by Lee Heaven
“Get the fuck away from me,” I snarled at him, then rounded my car, opened the driver’s door and climbed in.
He quickly filled the doorway of my car preventing me from closing the door and driving away. “Come on Maggie just talk to me. Please?”
Jacob was about six foot even and obviously worked out. He had very light brown eyes and his hair was a sandy color. A face that still looked younger then what he was. Most girls would have loved him, I, well I hated him.
“Verpiss dich,” I sneer at him hoping he would actually understand and fuck off.
“Ah Maggie come on you know I don’t understand you when you speak German. I never did learn anything you said besides when you called me an asshole,” he whined at me.
“Jacob, get the fuck away from me. You’re going to make me late for work on my first day. Arschloch!” I shoved at his shoulder and he stepped back. But before I could close the door he placed his hand on it holding it open.
“I will talk to you and you will hear me out,” he snapped as he stepped back and closed my door.
Turning up the radio as loud as I could stand I blasted Imagine Dragons Radioactive as I pulled away. I flipped Jacob my middle finger. “Schwachkopf, fucking dickhead,” I mumbled to myself as the radio blocked out the world as I headed for the city.
No way was I letting him anywhere near me again. Why? So the dickhead could fuck with my already fragile emotions again? No fucking way. Now I was even more pissed off at him because he had aggravated me on my way to work, on my first day. I’m just hoping the drive into the city would give me enough time to calm down.
~~~
I walked into the apartment at just about five o’clock to find Decker sitting in his wheelchair just outside the kitchen. He turned his head and held his finger up to his lips to let me know to be quiet. I wasn’t sure what was going on but Decker looked pissed.
“There’s a god damn fucking lasagna in the fucking fridge. Put it in the fucking oven at three fifty for about forty-five minutes then take the fucking tin foil off for fifteen,” Sarah yelled from the kitchen. Whoever she was talking to, wait, yelling at sure had pissed her off.
She was quiet for a few minutes, I was beginning to think she had hung up the phone when she yelled “I’m fucking working what do you want me to fucking do. You’re never fucking happy. Don’t spend money, get a fucking a job, do this, do that. Bend to whatever you fucking say. I give you my fucking life and you’re never fucking happy.”
I heard a dish smash against the wall and I stepped to go walk into the kitchen but Decker grabbed my arm and held me back. “I have to go help her.”
“She’s not off the phone yet,” he said as he shook his head. I could tell this was killing him. This man was madly in love with this woman. He wanted to go to her but he knew not to till she was off the phone.
“Who is she talking to?” I asked.
“Her boyfriend,” he rolled his eyes. “He’s mentally abusive toward her. But she doesn’t see it. I’m afraid he’s going to lose it one day, it will turn physical and she’ll really be hurt,” he whispered. I heard another dish smash the wall. “I let her smash the dishes because it makes her feel like she has a little control,” he answered my silent question when my eyebrows rose as a third dish hit the wall.
Wow she had a boyfriend and he was abusive. If I didn’t know better I would have thought she was madly in love with Decker. I knew he was with her, it was written all over his face.
“I’ll be fucking home as soon as the new aide gets here. I can’t do a fucking thing until then,” she yelled. “I’ll fucking call you when I’m on the fucking road.”
As a fourth dish smashed against the wall all I heard was her crying. Decker let go of my arm and said, “The broom and dust pan are in the pantry. Tell her to come to my office when she’s ready. Don’t ask her about it or she’ll go off on you.” He wheeled himself around and headed toward his office.
I walked into the kitchen and opened the pantry. Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table staring out the window tears streaming down her face. I noticed the tea kettle brewing on the stove and removed it filling the mug she had sitting on the counter. I placed the cup, tea bag and sugar in front of her and went to sweeping up the broken dishes.
“I’m sorry you heard that,” I barely heard her whisper a few minutes later.
“It’s fine. Decker said to go to his office when you’re ready,” I said with a soft smile.
She started walking out of the kitchen but turned around. “Thank you,” she said as she squeezed my arm lightly.
I smiled at her “Anytime you want to talk I’m here.”
She gave me a quick hug and hurried toward where Decker’s office was. I went back to finish sweeping the floor and cleaning the counter of broken pieces. Opening the oven to check on whatever Sarah had cooking; I almost salivated at the smell. Pealing back the tin foil I see she made manicotti. It smelled amazing.
When Sarah hadn’t returned fifteen minutes later I checked on dinner. The manicotti was just about done so I pulled the tin foil off and put it back in for the last fifteen minutes.
“Thank you for finishing dinner,” Sarah said behind me just as I pulled the dish out of the oven.
“It’s no problem. I would have set the table except I don’t know where you eat,” I said as I placed the dish on a heat trivet.
“Usually in the kitchen unless he has guests then he’ll eat in the dining room or on the couch if their watching TV,” she smiled. “If you don’t mind I’m going to leave early. Decker will fill you in on anything you need to know and we can talk in the morning if you any other questions.”
“That’s fine. I have your number if I need anything but I think we should be fine.”
Decker rolled in at that moment and Sarah walked over and kissed his forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning. Call if you guys need anything,” then she was gone.
