Inferno Anthology

by Gow, Kailin

  Was Easton right when he told me that the grass was greener on the other side? Or was he just caught up in the moment and wanting to get in my panties?

  The door swung open behind me. “What up B.B.?” Avery asked with a nod.

  “Ready to go home and sleep in my own bed,” I answered, honestly.

  “It was nice meeting you, and I will see you soon,” he said, kissing my cheek.

  “It was nice meeting you, too.” I smiled.

  Nicole kissed Avery goodbye. There was a sadness in her eyes, but we knew all along this day was coming. I suspected she would start spending her weekends in New York.

  “Are you ready to start being my best friend again?” I asked, pushing past her.

  “I know, I know. But Avery is so…” She trailed off, leaning against the closed door of the room.

  “I know, he’s great. And so is Easton,” I said, sitting on the end of one of the twin beds that were pushed together.

  “Okay, tell me about this kiss.”

  “We were dancing at the ball. Wait, how long were you two at the ball?”

  “I don’t know, not that long,” she said, blushing.

  “Of course not. Anyway, we were dancing for a long time. Took breaks to eat and get drinks. We were laughing and having a good time, and I forgot that it was the last night we would have together, and then it was as if he remembered, and he said it wasn’t goodbye. I said that I knew it wasn’t, and he cupped my face with both hands and kissed me.

  “It was the best first kiss that I’ve ever had. His mouth felt right against mine. I didn’t feel any physical sparks like I read in those damn books we read, but there was just something about it that felt—perfect. And then stupid fucking Jared popped in my head, and I thought about karma, and I don’t want to start something with Easton when I’m with Jared. You know?”

  I finally stopped talking and looked up to Nicole staring at me. “You love him.”

  “Who?”

  “Easton. You love Easton!”

  “Nic…”

  “You love Easton, and I fucking approve! When we get home, you need to break up with Jared and come with me to New York next weekend.”

  *~*~*

  By the time our plane touched down in Boston, Nicole had told me every detail of her weeklong fuck fest with Avery. It was nothing new for us to tell each other every detail of our lives, but her story took up the whole five and a half hour plane ride home. I’d come to the conclusion that even though we barely hung out on the cruise, I still had a good birthday present.

  As we taxied to the gate, I turned on my cell and waited for it to boot up. I hadn’t turned it on since we left home eight days prior. Missed texts and voicemails popped up with fifty-seven unread emails. Being away from reality for eight days was bittersweet.

  I dialed Jared to let him know that we had landed and to be ready for us at the curb outside baggage claim. There was no answer. I tried again, but there was still no answer.

  “What the fuck?” I said, staring at the phone after hitting the End button when Jared’s voicemail came on.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Jared’s not answering.”

  I tried again and still no answer. That time, I left a voicemail that we landed and to be waiting. I also sent a text for good measure.

  “If he doesn’t show, I’m going to beat the shit out of him,” Nicole said, reaching for her carry-on bag in the overhead bin.

  “He wouldn’t leave us. He knows we are coming home today. I even printed the itinerary and put it on the fridge. He’s coming.”

  We exited the plane and made our way to baggage claim. I tried Jared again, but still no answer.

  “I’m glad you’re breaking up with him,” Nicole said as we waited for our bags at the carousel.

  “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”

  “Why? You fell in love with Easton and he wants you, too.”

  “Yeah, but what if he just wants me for sex and doesn’t want a relationship? What if I’m throwing away a stable relationship for a fling?”

  Nicole reached for her bag as it approached on the belt. “Listen to me. Jared is a piece of shit. Fuck, B, he isn’t even answering his phone right now and I will bet you a million dollars that he won’t show or will come very, very late. If things don’t work out with Easton, then at least you took a chance. You deserve so much more than lazy ass Jared.”

