dead. I see now how you would have assumed that though. I truly apologize for not being more clear. I never meant to imply she was dead, but you have to know that is the way I feel about her. She died years ago."
He sucks in another deep breath ready to continue, "Caleb and I are not working some big play to get women into bed. You are the first, and only, woman I have gotten into bed in over four years. Caleb's fiancé, Manda, actually died in the car that night. She was Sarah's best friend, and her death is a large part of the reason why Sarah is the way she is today. "
"Sure. Are you done yet? Because, you really need to leave." I can't listen to his lies. He is explaining away the fact that he has a living breathing wife. I'm not buying it.
"Sarah and I are still married." He finally tells the truth and even though I already knew, it still hurts to hear him actually admit it. "But she is not my wife anymore."
"That's not what it sounded like on the phone tonight."
"Jess, I have no idea what she said to you, but I'm starting to piece some of it together. She is the one who lied to you. We don't have any kids. We haven't lived together in over three years. I did lose her in a car accident that night. She didn't die, but I lost her all the same," he says in such a sincere voice, that I almost want to believe him. Then I remember the heartbreak in his wife’s voice when all of his deception hit her tonight. That alone, is enough for me to never speak to him again.
"You must think I'm a complete idiot. I spoke to her!" I shout to prove to him, and myself, that there is no getting past this.
"Where's your computer?" he asks oddly.
"I don't have one."
"You're a college student and you don't have a computer?"
"Are you here to make fun of me now? Add insult to injury? No, I don't have a computer. My old one broke, and I didn’t have the money to replace it. I work in a coffee shop, and I figured rent was a little more important than a new computer," I say sharply.
"I'm not making fun of you. Stop getting so defensive. I told you, I would never laugh at you. I meant it."
"Yeah, well you told me a lot of things that weren't true, so please excuse me for not believing you now."
"Jess, I want to show you something. Where is your phone? Sarah wouldn't give me mine back, and I didn't have the time to fight with her about it. I wanted to get over here and make sure you were okay. Which, you obviously are not."
"You need to leave."
"Where is your phone?" he repeats, not at all phased by my stern command.
"On the table." I give in, punctuating it with a huff as he walks
across the room retrieving my phone. He hands it to me and steps away, careful not to invade my personal space.
"Type this into Google: ‘Sarah Sharp Manda Baker April 2009,’” he instructs.
Willing to momentarily humor him, I open the Internet browser on my phone and do a quick search. I'm floored by the number of articles that pop up. First about Manda's death and the investigation into who was driving the car. Then there were several articles about Sarah’s attempted suicide covered by the local news. There was even a picture of Brett covered head to toe in blood, wrapped in Caleb's arms while standing on the front porch of a small white house.
"Brett," I whisper. Not sure what any of this proves about our current situation, but I feel horrible for the tragedy these two men experienced. A single tear escapes my eye, and for the first time in hours it’s not for myself.
"Are you ready to listen now, gorgeous?" He steps back towards me. He barely drags his fingertips over my neck, while gently brushing my hair off my shoulder. The graze of his gentle fingers sends chills all the way down my spine. It's something so common, but the way he does it makes it intimate.
"I'll listen, but I can't promise I'll believe you."
"You'll believe me. I won't accept it any other way."
"Then tell me about Sarah before I lose my nerve."
"Sarah and I met when we were twenty-one, and I was lucky enough to keep her for seven years before I lost her one tragic night in a car accident on 290. She, and her best friend Manda, wrapped their car around a tree on the way home from dinner. To this day, no one is sure who was driving. Sarah can't remember anything about the accident. They were both thrown from the car, but Manda was killed on impact. Sarah was unconscious afterward, but eventually escaped with just some pretty serious cuts and bruises. Or at least that was the way it looked at the time.