“Is it always that bad?” I asked hoping I wasn’t stepping over the line.
“That was nothing. In the three weeks I’ve known her I’ve seen worse,” he said shaking his head and placing the dishes on his lap as he rolled to the table.
I followed behind with the tray of manicotti and a basket of fresh baked bread. I helped Decker position himself at the table. After placing a plate and silverware in front of Decker, I sat down across the table from him.
“You’re in love with her aren’t you?” I couldn’t help but ask and it slipped out faster than I expected it to, my hand went up to cover my mouth with a small gasp of surprise.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Don’t open your mouth! It’s your first day, stay quiet so you don’t get fired! Shit!
He didn’t say anything just went about scooping manicotti onto our plates and ripping up the fresh baked bread. “From the first day I met her but she sealed it on her third day working for me when she crawled into my lap crying,” he finally said without looking up from his plate.
“Have you considered telling her?” I asked.
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “She won’t leave him. They’ve been together for fourteen years. They have a daughter together; she has no means to support her if she leaves. He hold’s something over her head all the time, she won’t tell me what, she refuses to let me in and let me know anything about her life. She’s broken in so many ways. The only thing I can do is be her friend. The only thing you can do is be her friend. I don’t think she has any besides a girlfriend who lives near Chicago or somewhere out there and another one who lives near Denver.”
“I can understand being alone. I had no friends till I moved to Vegas. Now after ten years I’m back here and I have no friends again, their all thousands of miles away.”
Decker didn’t say anything just looked at me with this sad face. I haven’t even gotten to know the ball of spitfire yet, but I knew that along with Decker, we had to do whatever we could to protect her.
Chapter 2
The past four months have
been some of the best times. Sarah and I have become good friends. Working for Decker has been the best job ever. I’ve been able to dodge Jacob since that day he cornered me on the street.
Now here I sit on a Wednesday night at the end of January, plotting with Decker. Laying his plan out hoping to win the woman he’s madly in love with.
“And you’re sure she’s going to be able to stay this weekend? Shawn is going away this weekend?” I wasn’t sure this plan was going to work. I was afraid of the outcome.
“Yes she said he was taking the kids to go snowmobiling. This plan will work. It has to work,” Decker said as he scrubbed his hands across his face.
“Ok so all I have to do is tell her I have the flu and then she’ll have to spend the weekend since Jen actually has the flu and you told her to take the week off. It sounds possible but I’m just afraid of Shawn’s reaction.”
Shawn worried me. While he was never abusive physically it wouldn’t surprise me if he was one day. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.
“I am to, but I can’t sit here and not do anything. I need to get her to see and get her to leave on her own. She needs to see it, she’ll never believe it if I say it.” Decker closed his eyes and shook his head. He was trying so hard to reign in some of the control he loses when it comes to Shawn. “Just…when you get here tomorrow night start complaining that you’re not feeling good. I know her, she’ll tell you to go home and rest and the rest will all fall into place.”
“I’ll hold you responsible if anything happens to her. She’s fragile. She won’t even let me in. I hope you can crack some of that this weekend, because I’ve tried and she won’t tell me.”
After getting Decker into bed I crawled into my own. All the things that could go wrong were bouncing around in my head. What if Shawn changed his mind and decided not to go away this weekend? What if someone got a picture of the two of them together and posted it? What if she has a panic attack in public? What if Shawn freaked out? What would happen then?
I knew what Decker was getting at. I knew why he wanted to do this. She wouldn’t see how much he loved her and she loved him unless she saw it for herself. I could sit here all I want and beg her to leave Shawn, hell I have a bunch of times, but she wouldn’t do it. She needs to do this for her sake. She needs to see everything he has to give her on her own.
It didn’t mean I liked it all and wasn’t afraid. God knows I am afraid of the outcome if she didn’t see it.
~~~
Morning came and I knew it was time to start with his plan. I knew Decker wanted me to wait until tonight to pretend I was sick but I thought it would be better if I started this morning. So as I woke up I didn’t bother to get dressed or put on make-up.
“Morning Maggie, Is something the matter?” Sarah asked as I walked out of the bedroom and met her in the hallway as she headed toward Decker’s room.
“I just woke up with a headache. I’m not feeling all that well this morning. If you don’t mind I’m just going to head out to go home and rest.”
Sarah placed her hand on my forehead as if to take my temperature. Her smile faded a little. “You don’t feel warm perhaps it’s just that time of the month. Hopefully it’s not the flu. Go home and rest and I’ll see you tonight,” then she was gone and into Decker’s room.
Sarah was only six years older than me and close to seven inches shorter than me, but she has been more of a mother then my own was. She made sure I was cared for, I had food every night and breakfast before I left. I could see why Decker fell in love with her she has a heart of gold.
As I drove home I blasted Fun.’s Some Nights, they had recently become my favorite band. For Christmas Decker gave Sarah and I front row tickets with back stage passes and meet and greet passes to their tour coming up this summer and we are so excited, we can’t wait, summer just can’t get here fast enough for us.