  She was right. I wasn’t having doubts about breaking up with Jared, but it was going to be hard. No one wants their heart crushed, and he didn’t have anywhere else to go but to his mother’s, who only had a one bedroom apartment. Things would be awkward for a few days until he moved out—or I moved out. Whatever we decided on.

  “That’s my bag,” I said, pointing to it. Nicole reached down and picked it up for me. My shoulder was still hurting, and I was popping the pain pills like they were Tic Tacs.

  I tried Jared again with no answer. When we walked out to the curb, he was nowhere in sight.

  “That fucking asshole. How could he not show up?” Nicole huffed.

  I was in shock myself. Was he hurt? Did something happen to him while I was away? I had no missed voicemails, texts or emails from him, his mom or any of his friends to let me know that something bad had happen to him. I started to freak out.

  After waiting forty-five minutes with multiple calls and texts to Jared, Nicole and I took one of the waiting taxis home. We decided that she would take me home first to make sure he wasn’t dead in the apartment or something horrific like that. Both of us were coming up with bad scenarios. Yes, Jared was a lazy person, but I never thought he would forget me at the airport after I had been gone for a long time.

  I expected him to kiss me hello and be a total gentleman when he picked us up. Boy was I wrong.

  We arrived at my apartment, and Nicole helped me with my bags. Fear was running through me as I slipped my key in the door and slowly opened it. I had watched too much Law and Order for my own good.

  I opened the door, and Nicole and I eyed each other with raised eyebrows, not saying a word as we stepped in, looking around. The apartment looked just like I had left it. Like Jared hadn’t stayed there at all.

  “Looks like he cleaned. That’s a plus,” Nicole said.

  “No. It looks like I left it. The mail that I set on the breakfast bar before we left is in the same place. The candles on the coffee table are in the same place. My bed is made. Jared never makes the bed.”

  “Why would he not stay here if he lives here?”

  “Beats the hell out of me. Maybe he stayed at his mom’s because he didn’t want to be alone?”

  “Yeah…maybe,” Nicole said, still looking around the apartment.

  After we scoped it out more, she left since she had the taxi waiting. We both had to be at work early the next morning, and it was getting late.

  It was a little after eleven, and Jared still hadn’t called or shown up. I didn’t know what else to do other than to call his mom.

  “Hey Lisa, it’s Brooke.”

  “Oh, hi Honey. Is everything okay?”

  “I don’t know. Sorry for calling so late, but I just got home from my trip and Jared didn’t pick me up. I was wondering if he was there at your house?”

  “No, I’m afraid he isn’t here. He was here earlier doing his laundry. He didn’t mention anything about needing to pick you up at the airport.”

  “That’s okay. He probably forgot and is with one of the guys. I took a taxi, so I’ll just wait for him. Thank you again and sorry for calling so late.”

  I hung up the phone and took a shower. It was close to midnight by the time I crawled into bed, hoping he would show up and that he was okay. Scenarios were running through my head, and before I was about to drift off to sleep, a thought occurred to me that he moved out and broke up with me. I sprang out of bed and looked in the closet, but all of his clothes were still there.

  I tried calling him one last time with no answer
before sleep took over. I was exhausted and emotionally drained.

  *~*~*

  I woke up the next morning to a text from Jared:

  Jared: Hey Babe! I’m glad you made it back from your trip safely. Sorry I didn’t pick you up. My mom fell and broke her wrist, so I was taking care of her, and it slipped my mind that you were coming home yesterday. I’m sorry. I slept on the couch to not wake you. I’ll see you tonight.

  Seriously, a text? I got out of bed, looking into the living room, but there was no sign that he had slept on the couch like he said, and the mom lie? Seriously? Why was he lying?

  Me: I called your mom last night, but she didn’t say anything about you helping her. In fact, she told me that she hadn’t seen you since you did laundry at her place earlier in the day. What the fuck is going on, Jared?

  I waited for a reply back, but it never came. I was pissed and wanted to strangle him.

  *~*~*

  “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re back,” Lucy squealed, pulling me into her office. “Tell me all about the cruise!”

