The room was filled. Kids were running around screaming. The adults all stopped and stared as we came through the door. Beers and wine glasses were in hand. A stunning dark haired beauty that couldn’t have been more than three at the most came running up to me holding out her hand.
I took her tiny hand and shook it. “And who are you?”
“Cora. Does your vagina have a tail?” She asked innocently.
Chapter 5
It’s not the size of the ship, nor the motion of the ocean. It’s whether the captain stays in port long enough for all the passengers to get off.
-Life Lesson
Winter
“Umm, I’m not quite sure what you mean.” I said, completely dumfounded.
I looked around wondering if anyone else had a clue, and I saw a tall dark haired man in the corner glaring daggers at his boots. He was shaking his head looking pained. Ember was doubled over silently laughing her ass off. Apparently, someone knew what she’d meant.
She tugged on my sleeve again regaining my attention. “My vagina doesn’t have a tail; daddy’s has a tail though. I saw it when I had to poop the other day. Mommy said he has to lock the door from now on when he showers with her. Mommy’s vagina doesn’t have a tail like daddy’s. They were really close to each other, so I could tell.”
She finished the last sentence off with a whisper. My mouth gaped open and closed like a floundering fish. I was so unsure what to say that the cute little fairy girl interceded for me.
“Winter doesn’t have a tail. Only men have tails.” She said with a straight face.
“That’s cool. Do you want some pizza? Uncle Rack,” I assumed Rack was Jack in midget speak, “made us wait until you got here. He was really grumpy about it too. So if you’ll go eat, then I can eat. I like eating.” She said as she skipped away towards the pizza that was resting on the counter.
I followed sedately, making my way around the curious gatherers rather than barreling between them like Cora had done. Grabbing a plate, I filled it with four slices of pineapple and Canadian bacon before taking a seat at the table and chowing down.
“Mmmmm,” I groaned. The cheese didn’t want to disengage, which made it extra super awesome. Using my hands, I broke off the cheese and shoved it in my mouth.
Cora plopped down beside me and went to town on her own pizza. Cheese for her. She ate the crust first, and then followed up with the cheese, tossing the bread to the side.
“Do you want anymore?” Jack asked as he took a seat beside me.
I shook my head no, seeing as my mouth was currently filled. The places around the table started to fill up around me. They all looked extremely curious, but stayed silent when Jack’s glare connected with their stares.
Letting out a discreet burp, I pushed the empty plate away and leaned back against my chair. I contemplated popping the button on my jeans, but thought better of it, and surveyed the crowd instead.
The men were all supremely good looking, and in incredible shape. Ember was standing next to a woman that looked a lot like her, so much so that they could’ve been twins. “That’s Cheyenne, Sam’s wife.” Jack muttered.
I nodded in acknowledgement, and let my eyes travel over to the woman that must be Elliott’s wife, seeing as she had her hands down the back of his jeans.
“Blaine, how many times do I have to tell you? I don’t do anything in the butt!” Elliott exclaimed loudly.
Blaine’s face heated as she realized that everyone in the room was now looking at her with her hand down her husband’s pants. “Elliott, you’re such a pissant.” She hissed.
Elliott’s shit eating grin didn’t make him look apologetic in the least.
My eyes wandered over to Payton who was sitting on a man’s lap who had a hellacious scar that ran along his jaw line. From this angle, I couldn’t see much more of his face, but from what I could see, I knew that one scar had to have hurt like a bitch. I would know; I had enough scars on my body to prove it.
My mind was suddenly seized by a memory, and I froze as I remembered.
***
Seven years ago, summer of 2006
“What the fuck are you doing?” Stormy screeched at me.
She was so stinking mad at me. I’d walked in on her and her boyfriend having sex. Well, at the time, I didn’t know they were having sex. I thought he was hurting her. I kept hearing her telling him no and that it hurt, so I didn’t think anything else. I grabbed the closest lamp and trudged in. What sane person wouldn’t assume that something bad was happening? Certainly not me.
