by Chelle Bliss
He thought about it before responding. “I don’t know. I don’t want to be a burden on you, Sophia. Without a job, I don’t have any money to buy food or pay for anything,” he said to me with a sincere look on his face.
“I can’t leave you here without any way to eat or survive,” I said as I brushed my fingertips against his cheek.
“The guys will make sure I’m fed,” Kayden said.
“They’ll also make sure you’re drunk, too. I want to be with you. We can spend more than a weekend together for once. I can fall asleep in your arms each night. We’ve always been so rushed. When you’re rehired, I’ll get you back to New Orleans,” I promised, pleading with him.
“I hate having to rely on anyone, Sophia.”
“Stop the macho bullshit. We never have enough time together.”
“Okay, I’ll come with you.”
I knew he loved this city and his life was here, but I was his life, too. I was the only one who could help him, motivate him, and keep him on track. I was not and never had been a drinker. He needed to get away from the guys, the nightly drinking, and break the pattern.
That evening he packed a bag and told his roommate he would be gone until he could return to work. I felt at peace knowing he would be with me. No more wondering what happened to him, if he was okay, or if he was drinking.
Sadness showed on his face as we drove through the city, heading toward the airport. “You’ll be back, Kayden—this is only temporary.”
“I love this city, but I want to be with you. I wish we lived here together,” he said.
I squeezed his hand, knowing we would be back. Our time in New Orleans wasn’t over just yet. We made the flight bound for Florida. Kayden was fidgeting in his seat on the plane. “What’s wrong, baby?” I asked.
“I hate to fly.”
“Really? You flew to see me and never mentioned it.”
“I didn’t want you to think I’m a pussy, but I loathe flying,” he told me, looking out the window.
“I’ll hold your hand. I hate flying, too. I was so scared once that they gave me a little pair of wings before I got off the plane.”
“That’s funny,” he laughed.
I slapped his chest. “Quiet, mister.” I rested my head against his shoulder, gripping his hand as the plane ascended. The cabin of the plane was dark, and the city lights twinkled outside the window.
“Wanna join the mile-high club?” he whispered in my ear.
I swallowed hard, thinking through his proposition before answering, “We can’t. We’ll get in trouble.”
He chuckled at my words, “You’re always worried about getting in trouble. Come on, the fear always makes it hotter.”
“No, no. I can’t! It’s too scary,” I said, shaking my head against his soft T-shirt.
The plane shook from turbulence, and Kayden flinched and grabbed the armrests. “Wow, you’re more scared than me. Who knew I’d ever find someone more afraid of flying than I am?”
“Don’t laugh. That shit’s scary,” he said.
I closed my eyes for the rest of the flight. Kayden stroked my arm, more for his comfort than mine. Exhaustion didn’t even begin to explain what I felt, but I knew I would sleep in Kayden’s arms tonight.
Kayden and I dropped our bags in my room and undressed. We crawled into bed, skin on skin, and I nestled against him.
“Good night, Kayden,” I said, reaching up to kiss his lips, and then I nuzzled back into his chest.
“Night, Sophia. I love you,” he replied as he kissed the top of my head. I reached up and scratched his goatee. I tangled my fingers in his facial hair until I felt his body twitch before slipping into my own oblivion.
30
Kayden
Making a Home
I could feel Sophia crawling out of bed to turn off the screeching alarm. She was trying to not wake me, but the alarm volume had done the job for her. I watched her dress by the glow of the television. I waited for a kiss, but she started to creep toward the door.
“Morning, beautiful, were you going to leave without giving me a kiss?” I asked her.
“Oh, baby. I wanted to let you sleep,” she said, turning around.
“Don’t ever leave without kissing me and saying good-bye.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“Kiss me.”
“Always, love. I wish I didn’t have to go to work, but I’ll be home on my break,” she said to me as I lay there still waiting for a kiss. “Okay, Okay. You want a kiss. I got it.” She leaned down and touched her lips to mine.
“Thank you,” I said to her. “Have a good day at work. I’ll see you on your break.”
“Go back to sleep, handsome. Text me when you’re awake,” she said as she stood, heading for the door.
I closed my eyes and thought about how lucky I was to have Sophia in my life. Where would I have been at that moment without her? I missed work and New Orleans, of course, but I needed Sophia more than anything. I played our time together in my mind until I drifted back to sleep.
I texted Sophia went I woke up, as she asked.
Sophia: You doing okay?
Me: Better than I have in a long time, Sophia. Thank you for bringing me home.
I felt relieved to be away from New Orleans and at home with Sophia. I smelled her pillow, waiting for her reply.
Sophia: No place I’d rather you be than keeping my bed warm. No point in you being alone in New Orleans when we can spend time together. We never seem to have enough of it.
Me: I should’ve come weeks ago.
Sophia: I’m glad you’re happy. We’ll get your work all straightened out, and then you can return to New Orleans. But for now, I’m going to enjoy every moment we have together.
Me: I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick.
I didn’t know what else to say to her—how to express my sorrow for my behavior the last few weeks. The only thing I could do was stay sober. It was easier to do being with Sophia. She had no liquor in the house, maybe by design, and she lived in the middle of nowhere. I had no form of transportation when she worked, and there were no stores within walking distance.
