Never and Always

by Khardine Gray

  “Go fuck yourself,” Nick barked and hung up, cutting off the man’s next words.

  “Why did you do that?” Mia cried looking horrified.

  “You’re asking me that?” he retorted. “Seriously, Mia. Why the hell would you be calling Hogan’s Whores?”

  “I need the money. I have to find a way to get Glenn’s money back,” she answered.

  He shook his head in disbelief. She was saying that like she’d found the answer to the problem. “By stripping? In a strip club?”

  “Don’t say it like that, as if you’ve never been in that kind of club. I know you have.”

  He didn’t know what got to him more, the way she looked when she said that or the tear that ran down her cheek.

  “Mia, we’re not talking about me.” He wouldn’t lie and make himself out to be some saint, she’d know he was lying. “Stripping is not an option.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” she flared, wiping the tears away from her eyes with the back of her hands. “Or pretend you care.”

  “You know I care.” Surely, she must have known that. He’d shown nothing but care for her in the last few days.

  “No, I don’t. Up until a few days ago I never even knew you were back in Chicago and living here. If you cared that much you would have told me. Maybe if you responded to my letters I would have known.”

  “Mia… I…” He was stuck on how to respond because it was never that he didn’t want to respond to her, he just felt like it was best he didn’t because of Glenn.

  “It’s fine. I get it. I got it years ago.”

  “Mia, what are you talking about?” he asked because she seemed to be talking about something else.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she snapped.

  “It does matter,” he insisted. “Are you mad that I didn’t tell you I was back in Chicago?”

  “Nick, I’m mad about everything. Now give me my phone back.”

  “Like fuck I am. You aren’t doing it,” he said firmly.

  “Yes I am.”

  “No. I’m not letting you do something like that.” It was bad enough imagining her with that Alan creature, but to allow her to go off and strip so every man with eyes in Chicago could see her was out of the question.

  “The pay is good, and I could give Glenn some of his money back.” A tear ran down her cheek.

  “Fuck the money, Mia. What happened to make you think you should do this?”

  “Glenn. He called me a whore, he said if I wasn’t such a whore I wouldn’t have lost our money.” She covered her mouth as she broke down.

  Nick bit down hard on his lip.

  This was wrong. He understood the anger, and Glenn was his friend, but Nick couldn’t stand by and allow him to treat Mia this way. He took hold of her shoulders and tried to calm her.

  “Babe, I’m sorry,” he offered. “Mia, if I had two million dollars I’d give it to you. Since I don’t, we just have to leave the police to do their work. Stripping or whatever mad idea you’ve come up with isn’t an option.”

  “I can’t live like this anymore. He just blames me, all the time. If Claire was here I would have gone to stay with her, but I have to be here with Glenn hating me.”

  “Mia, I told you I’d take care of you.”

  “No,” she replied, surprising him. She pulled in a short breath and shook her head, looking seemingly more distressed. “I don’t want you to.”

  “Why?” He couldn’t imagine why she would say that. “Mia,” he prodded.

  “Because, being around you is too confusing,” she blurted, stepping backwards out of his grasp. “I can’t do it.”

  She was already crying, but the next tear that ran down the smooth skin of her cheek got to him, and the anguished expression that filled her green eyes couldn’t have spoken louder than if she were shouting her feelings to him.

  He held her gaze, feeling torn because he didn’t need clarification on what she meant. He understood perfectly what she meant, because he felt it too.

  The confusion.

  The confusion was the same for him. Being around her and wanting to do what his mind, body, and soul told him to do, and resisting. Having to hold back, having to touch her and remind himself that it couldn’t mean anything.

  Having to remember that his loyalty should lie with a friend that had always been there for him, a friend that had stood by his side when Nick went through the darkest time in his life. And Mia was the one thing he was told he couldn’t have.

  The confusion overwhelmed him sometimes, but just now it consumed him because it was the first time that Mia had ever given away any indication of what she felt for him.

  He opened his mouth to say something to her, he wasn’t sure what the hell that would be, but he never got the chance.

  The sound of a door slamming made them both turn. It was the front door.

  “Miaaaa!” Glenn roared. The sound of his voice echoed around the room.

  “Oh God. He knows. He knows about the paintings. He knows.” Mia winced, starting to shake. She clutched her hand to her chest and looked at him with wide, terrified eyes. “Nick.”

  Instinctively he cupped her face and gazed into her eyes. “Leave it to me.”

  “Mia!” Glenn thundered, storming into the room. He looked even more angry when he saw Nick holding her.

  Mia jumped back and backed away into the wall.

  “The paintings. They’re gone!” Glenn cried.

  “Glenn, it’s in hand, we went to the police and they’re trying to track them,” Nick offered.

  “We?” Glenn whirled around and faced him. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”

  “I was investigating. It was something that came up.”

  Glenn turned back to Mia. “Did you know there was a chance the paintings could get stolen before you came to Chicago?”

  Mia gazed at him and nodded. “I’m so sorry. I was scared to tell you. I didn’t want to disappoint you any more than I had.”