“What the hell, Stormy? I didn’t freakin’ know! Jesus, I was just worried about you. Stop being so mean!” I exclaimed.
“You’ve ruined everything. He was going to propose to me tonight!” She screamed, tears trailing down her face.
Personally, I thought it was a good thing. The man gave me the fucking creeps. He had tattoos of hash marks on his neck and arms. On the underside of his chin, he sported a single eyeball that had red pupils. His thumb was tattooed like a real life dick, and he liked to run it along the edge of my chin.
I also suspected he was some sort of pimp, but I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t told Jack about him yet, but after tonight, I knew that I needed to. Something about the man just wasn’t right and I was tired of it. This had gone on long enough.
“You need to break up with him. He’s not a good man, and you aren’t the same person that you used to be before you met him. It’s only been three weeks! Why do you want to make this kind of a move so fast, anyway?” I whispered.
Fury rippled over her features and my eyes widened as she reached for the straightening iron that she’d just put down. Swinging it in an ark, she reared back and struck me across the face with it, busting my lip in the process. Why I didn’t move, I don’t know. I was absolutely frozen and stunned that she’d strike at me at all.
Her face registered horror as she saw the blood pour down my split lip, down my chin and neck, to disappear down the white t-shirt I was wearing. Wasting no more time, I ran out the front door and took off towards town as fast as my legs could take me.
I was lucky that Kyle, Texas was so small. Otherwise, running wouldn’t have been very productive. It was a good thing, too. My sides were already heaving and aching from the exertion. The cut on my lip also throbbed with the excessive beating of my heart.
I heard my sister’s voice call from behind me, but my legs just pumped that much faster down our shitty street. Turning my head, I watched as Peter came down the porch steps with his keys in his hand.
Nope. Not sticking around for that shit either. Once I turned the corner, I stuck to the shadows just in case he decided to follow.
Reaching Jack’s apartment complex, I took the stairs two at a time until I got to his front door. The apartments all had outside access; I didn’t have to go into a shared area, avoiding any curious questions. I knocked hard three times and waited, rocking back and forth from foot to foot. There wasn’t an answer and I nearly collapsed when I thought about my phone sitting on the kitchen table. That sure would’ve been handy right this second.
I was such a dumbass.
Backing myself into the corner, I sat and started picking at the potted plant when I noticed the top of a key sticking out directly in the center. I nearly let out a shout of exultation and snatched the key from its hiding spot.
Score.
Once I got inside, I was instantly calmed by his scent clinging to the air. I sat hard down on the edge of the couch, and then thought better of it and curled up on his rug instead, trying to avoid getting his stuff stained with my blood. The rug would survive, seeing as it was dark brown.
Exhaustion invaded my body and I fell asleep instantly.
It was the grating sound of a woman’s high-pitched voice that jarred me from my exhausted sleep.
“Thank you, Jack.” A woman purred at the door of Jack’s apartment.
The woman’s voice was familiar, but without her face, I couldn’t te
ll you how I knew her.
“You’re welcome.” Jack sighed.
Confusion poured through me and I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I leave? I thought we’d shared something, but if he had a woman at his door, then obviously he didn’t feel the same way.
Then the anger hit.
I was so very mad. How could he just tell me he wanted to explore something between us, and then today bring a woman home?
Getting uncomfortably to my feet, I made my way to the door and listened.
“It was just a ride. Don’t get used to it.” He answered.
“It meant a lot to me. You’re such a good man; I knew you wouldn’t leave me at that bar by myself.” She purred.
“I don’t treat women like shit. You need to find better taste in men. Now, I’m tired; I’ll see you later.” He dismissed her.
“Jack, would you like to come to my place and have a drink?” She asked seductively.
“No, what I want to do is call my girl. Then I want to get in bed. Thanks.”