Me: Anyway… I think I’m going to wash our clothes from the weekend. Is that okay?
Sophia: Hell yes. Hang your clothes up in my closet when you’re done. What’s mine is yours, Kayden.
Me: Be back in a bit.
Sophia: I have to get back to the kids anyway.
I washed clothes and cleaned her room while waiting for her. I checked out the pantry and fridge to see what I could make for dinner. At least I could help out around the house and help keep her fed. Thankfully, Sophia didn’t have to work late, giving us hours together in the evening.
Dinner simmered on the stove when Sophia walked through the door a little after three. She walked into her room, dropped her bags, and crawled into bed with me.
“What have you been doing?” she asked.
“Washed all the clothes, cleaned your bathroom, straightened up the room a bit, got dinner started, and waited for you,” I replied.
“Wow, thanks. I’ve been a little preoccupied lately. That leaves more time for just us,” she said, snuggling her face into my neck.
We spent the evening in bed, shutting the world out. Sophia fell asleep early, but I didn’t have the heart to wake her. Her soft breaths and tiny snores made me chuckle. I’d never heard her snore before tonight. I brushed the hair away from her face and stared at her perfection. Holding her closer, I kissed her eyes and smelled her.
A knock sounded at the door, but Sophia didn’t move.
“Come in,” I said quietly.
The door opened slowly, and a ragged Suzy appeared. “I’m so sick. I just wanted to let you know that I’m not going to work tomorrow.”
“Okay, Suzy. If you need anything, just text me. This little one is out for the evening,” I said, looking down at Sophia.
“She sleeps like a rock. I’m going to bed, and I’ll see yo
u in the morning, God willing.” Suzy closed the door.
I picked up my tablet and snapped pictures of Sophia asleep in my arms. I didn’t want a posed picture but something pure and honest. She looked like a child wrapped in my arms. Her innocence drew me to her, the pull stronger now than ever before.
I slowly moved her off of me, but she didn’t even stir. I’d never seen someone sleep so soundly. I turned off the lights and crawled back in bed. I found a peace with Sophia in my arms unlike any other I’ve experienced.
Sophia left for work early the next morning, and I took care of Suzy. I brought her soup and ice water in bed, making sure she didn’t get up for anything. I was so thankful that she allowed me to stay with them. I wanted to help them in every way possible. They had given me a roof over my head when I needed it most and had nowhere else to turn.
Suzy, Sophia, and I slowly fell into a pattern. I often cooked dinner, and the three of us ate together. Some evenings we played cards and watched movies. We became a threesome, not sexually, but in friendship.
Suzy gave us our privacy, but we included her as much as possible. Sometimes she’d lay on the bed with us and talk. Sophia and I were both older, and she used the opportunity to pick our brains about love and life. Why she chose us to ask, I’ll never understand. Sophia and I had failed miserably before finding each other. We could only offer her advice on what not to do. She became like a little sister, filled with questions, looking to me for answers.
I spent the next month applying to every place imaginable—job application after fucking job application. What a pain in the ass. Every single one wanted to know about my criminal record, and I answered honestly, but I knew I was doomed as soon as I hit send. I wished I could grab this shitty black cloud following me around and piss on it.
The holidays were closing in fast, and all I wanted was a drink. Every day was a struggle for me. It called to me. Every fucking day, it called to me. I needed to work, and the idleness of my life had become mind-numbing.
So much in my life was up in the air. Would I be able to stay in Florida with Sophia? I couldn’t return to New Orleans without a job in place. I tried to live in the present and not worry about the future as Sophia had asked.
She told me, “Everything has a way of working out in the end.” I loved her for her optimism, but I knew the realities.
31
Sophia
Nola Bound
Tom called to tell Kayden the company would be closing down the apartment by the end of the month and that if he wanted his things, we needed to go there soon.
We left for New Orleans immediately. Sadness filled us as we drove to New Orleans. It would be a good-bye trip. Dread filled me the closer we got. I’d fallen in love with this city. It had become part of us.
I parked the car in the parking lot, and we sat for a moment. This was where we began. The love, passion, and crazy journey we’d experienced together.
Kayden looked around the parking lot, surveying the cars. “I don’t see my truck, Sophia. It’s missing,” he said. I covered my eyes with my hands, and my stomach felt uneasy. “It must have been towed. I’ll call them when we get inside.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” I said through my palms, feeling awful for him.
Kayden peeled my hands off my face. “Shit happens. I’ll get it back. Come on,” he said as he reached for the handle, and I did the same.
I held his hand as we approached the apartment. He paused before placing the key in the door. The apartment looked exactly like it did when we left in October, minus some personal effects and the television in the living room. A fold-up chair was propped against the wall, and some trash was strewn across the kitchen table.
I walked away from Kayden, turning the corner to his room. I stopped in the hallway. His bedroom door was open, and the door frame had been damaged. Someone had pried the door open. My heart sank as I walked through the door. “Your TV is missing!”
