Redemption(Struggle #3)

by P. A. Jones

  “Hey.” I grabbed her arm and turned her to me. She was sobbing slowly. “What happed? Why are you moving to Chloe’s?” I couldn’t understand why she wanted to do that.

  “Because of this, Nathan.” She gave me her phone. A video was playing on it. It was the L.A. local news channel. News on my fight was getting broadcasted. They were showing footage of a medic taking me to the hospital.

  I fell down on my knees. I was going to tell her that today, but she already knew everything. That was the reason she wasn’t picking my calls or anything.

  “Why did you do this, Nathan? Why did you have to lie to me? I’m not sure if we took vows when we got married, but one vow in marriage is that we will always tell the truth to each other. Why didn’t you tell me this, Nathan? You hurt me badly this time.” She cried and fell back on the bed.

  I wanted to tell her the truth. The truth about her mother squeezing me into fast cash methods, the truth about her mother manipulating our life and the way she used Peter and everyone to do her bidding. I wanted to tell her how happy I was and how much I was looking forward to being with her and fulfill my duties as her husband. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her. But nothing came out of my mouth. I sat their silently, thinking about my own doom.

  “And you don’t have anything to say in defense as well. I need some time, Nathan… I just need time. I’m moving in with Chloe for few days and we will talk later about this,” she said furiously and took out some clothes to pack in another bag. “If you want, you can eat some food from the fridge. I prepared it two days ago because you were coming back.” She looked at me one more time and walked away.

  “How could I break your heart by telling you about your mother, Eva?” I screamed to the closed door when she left the house. “Just how could I break the remaining tie between you and your mother? I just can’t do that to you. Not now or never.” My heart cried out. But she was gone. Maybe forever and she took my heart with her, my sinful heart. The only remaining thing was my body without any heart.

  I was to blame. I shouldn’t have lied to her. I'd made a huge mistake this time and I wasn’t sure if I would be getting over it.

  Chapter 22

  Nathan

  My phone flashed again and then it went dark. The battery must have died. I didn’t care whose phone it was. Nothing mattered anymore. I don’t want to talk with anyone.

  My doorbell buzzed. Who the hell is it? Eva can’t be back. No, she won’t come back at any cost. She is gone forever. Her disappointed eyes had been haunting me from the moment she left the house.

  “Why, Nathan, why?” Her voice echoed in my mind again and again. Her lone tear and the dark shadows in her eyes. I pushed my hair back. God, it’s killing me now. It’s worse than the last time. Last time when we fought, it was at the start of our relationship. Even I wasn’t sure what I wanted back then. But now, it was like hell. It was worse because I knew I needed her, I wanted her in my life at any cost. But what would be the cost to bring her back, if any one exists as well?

  Somebody opened the door. Who could be? Is it Eva? Yes, it must be her, because she’s the only one who had a key. But her key was lying in front of me. Didn't she mean by that that she wasn’t coming back? Then who it could be?

  The answer walked to my bedroom himself. Mason was standing there holding a key. “What happened to you man? Why aren’t you picking up calls or opening the door?” He scowled.

  “How did you get in?” I lifted my hand and drank one more sip of J.D. I was taking it on the rocks, hoping to drown my sinful heart, but it didn’t work; my heart was still beating like normal.

  “I know where you keep your spare keys. What really happened here? Where is Eva? Even Chloe isn’t picking up the phone.” He came near me and sat down on ground.

  “It’s over, Mason, she is gone for good. I lied to her about the match and look, now I have the money, a contract and my home is debt free, but I don’t have a single thing that matters to me. Eva left, Mason, she left me forever.” My eyelids turn watery. I need more J.D. and I took a large sip of it. Finally, it burned my throat.

  “Damn you, man. Look at you, crying pussy.” Mason hit me hard on my head. “One broken marriage and one almost lost friend didn’t teach you anything at all?”

  “What are you talking about, dude?” He made no sense, or I had had too much.