“But, Jack, that girl I’ve seen you around town with is just a child. She can’t possibly make you happy; nor can she give you what I know you need.”
My short temper got the best of me, and I yanked the door open and glared out at Lily Joe Trammel. Queen bitch of Kyle, Texas.
“Oh, I think I can please him alright. Now, shoo. You’re attracting vagrants.” I smiled sweetly.
It wasn’t until I felt the pinch of my lip and the slow line of warmth that oozed from the cut that I remembered. Jack was staring at my face in horror. One second I was five feet away from him, and the next I was in the apartment and he was closing the door. His arms were wrapped around my waist holding me to his body.
“What the fuck?” He growled low.
“Uhh, I’m sorry I broke into your apartment. I had a fight with my sister. Then I saw her boyfriend following me and I got scared.” I shivered.
He dragged me in his wake to the bathroom before sitting me down on the vanity and pulling a first aid kit from under the sink. He worked in silence, cleaning up my face. Growling low at each whimper of pain that escaped my lips.
Damn, but who would’ve known getting busted in the face with a straightening iron would hurt so much? “I’m gonna need stitches, huh?”
“Yeah, looks like you will. It’s split pretty bad, from the inside to the outside.” Jack said carefully.
It was obvious that he was very upset and holding it in for my sake. I was grateful for that; I didn’t want to get into all the details right now. They were extremely embarrassing and I didn’t want to scare him off with my fucked up family before we even got started.
Helping me down off the counter with his hands at my hips, he let me slide down the length of his body. I finally became aware of the compromising position we’d been, and still were, in. I felt another shot of anger pour through me as I realized that Stormy screwed with this moment we were having, too. If my face weren’t bleeding, this situation might be something entirely different right now.
Jack’s eyes ran over my face, and then trailed down to my t-shirt. “We should probably get you changed. You look like a Slasher victim.”
Leading me into his room by the hand, he stopped me in front of his closet and helped me get the t-shirt over my head. “I’ve never seen Slasher. I’ve ruined my only white t-shirt.” I said distractedly.
I was trying to divert myself from the fact that he had one huge ass bed. It reminded me of one I’d seen on the internet one time. Hugh Hefner’s bed was very large; it accommodated over seven people. Of course, this wasn’t that big, but the black satin sheets that were covering it just made it appear larger.
“I’m sure plain white t-shirts aren’t hard to find, honey. See, I have one right here.” He said, withdrawing a white t-shirt that looked like it been worn and worn well.
He slipped it over my head, carefully avoiding my split lip, and then helped me thread my arms through the holes. It was massively large on me, but I was ecstatic to have it. He went behind me and gathered the extra material at my back and then tied it into a knot.
“There, now it doesn’t look like a dress. I have an extra leather jacket in here, too. You need to wear it. The trip is about a twenty minute ride from here and I don’t want you to be hurt if something were to go wrong on the bike.”
Our trip to the emergency room proved uneventful. The ER doctor placed five stitches in my lip and announced I was as good as new. We then found a pizza place and that was where he introduced me to my new love: Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza.
***
“Why’s she staring at my pizza? I didn’t eat the last piece.” James asked, bringing me back to the present.
I smiled wide at Jack and then threw my arms around his shoulders. “Holy crap! I can’t believe I haven’t remembered Canadian bacon and pineapple before now!”
Jack’s smile lit up the place, and revealed straight white teeth. “What’ve you been eating for the past seven years then?”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “Cheese. When I saw this earlier, it called to me, but it sure did look mighty disgusting.”
“Yeah, that’s what you said the first time I made you try it, too. You said the pineapple looked like snot piles.” He laughed.
“That’s just plain disgusting.” James said from across the table.
He was looking at the piece of pineapple on his pizza slice with a revolted eye. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. That face was priceless. His glare shut me up but I’m sure my eyes were still laughing at him.
“Did you get your job?” Elliott asked as he sat down, pulling Blaine down with him into his lap.