  “It was great. Nicole and I went to a private island in Puerto Vallarta, zip-lining in Mazatlán, and I saw my sister in Cabo. We ate so much food and danced a lot at night. It was unforgettable,” I said, plopping into the chair in front of her desk.

  There was no way that I would tell her about Easton. Lucy didn’t need to know everything in my personal life, and I really didn’t want to talk about the cruise since I didn’t know what Jared was up to. I made my story short and sweet.

  Lucy caught me up on everything that happened while I was away from the office. I didn’t want to be at work. I wanted to be in the arms of Easton with him telling me that everything would be okay. I wanted to break up with Jared, and this was more of a reason to do so.

  As Lucy finished giving me details about cases and also telling me about drama with Ian and Mike, my cell buzzed in my hand with a text from Nicole.

  Nicole: Dr. Sam can see you at 11. See you then.

  Nicole hadn’t asked if I wanted to see her doctor, but my shoulder was still bothering me—especially from the massage that I really wanted—and I needed some relief. With everything going on, I couldn’t focus on work anyway.

  I told Lucy about my shoulder and that I had a doctor’s appointment at eleven. She understood and told me that Ian wasn’t coming into the office anyway.

  *~*~*

  I arrived at Doctor Sam’s office ten minutes before eleven. The front staffer grabbed Nicole for me, and Nicole brought me back into an exam room. As she checked my vitals, I filled her in on Jared. She was speechless, but wanted to rip his dick off for lying to me and not picking us up at the airport. I didn’t blame her.

  Before we could come up with a master plan for us both to rip his penis off, Doctor Sam entered and began questioning me about my shoulder. I started from the beginning, how it started hurting after my bowling party, how I went to my regular doctor and she only prescribed me muscle relaxers, and how it was still hurting, and even more so after the massage.

  Doctor Sam was a beautiful brunette around the same age as me and Nicole. She wore her shoulder length dark brown hair with a few curls in it to give it some volume and had a pair of black rimmed glasses perched on her nose. I stared at her ruby red-stained lips as she spoke to me about the possibilities as to why my shoulder was hurting. She said that it may be job related and a result of the how I sat at my desk.

  She instructed Nicole to bring me to X-ray and then to see the in-office physical therapist about stretches I could do for my shoulder. After I met with both the X-ray technician and the physical therapist, Nicole and I went to lunch and waited for the X-rays to be ready.

  As we ate our salads, Nicole and I came up with the plan for me to act like it was no big deal that Jared was lying to me and that he left us at the airport. When he let his guard down, I would slip him two Ambiens in his beer, and then when he passed out, I was to call Nicole for her to come over with a scalpel she would steal from her work. As Jared slept, we would cut his dick off, Lorena Bobbitt style, and flee to Mexico.

  We giggled at the thought, but in the end we agreed the smarter choice would be for me to just break up with him. I wanted to anyway and more so since he was hiding something.

  After an hour lunch, Nicole and I went into her office and I waited in another exam room for Doctor Sam to come in and let me know the results of the X-ray.

  “I’ll let Doctor Sam know we’re back and see if the results are ready,” Nicole said, closing the exam room door behind her.

  I sat in the stark white room, flipping through a Women’s Day magazine as my nerves came back. The moment I saw Nicole’s face when she walked in with Doctor Sam, I knew something was wrong.

  She grabbed my hand, clenching it tight without saying a word. I began to ask what was wrong, but Doctor Sam cleared her throat and my worst fears came true. “Brooke, the radiologist found a mass on the X-ray.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Easton

  “You’re the best Daddy in the whole world!” Cheyenne said, hugging me as we waited in the security line at LAX.

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  I already knew I was, but I loved when she praised me instead of being annoyed with me, especially since it was extremely early in the morning.

  “Because Courtney’s at school right now, and I’m still on vacation.”