  “Look at you, you are at the top of your game and now you are giving it up because you don’t have the guts in you? Did you forget that you gave up everything for this lady once? You gave up your final match, and now she thinks you lied to her. Why didn’t you tell her about her fucking crazy mom? Why don’t you tell her how manipulative her own mother is and why you had to fight in the first place?” Mason was flowing with anger. I had never seen him like that before.

  “I can’t, Mason. It’s the only bond between her and her mother. I can’t break it.” I took another sip. “But you are right. I can’t give up like this. I need to do something. I think I need to fight in the ring.” I wanted to change my negativity and for the first time, I wanted to be positive about everything around me. It was my attempt to overcome the loss of Eva in my life.

  “You can’t fight like this, dude. Your ribs are broken and you have to rest at least two months before you can think of fighting. Now come on, get up on the bed and sleep without the alcohol. I’m throwing it away.” He snatched the bottle from my hand and went to the fridge. He took everything out, including the beer as well. My courage to stop him was gone with my happiness.

  “Come on, get up.” He came near me and pushed me on my bed. “And stay inside your house. I’ll come tomorrow to check on you.” And he vanished from my room.

  I kept looking at the ceiling until I fell asleep.

  ***

  ‘Summer of sixty-nine’ woke me up. I tried to shut down the phone, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t my phone. It was her I-Pod. I got up and checked the time. Five thirty in the morning. I felt irritated. “Eva, wake up, it’s your iPod. It’s saying you need to run today.” I shut it down and went back to bed. But she wasn’t there. She must be in the kitchen, making coffee for us. But wait, she isn’t living here anymore. Then why the iPod? She must have forgotten it. Tears dropped from my eyes. I missed her; I missed everything about her. I wrapped that iPad in my arms and cried.

  I need to see her now. She must be running right now. I got up quickly, and without changing I took my car out and drove to her dorm. I knew she ran across the park near her dorm. I parked my car and hid myself behind a tree. She may pass here anytime. It was a few minutes that I waited for her, but she didn’t pass by the tree. I shouldn’t have come here.

  “Nathan what are you doing here?” Her voice echoed from behind me. I turned around; she was standing there in her running shorts and sports bra. She looked awesome, but there were dark circles under her eyes.

  “Um…” I couldn’t say anything.

  Tears started flowing down her eyes. “Why are you doing this, Nathan? I told you, I don’t want to talk to you. Please go back and don’t show up again. And, for God’s sake, take care of your wounds.” She came closer to look at me carefully. “Will you please make a doctor’s appointment for yourself?” She still cared for me.

  But what I did was wrong and I was hurting her more. I took one last look at her and walked back to my car. Maybe redemption wasn’t an option for me. Without looking back, I drove home. Only for her, I called my doctor for an appointment. I will take care of myself Eva, only for you. Because I love you more than anything, and I will keep loving you forever.

  Chapter 23

  Truth

  Eva

  Seeing him standing behind the tree and watching the road for me destroyed my heart. He had already shattered it into pieces, but looking at him made me realize that my love for him was not going to end at all.

  I woke up late that morning, so I was in a little hurry. But finding Nathan there killed my energy to run.

  “Nathan what are
you doing here?” He turned around in shock. His face had many bruises and a couple of bandages. A short piece of white gauze had come out of his shirt near neck. He was badly injured. My mind screamed in pain seeing him like that. I wanted to hug him and take care of him, but I couldn’t do it. Not after he lied to me about the matches.

  “Um…” He choked for a moment. His dizzy eyes moved over my face. He must have had lots of drinks last night.