“What?” he asked as he rounded the corner behind me. Kayden came to a halt, staring blankly and not saying a word. The flat screen television no longer sat on his dresser beside his Blu-ray player. That was missing too, along with all of his movies. I heard rustling behind me as Kayden disappeared into his walk-in closet. “Motherfucker,” he said.
I could hear things crashing to the floor. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“All my fucking tools are gone. Everything is gone.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “It can’t all be gone.”
“I’m okay. I told you I have a fucking black cloud following my ass around.”
I grabbed his face, looking into his eyes, and kissed him. Not a lust-filled kiss but one filled with love and understanding. “We’ll figure it out. We need to call the police,” I said.
We searched his bedroom, taking inventory of everything that remained. It only took us a couple minutes to figure out that everything of value had vanished.
I felt responsible. I made him return to Florida with me. If he’d stayed in New Orleans, he’d still have his things. Though, we might not have survived as a couple if he did. I didn’t think I could be any sadder than I was when we were driving here, but I never could have imagined this—Merry Christmas and Happy fucking New Year.
Kayden placed a call to the police to report a burglary. The kitchen had been stripped. The bathroom was cleared of everything except one towel and a partially used body wash, and his bedroom was ransacked. Even his jar of change had disappeared.
The police officers wrote down all the missing items and asked basic questions. They would file a report but didn’t bother to take fingerprints from the doors or surfaces in the room. They gave us a copy of the report number in case Kayden needed it later. They said that his property had probably been sold off by now, and there was not much hope of recovering it.
He had nothing left but me.
“What do you want to do, Sophia?” he asked.
“I’m exhausted. Can we go to sleep and figure everything out tomorrow?” I asked him while rubbing my eyes.
“Yes, let me lock up tight first,” he said as he checked the front door and then proceeded to the kitchen.
“What are you getting?” I asked him as he was going through the drawers.
“A knife. I want to keep it on the nightstand just in case,” he said as he picked a large shiny knife out of the drawer. “One more thing.” He walked to the door and grabbed a chair nearby and jammed it under the doorknob.
“Paranoid much?” I asked him.
“We can’t be too careful, especially with you here. I have no idea who was in here or has a key,” he said to me as he began to shut off the lights. “Come on, baby. I need to hold you.”
We crawled into bed and embraced each other in silence. There was no television for background noise, no guys laughing in the living room being obnoxious, just silence. I snuggled against Kayden, wrapped my body around his, and enveloped him until he fell asleep.
I woke to Kayden’s voice. He was talking to someone on the phone. “No one contacted me. When was it auctioned off?” he asked. I heard the sound of his fist slamming down on the kitchen table out of frustration. Kayden muttered a few more words before he appeared in the bedroom doorway.
“What happened, sweetheart?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
“They towed my truck, and when I never contacted the towing company, they auctioned it off last week.” His face was pale, and he looked like he was going to be sick.
“We’ll figure something out. Fucking shit, it’s all because of me,” I said as a tear streamed down my cheek.
“Just another fucked-up thing in my life. Thank God for you, Sophia. Come on. Let’s get the fuck out of this place. I want to go see Bourbon,” he said, holding out his hand to me.
I got dressed and put on my makeup while Kayden went to the mailbox to see what had accumulated since the guys had left. As he rifled through the pile, a pink envelope fell on the table. It was addressed to him, but I didn’t see a re
turn address.
“What is it?” I asked him out of curiosity.
“I don’t know, but it’s to me. There’s no address, but I know the handwriting,” he replied with a hint of anger.
“Do I even have to ask?” I knew at that moment that he hadn’t been entirely truthful. Lisa was still a problem, a thorn in my ass. Why didn’t he tell me?
“Yes, it’s Lisa’s handwriting. I didn’t think she knew where I lived. I have been so careful about never letting anyone have this address. My mother doesn’t even know where I live,” he said to me as he flipped the envelope over and ripped it open.
A picture was the first item to fall. It was a photo of two people, Kayden and Lisa, the same fucking photo she texted me many months ago. He pulled out a card, and a letter fell, landing on top of the photograph. I didn’t move to pick it up. I didn’t even like having the image of that photo in my mind, let alone the contents of a letter. Kayden grabbed the letter but didn’t open it. He opened the card and sat in silence as he read the message.
“Is it from her or one you sent her?” I asked him, pissed off.
“It’s from her.” He looked stunned and worried.
“What did she say?” I could feel my heart starting to pound harder in my chest.
“Read it,” he said, handing me the card.
Kayden,
I’ll find you…no matter where you are. You’re MINE, and I’m yours—always. We’re meant to be together. You can’t deny fate or destiny. We’ll be together again… I promise you.
Love Always,
Lisa
The bitch couldn’t take a hint. She was relentless like a rabid dog unwilling to stop. “What’s in the letter?” I asked him, still holding the card in my hand.
“It’s a letter I wrote to her,” he said to me, putting the letter back in the envelope with the photo.
“I don’t want to read it. I can only imagine what it says. I’m sure you declared your undying love for her, and now she’s reminding you.” I threw the card on the table. “Kayden, she isn’t going to stop. She’ll always be between us. You need to stop her. That is the only way right now,” I told him as I reached in and pulled out the pink envelope.