I looked at Elliott, then to Blaine, and back. “Yeah, I start on Monday. Which gives me three days to go find some uniforms, equipment, and a drug screening.”
“I can help you with all that. We can go tomorrow, if you like.” Blaine offered generously.
I smiled at her in appreciation. “That would be great. I got kind of lost on the way to the job fair today, too. I also seem to have a tad bit of road rage. People drive like dumbasses here.”
“At least you were in a car. Just think about our poor guys on their bikes. People don’t even see them, even with it so glaringly obvious. Just last week, a car pulled out in front of us and we nearly hit them. It was good we were going slowly or we would have.” Blaine griped.
I totally understood. I’d seen many motorcycle wrecks in my line of work, and they never ended well. At each and every wreck there was someone hurt. I shivered thinking about Jack out there on his every day, but I would never ask him to stop. It was a part of what he was and I would never try to change that.
***
Jack
“You can ask me now. I’ll tell you everything.” Winter said, with her body leaned into mine on the couch.
She knew me well, even if her mind couldn’t remember that she did. I needed to know more about the attack, the baby, and another thing that I didn’t even want to think about, let alone ask. However, I knew I needed to know. It was important.
“Tell me about the baby or what you remember.” I asked quietly.
I’d get to the other thing later. I wasn’t ready to hear the answer yet.
“I don’t remember much, Jack. I’ve already told you the extent of the accident. I can tell you more on the recovery though,” She said, taking a deep breath and then releasing it. “I was in the hospital a long time. Rehab kicked my ass. I had twelve surgeries, seven of them for reconstruction for the scars on my face and chest. The plastic surgeon did it pro-bono.”
I gave her a reassuring squeeze and she continued.
“I have pins in both legs and my right forearm. My jaw was wired shut for eight weeks. It was about ten weeks in that they finally told me about the miscarriage. I miscarried on my own, and everything passed on its own so I didn’t require surgery or anything for that. They, um, took a picture of the baby, just in case I needed to see it. Or wanted to se
e it. I’ve never looked though. It’s still tucked into the box they gave me. I knew one day I would want to open it, but I haven’t found the courage to do it yet.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I should have been there. I should have done something. Anything. What kind of man lets his wife go through that on her own? My eyes were squeezed tightly shut and I was numb. Fuck me, but she’d been through hell. She was being so flip about it, too. Almost like it happened to someone else. Which I guess it kind of did.
Crushing her to my body, I released a breath and said, “God, I am so sorry, Winter.”
“Do you remember the night you took me to the hospital for my split lip?” She whispered.
“Yeah.” I choked out.
In fact, I remembered it so well that I could still tell you everything that happened, up to the finest detail. I’d gone to a bar for a drink since Winter had to work. When I’d gotten ready to leave, my neighbor was in the parking lot having car trouble. Car trouble being in the form of her man leaving her stranded. I’d hated every second of that four-minute ride. Her arms wrapped around me felt incredibly wrong.
When I’d gotten to my door, I couldn’t shake the woman. About to use the anger that was boiling inside of me, the door opened revealing Winter. Her lip was split, and dried blood ran from the cut to the t-shirt she was wearing. New blood was welling.
I’d taken her to the hospital and for pizza shortly after. Once we’d gotten home, it was then she told me about her sister and the man that her sister had been seeing.
I remember that night with such perfect clarity; while Winter was sleeping in a drug induced haze, I went hunting. I’d found the man, too. He was shacked up with a woman from his father’s stable. He didn’t take very good care of those girls, which is why the woman I spoke with had no loyalty to him and gave up his location.
I’d sufficiently scared the absolute piss out of him; literally and figuratively. Then I went to see the sister, who I deduced was on drugs. She was as high as a kite when I got there and wasn’t even smart enough to be worried that I was walking into her own damn living room without invitation.
Last Day of My Life Page 7