Driving down my street I noticed Jacob walking toward my house. Damn it! Ficken! Schiss! There’s no way around it. I finally have to face him. Unless I got myself inside before he caught up to me. I pulled into the driveway and tried to get inside as fast as I could. Jacob caught up to me as soon as my foot hit the bottom step.
“Fass mich nicht an!” I screamed at him as he grabbed my elbow.
“Damn it Maggie, speak fucking English,” he grunted at me.
“Don’t touch me!” I grunted as I yanked my elbow out of his grip.
He stared at me with his big brown eyes, “Come on Maggie let me apologize. Let me make up for being a shit head.”
“Jacob I don’t have time for this. I’m not feeling good. I’ve been working all night. I need to finish packing my parents stuff up so I can get the house on the market.”
“You’re moving?” He questioned me.
Of course only a man would hear just that part. Not the part about not feeling good. Ugggg.
“Yes. Does it matter?” I raised an eyebrow at him.
“I was just hoping we could talk again,” he looked at me with puppy dog eyes.
Jacob was my first love. I fell in love with him when we were six years old. He was my first in everything, including my first heartache. If I give into this guy it would be heartbreak all over again.
“Jacob…”I started but was interrupted by a car pulling in my driveway. “Arschloch!”
Jacob knew that word well. I had called him an asshole plenty of times over the years. His head snapped toward the driveway so fast that I thought his neck was going to snap. His jaw tightened and I heard his teeth grind.
“Hey baby. I’ve been trying to call you for weeks. Why haven’t you called me back? I’ve been so worried,” he crooned as he got out of the car and strutted up the sidewalk like his shit didn’t stink.
I tensed and stepped behind Jacob. Looking over Jacob’s shoulder I said, “Landon what are you doing here?”
“Baby, you belong to me. Did you think I would let you go that easy? You are mine and no one else’s. It took me a while to find you, but I did.”
I had never heard Landon talk like that. He was always so sweet and caring. The first time I had ever seen a different side of him was the day I came home and found him with three other girls. The day I tossed my ring at him and left. That was almost six months ago.
“Nicht! Weg von mir!” He always hated when I spoke German. Said it reminded him of the head mistress at the boy’s school he went to, always complained that it was miserable there. So I screamed at him hoping he would just leave like I asked.
“Genug! You hear me ENOUGH! You will come home with me.” His eyes looked evil.
Jacob’s fist clenched at his side and he moved up one more step and blocked me even more from Landon. “Who is this guy Maggie?” He asked me over his shoulder.
“My ex. We broke up six months ago,” I whispered “I’ve never seen him like this. He’s scaring me.”
“I think you need to leave,” Jacob addressed Landon. “It seems Maggie doesn’t want you here.”
Jacob pushed me toward the door and then stepped towards Landon. When Landon didn’t move Jacob kept walking towards him. “I suggest you leave and not come bother her anymore.” Jacob continued to stalk towards Landon stopping about a foot in front of him.
Landon and Jacob stood there staring at each other. Both with fist clenched and muscles twitching, neither one of them backing down from each other. Both sexy as fuck for standing up for me, but both had pissed me off and broke my heart. At this moment all I could do is stare at them.
I hear the distinctive click of a shotgun cock and my head whipped toward the end of my driveway. “I suggest both of you boys get off this property and leave,” my neighbor Jon Woods was standing at the end of my driveway pointing his gun at them. “Jacob Williams I suggest you head home before I have to call your father. Young man I don’t know who you are but if I see you bothering Maggie again, I won’t think twice about putting a bullet in you. Do you understand?”
Both boys recoiled at that moment. Landon
walked as fast as he could and got back in his car, peeling out of the driveway and sped off. Jacob turned to walk towards me.
“Jacob, don’t make me call your father, even at twenty-eight, I’m sure he’ll whip you over his knee,” Jon said. He was only ten years older than us, but was always considered one of the neighborhood elders. He was head of the neighborhood watch, head of the welcoming committee and made sure elderly neighbors were taken care of during snow storms and heat waves. Mom always gushed about how his parents had raised him right.
“Let me just give her my number and then I’ll leave,” Jacob said reaching into his back pocket to pull out his business card and hand it to me.
I shoved it in my pocket and said thank you as he headed down the sidewalk. “Thank you Jon. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Maggie, I watched you grow from a baby and your father and mother would expect it from me. Even with them gone I wouldn’t disrespect them. Your mom has my number tacked to the board by the house phone, you call me any time of the day or night if either one of them come back and bothers you.”
When John was twenty-three his parents were killed in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway, he moved back into his parents house to raise his three younger siblings and has lived there ever since.
“Thank you Jon. I’ll remember that. If you’ll excuse me now, I need to go finish packing my parent’s house.”
“It’s a shame you plan on selling this place.” He looked sad as he looked around my front yard. “We had some good times as kids running around this neighborhood.”
“We did but this isn’t my home anymore. I need to move on. I don’t want to be sad like my mother was my whole life.”
He just shook his head at me, then turned and left.
I walk into my house and sighed. What the fuck was Landon doing here and why the fuck was he acting like that. As I walked toward the kitchen to make some breakfast my phone started ringing. I groaned as I looked at it and saw it was Landon.