  “I can’t even laugh at the absurdity of that. You’ve always been a disappointment to me.”

  In all the years that Nick had known Glenn he’d never gotten so mad with him that he felt like hitting him. Until just now.

  While Mia broke down in floods of tears, Glenn turned and walked away.

  Nick looked over at Mia wanting to say something, but couldn’t find the right words. Instead he walked out of the living room and followed Glenn right into the gym.

  “What do you want, man?” Glenn turned on him, squaring off his shoulders like he was ready for a fight.

  “Why are you acting like such a prick?” Nick squared off, too.

  “Stay out of it. This is a family matter, it’s none of your business.”

  “It is my business when you act like this. I told you the police were dealing with the situation. Mia’s a victim in this and she came home for your support.”

  “Why does she need mine when clearly she has yours?” Glenn accused. “You’re supposed to be my friend. Mine. But every time she’s around you turn into some kind of fucking fool.”

  “Glenn, this isn’t you. It’s not, and I’m not going to speak to you when you’re like this.”

  “Good, then fuck off,” Glenn balked.

  Nick didn’t bother to answer him, he walked away before he lost his cool and hit him. He went back to the living room to see if Mia was okay but she wasn’t there. He went to the sitting room, kitchen, downstairs bathroom, and her room, but she wasn’t there.

  When he went to her room again and he saw that the little travel case she’d brought with her days ago was gone, he panicked.

  “Mia!” he called out, but there was no answer.

  He called for her again and looked in the other room and on the terrace, but there was no point because it was clear that she’d left.

  Mia couldn’t take a taxi. It was wise to save the hundred dollars she had until Claire transferred more money to her account.

  If she hadn’t left her
phone with Nick she would have called Claire and told her the distress.

  God, why didn’t she ask Claire if she could house sit while she was in Spain?

  It was because she didn’t think. Subconsciously she’d allowed herself to take comfort in Nick, but not even he could help her with this. She and Glenn had had some real bad arguments in the past, but this was bad and hurtful.

  They argued today, and it was terrible because Nick wasn’t there to defend her. Glenn took full advantage and cursed her for her stupidity. She could appreciate his anger before and had tried to reason with him. She was actually trying to tell him about the paintings, but he lost it and never gave her the chance to finish before he unleashed his anger. That was when he called her a whore. He hurt her to no end, but when he said she’d always disappointed him it hurt her deep, down to her core. She’d always believed he was proud of her, especially when she had her business. She’d always believed he was proud of her regardless of that.

  However, he’d just confirmed that he wasn’t.

  She left because she couldn’t stay. She couldn’t be there anymore knowing he hated her so much. And then there was Nick.

  She couldn’t be around him, either. Her emotions were on overload and she couldn’t focus. When she was with him she had to remind herself that they were just friends. She had to put up this barrier to remind her of the boundaries that separated them, and it was becoming exhausting. Mia just couldn’t deal with it now—and it was best that she didn’t have to—or become reliant on him.

  It took her an hour to get into the city. It was nearly eight and the area was starting to fill with its night life. She made her way to one of the cheap motels on the backstreets and tried not to look shocked when she saw a group of hookers outside it.

  She went into the reception, keeping her bag close. There was a guy behind the desk watching a wrestling match and eating pizza. When he saw her he did the standard thing most men did when they looked at her and gave her a once over look that blatantly undressed her with his eyes.

  “Hey, sweetheart. What can I do for you?” the man asked. Now he was looking at her breasts.

  One night, maybe two. That’s what she’d book. She could be brave for a night or two and take care of herself. Claire would hopefully transfer the money to her account by tomorrow and she’d find a way to contact Nick, get her phone, and call Claire.

  “I’d like to book a room for two nights. Do you have any vacancies?”

  “My lap has a vacancy.” He pointed to his lap and the bulge she saw at his crotch nearly made her vomit.

  “I’d like a room for two nights,” she repeated, pretending she didn’t see his arousal.

  He gave her a wicked, sly grin and straightened up in his chair.

  “We have a room. It’s fifty bucks for two nights. I must warn you, it’s discounted because of the murder.”

  “Murder?” She could barely get the word out of her mouth.

  “Yes, sweetheart, happens in these parts all the time.” He laughed.

  She couldn’t believe that, but then she’d always been told to avoid this area of town.

  She opened her purse, took out fifty dollars, and handed it over to him. He then handed her some keys.

  “Thanks.”

  “It’s room fifteen. If you get scared, my lap’s still available.” He leered at her and gave her a creepy smile that made her skin crawl.

  She turned away and made her way up to room fifteen.

  Inside it was horrible. It looked like a scene from CSI with the chalk drawing of the person who’d been killed still on the floor.

  Mia had quite clearly entered the twilight zone. It was official. It had to be, because last month she’d had her dream job, was making money, and she had a beautiful apartment on the coast of Florida.

  Last month, if she didn’t call Glenn every day, she’d get a message from him checking in on her to see if she was okay.

  Now he hated her and she had nothing.

  When she looked around the room and her eyes fell on the dirty bed sheets, fear clouded her mind and she thought of Nick again.