  I couldn’t control it anymore. There was nothing worse than seeing the person you love in pain. Tears rolled down my cheek. “Why are you doing this, Nathan? I told you, I don’t want to talk to you. Please go back and don’t show up again. And, for God’s sake, take care of your wounds.” I just wanted him to go away, but my heart wanted to see him okay. I moved closer to look at his wound. My hand was shaking to feel his skin. My heart wanted to touch his face and see if he was all right. But, I just couldn’t do it. My heart was crying for him. “Will you please make a doctor’s appointment for yourself?” No matter how he behaved, I would always care for him. I am sorry Nathan. You are my soul mate, but I have to do this for our benefit.

  He looked in my eyes. His eyes possessed deep pain and agony. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t; he turned around and walked away.

  My confidence, my energy disappeared in a blink of an eye. I dragged my feet back to the dorm and laid down on the bed, crying my heart out. Why, Nathan, why? Why did you do this to us? I was punishing him, but I was getting punished more than him in return. The sacrifice was a lot worse than I thought it would be. One moment, I wanted to go back and hug him tightly, but the next moment, my brain screamed at me for thinking about it. How can I do this? I was on the verge of another meltdown. I wanted to run away from everything and live my life alone, peacefully. But would Nathan ever be away from my heart?

  My phone buzzed. It can’t be Nathan. I quickly checked my phone. It was Mason.

  Waiting for you outside of your house. Meet me in ten.

  Why is he here? To lobby for Nathan?

  I don’t want to talk about Nathan, I replied. Nobody was going to change my mind this time.

  It’s not about Nathan, but about your mother. I’m waiting.

  What about my mother? What does he have to say? I couldn’t wait to find out. I changed into the first thing I found and went out quickly.

  Mason was standing across the street. I remembered the first time we met in the bar, even before I met Nathan. He tried to flirt with me and I ditched him completely.

  He smiled as I crossed the road.

  “What is it Mason? What about my mother?”I shot questions at him.

  “Shall we go to your canteen? We can talk while eating. For you, I skipped breakfast.”

  “You can still call it a breakfast, Mason. Anyways, let’s go quickly.”

  Ten minutes later we were sitting in my college canteen. “So what is it?” I asked before he could sit.

  “Sit tight, dear.” He smiled. As he sat, he checked the menu and ordered lots of food. Looking at his health and fitness, I wondered how he could eat so much junk.

  “It’s my cheat day today.” He completely read my mind.

  “As if I care. Why is it, Mason, that you called me this early?”He was getting in my head now.

  “I have something to tell you about your mother.”

  “What about her?”

  “Do you remember we met at a lunch party once? You mother had called me to discuss some business?”

  “Yes, I do.” That was the first time I took Nathan to meet my mother and Mason was there, so it was bullets and swords everywhere. “What about that?”

  “Truth is that it wasn’t a business meeting.” He paused again and took a large bite of his burger.

  “What, then?”

  He asked me to stop by showing me his hand and continued eating the burger. My teeth clenched. He was driving me crazy. I grabbed the burger from his hand and put it down on the plate. “First, tell me why is that?”

  “I’m sorry. I am so hungry today.”

  “Mason.”I almost screamed on him.

  “Well your mother wanted me to do something for her. Something not ethical.”

  “Not ethical means?”

  “She wanted me to hurt Nathan mentally and financially. She had promised to hand me a big deal if I could get Nathan out of your life.”

  “What?” Everything around me slowed down along with my heart. Mason was telling me something I didn’t imagine in million years.

  “I’m sorry to say, but it’s true. She asked me to do this dirty work for her. She dug up everything on Nathan and tried every trick in the book to separate you and Nathan.”

  “Shit, this is bad. But why are you telling me this now?” Sweat covered my palms. I couldn’t believe my mom would do this with me. Why is she always such a control freak?

  “Okay, coming to the current issue. Do you know Nathan’s apartment is on loan?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Do you know the bank?”

  “No. But why? What does it have to do with my mom?” My mind was still recovering from the earlier shock.

  “Goliath Bank. And Nathan has been threatened three times already for termination of his loan and auctioning of the property.”

  “Wait a second. Does my mom have something to do with this one?” No, Mom, please don’t be such an evil jerk.