  It wasn’t a good thing that Cheyenne was missing school, but the way the cruise worked, it was better that she missed a day of school instead of going to school with little sleep.

  “That’s not a good thing, Peanut. It’s not good to miss school.”

  “But I am.”

  “Yes,” I nodded and started to take off my shoes, “but you will have double homework tomorrow.”

  “What? Really?” She whined.

  “I’m sorry, Peanut, but it’s the way it happened. But we have your first practice tonight. Aren’t you excited?”

  Everything was working out perfect. Practice was to start close to seven, to make sure all parents got their kids to the field. We needed the extra time since we were flying across the country.

  “I’m scared.”

  We paused our conversation and both went through the security scanner. After we put on our shoes and grabbed all of our belongings, we started to walk to our gate. I looked at Avery, and he was staring at his phone.

  “Have you heard from Nicole?”

  “Yeah, they made it back safe. Jared didn’t pick them up from the airport.”

  “What? She’s just telling you now?”

  “No, she told me last night while you were sleeping.”

  Fucking Jared. How the fuck did he leave Brooke and Nicole at the airport? What kind of loser does that? I wanted to change our flight and go to Boston instead of home. I wanted to beat the shit out of him!

  “Dad!”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m scared, and I don’t want to go to practice,” Cheyenne said, bringing the conversation back to her and taking my thoughts away from Brooke.

  “Don’t be scared, Peanut. I’ll be there to help you.”

  “I guess,” she said, pulling her phone out of her backpack.

  “Text Nicole for Brooke’s number. I want to call her,” I said to Avery.

  We arrived at our gate, taking a seat to wait for boarding.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, man. Brooke would have given you her number if she wanted you to call her.”

  “I don’t care. Give me your phone, and I’ll do it.”

  “No,” he said, moving the phone out of my reach.

  “Just do it, or I’ll tackle you right here and take it from you.”

  “Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom,” Cheyenne said.

  My head was spinning. There were two girls in my life that needed me, and one I couldn’t get to.

  “Let me go with you. I don’t want you to get kidnapped,” I said, standing up.

  �
�I won’t get kidnapped, I’m ten!”

  “You never know. Let’s go.”

  I walked her to the bathroom and waited outside while she went in and did her business. My mind kept thinking about Brooke being stranded at the airport. I guessed she wasn’t technically stranded since there were taxis, and I assumed that is the way they got home.

  I wanted to talk to her and find out why Jared was such an asshole and why he did that. If my girlfriend—the girl I was in love with—left on vacation for eight days, I would be at the airport early to make sure I was there whenever her plane arrived.

  By the time Cheyenne and I got back to the gate, they were boarding the plane already.

  “Did you get her number?”

  “No.”

  “Do it!” I said, handing my boarding pass to the attendant.

  “I’ll do it when we land. Nicole wants me to call her when we get to JFK.”

  “Fine, but you better call her as soon as we land.”

  “I will, calm down.”

  Once we were in the air, I purchased a movie for Cheyenne to watch for most of the six-hour flight home. I kept thinking to myself that Brooke was fine. She was an adult and could take care of herself, but I wanted to take care of her. I already missed her and that was freaking me the fuck out.

  *~*~*

  “Do it!”

  “Jesus, let my phone boot up,” Avery groaned.

  We had just landed at JFK, and the whole flight I thought about Brooke. I thought about the way Jared had sealed his fate, and now Brooke would break up with him, and I would swoop in and make her mine. It didn’t help that the movie Cheyenne picked to watch, Man of Steel, ended up being a love story at the end.

  I waited for Avery to text Nicole as we exited the plane. We walked towards the baggage claim, and I kept wanting to rip the phone from his hands. He wasn’t hurrying, and I wanted to do it myself. I would have thought that he would want to call Nicole first thing, but I guess since he had already spoken to her the night before, he got his fill.

  Well?” I questioned when we arrived at the bagged claim.

  “She…um, hasn’t texted me back.”