  She hadn’t meant to lash out at him like that earlier, but she couldn’t help herself.

  Looking around this awful place definitely made her want to kick herself at turning down his offer to take care of her.

  But this was best. Mia had to do this.

  She sat on the chair by the window to rest her legs from the long walk. In a little while she’d gear herself up to look at the bed. Hopefully all the sheets weren’t dirty.

  Police sirens sounded, piercing through the silence that filled the room. She could then hear arguing in the street below.

  Was it going to be like this all night? She looked around the room again and decided she’d have to make do with it.

  Bad as it was she didn’t have to worry about Glenn here. She stood up and cautiously made her way to the little bathroom, dreading what was inside. She imagined more dirt and it being like one of these horror stories you hear on hotels from hell. But, surprisingly it wasn’t too bad.

  She turned on the cold tap and splashed water on her face. It calmed her skin and the coldness made it numb. At least this was okay. She would make this okay for tonight and tomorrow tops. Tomorrow it would be a good idea to find Nick and get her phone so she could speak to Claire. Knowing Claire, Mia was certain she’d find a way to send her whatever money she needed or get someone who had keys to open her house.

  That would have been nicer because Mia knew Claire’s house like her own. A shuffling noise brought her attention back to her surroundings. It came from outside the bathroom.

  When she heard it again, and felt for certain it sounded like footsteps she went out into the room.

  Damn it. That was the complete wrong thing to do because the minute she stepped through the bathroom door she found herself staring face to face with a tall, burly looking man wearing a black leather jacket.

  A crude, vicious looking smile lifted his face when he saw her, and it widened on seeing her reaction.

  Mia screamed as her heart leapt into her throat. She ran for the door but that was a mistake too.

  He grabbed her hard and shoved her up against the wall. The impact shook her and made her feel like something inside her broke. When she tried to scream again he covered her mouth and pushed her head back into the wall, making her feel like she would pass out.

  She screamed against his hand but it came out in muffled sounds no one would hear.

  It had been a mistake coming here. Another mistake which might cost her life. Another stupid move. The cocky grin on the man’s face told her he had no intention of going easy on her. This guy had the criminal look with his shaved head and a deep knife scar going across the side of his face.

  “John was right. He said the babe in room fifteen was hot with a nice rack and a sweet ass.” He looked her up and down the same way as the man downstairs had, who she was guessing was John.

  “Let go of me!” she cried against his hand but the words barely came out. To her horror, he lowered and started kissing her neck.

  Mia couldn’t believe the awfulness of this. Fear paralyzed her, weakened her, drained her, but she couldn’t allow it to claim her. She made one last attempt to protect herself by biting down on his hand hard.

  It worked.

  He removed his hand from her mouth and shrieked. “Stupid bitch! You’ll pay for that!” he shouted and tried to grab her again, but she maneuvered out of his reach.

  She headed straight for the door, but he, being bigger and faster, got to her first. She was in mid stride when he picked her up and shoved her into the wall near the door so hard she thought she was going to pass out.

  Then he was on her again. Shit. He was on her again and was rougher than he had been when he first grabbed her. Mia screamed when he ripped at her top and tore it, but something made him stop.

  It was the necklace. The diamond, set in the little teardrop pendant, sparkling. He narro
wed his eyes when he first noticed it but smiled when he realized what it was and lifted it up to see if it was real.

  “Well, well, looks like I’m in more luck than I thought.”

  She screamed again when he ripped it away from her neck. “No, please give it back,” she cried, trying to grab it back. “Please.”

  “I’ll tell you what. How about I don’t. I’ll get a good deal for this one.”

  She decided she wasn’t going to allow him to have it. She couldn’t. Nick gave her that necklace. It was all she had of him.

  In the moment when he was distracted, she kicked him hard in his shin and then his balls. He didn’t go down like she expected, but he did double over for a few seconds.

  “Fuck this,” he winced and immediately made the situation worse when he ran through the door.

  “Stop, give it back!” Mia cried, running after him.

  She followed him all the way down the corridor. He crashed into someone just as he was about to turn the corner and fell back onto the floor.

  Mia could have rejoiced when she saw that the someone the guy collided with was Nick.

  “Nick!” She brought her hands up to her head and winced.

  Nick looked from her to the man that was now on the floor, then back to her. His eyes landed on where her top was torn.

  “Who’s this guy, Mia?” Nick asked in a cool, calm manner, looking down at the man on the ground.

  “He tore my clothes and took my necklace,” she blurted.

  Nick fixed his gaze on the man as he stood up. “Did you touch her?”

  “I didn’t mean no harm, man. We were just having fun,” the man replied. Mia couldn’t believe he was going to try and act like he hadn’t done anything.

  “No, I don’t know him. He tried to force himself on me and took my necklace,” she said quickly.

  When Nick heard that he didn’t give the guy a chance to answer.

  Mia saw the man’s mouth open, and then she saw Nick’s head move lightning fast, straight into the other man’s, as he head butted him and sent him right back to the ground in an unconscious mess.

  Mia gasped at the sight and looked at them both.