  “Yes, she is behind all this. She is on the board and I can prove to you that this special order came from her desk. And that’s the reason Nathan had to fight on Monday. If he hadn’t fought, he would have lost the apartment and many more things.”

  “Is it the same reason he was in the championship two months ago?” I could see the big picture now. The pieces were falling together.

  “Yes. But he had to leave the final for you. He was trying his best for you, Eva. But he refused to tell you about your mother. I had no option but to tell you this.”

  Shit, and I used all his savings a few days ago; I must have driven him crazy that day. That’s why he was pissed off that day. And I thought he was normal. “Oh, my god, how could I do this to him.” I put my face in my palms. I’d done enough damage to him. He was busting his body just to save his home and take care of me. He even sold his equipment to buy me a car. How could I be so evil? I felt like crying harder, but I controlled my tears somehow.

  “There are lots more things she tried to do with Nathan. But I’ll not go into details. I just want you both to be together.” And he picked up his burger again.

  “You are right, Mason. I should have at least listened to him once. But I’m still not sure if I want to go back to him.” My heart shattered in pieces for saying this, but I had my reasons.

  He paused in shock. “What? And why? Don’t you get his reason for hiding it from you?”

  “Yes, I get it. But he is not the one who told me all this. You are the one and I want him to open up in front of me. If he can’t open up, then what is the use of being in a relationship?”

  “But I don’t get your point.”

  “And I want a promise from you that you won’t tell him about this. If you think of him or me as your friends, then don’t even think to tell him about this conversation,” I asked him firmly.

  “Okay. But still I believe you should clear things up with him.”

  “I’ve things to clear with my mom now.” The thought of her doing this to Nathan made me shiver. How could she be so cruel? I have to talk to her before she can do further damage to Nathan.

  I wanted to hug Nathan more than ever. “Anyways, thanks Mason. You are a true friend.”

  “I just want the best for you both, Eva. Nothing else. And it was me who forced him to enter into the match. I agree he should have told you earlier. But he was afraid that you would say no and he would have to decline the offer.”

  “I love him, Mason. No matter what, I just want him to be open in our relationship.” I prayed he would do that soon.

  Chapter 24
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  Nathan

  “You have to go there, dude. I’ve got an emergency here and can’t accompany you today.” Mason was insisting that I go and meet the local staff of the Pacific Sports Company. And I wanted him to come with me.

  “But I just don’t feel like going there.” I had lost my all motivation to join the Pacific Sports Company after the all drama that happened with Eva.

  “Dude, you have to do this. I remember you said that you won’t destroy your life like you did last time.”

  “Yes, I did say that. But...”

  “No buts, man. I want you to go there and talk some sports with them. Five hundred thousand is not a small amount. And if you don’t generate confidence in yourself, they might think about other options.”

  He was telling the truth. If I was to live my life like a normal person, I need to continue in this contract. “You are right, Mason. I’ll go and try my best.”

  “And for God’s sake, go clean and shaved. I shouldn’t be the one to tell you this when you have a wife, but anyways...”

  “Don’t worry, dude, I’ll go clean and stop being my wife. Eva is there for it.” I suddenly realized Eva wasn’t there to take care of these things. My jolly mood flipped to sad again. I hadn’t realized it earlier, but I’d started depending on her for many things. I miss you so much, Eva. So much.

  I took out my favorite suit and wore it. I used to wear it to impress girls before I met Eva. As if I would be impressing any girls today, but I should be neatly prepared for the meeting.

  The meeting was scheduled at a five-star hotel. I took out my car and drove to the hotel with a speed of twenty to thirty miles per hour; even my willingness to speed in the car was tossed away by the recent drama in my life.

  When I walked into the lobby, I found someone I wasn’t willing to meet. Samantha was there waiting for me. Why is she here? I raised my eyebrows as she walked toward me.

  “Hello, Nathan. How are you today?” she asked with a smile.