by Jones, P. A.
“I’ll kill him,” that bully screamed as he saw me walking out of the cell.
“Next time, jerk.” The officer pushed him back.
I showed him my grin and walked to the telephone. Who could I call? I didn’t have my lawyer’s number, and the only numbers I remembered were Emma, Nikki and Trisha’s. I couldn’t call Nikki, and Emma was far away from here.
“Make it quick, jerk.” The officer pounded again.
“Trisha,” I said as she picked up the phone.
“Tristan, where are you? I’ve been trying your phone since last night and it keeps going to voice mail,” she said in a caring tone.
“I’m in jail. Do one thing for me. Go to my house. There is a window open on the back side. Get my phone and call my lawyer. It’s Peterson.”
“But...”
“Do it quick, Trisha. A guy here wants to kill me if I go back in that cell again.” I’d drained all my energy and I couldn’t fight with that bully again.
“Okay. You take care. I’ll be quick as I can.” She hung up the phone.
“Sit on that chair until your charming girlfriend comes to pick you up.” The officer pointed to a chair.
“Thanks.”
“One thing— is this your first time, or does your girlfriend get you out of here daily?” He chuckled at his own joke.
“First time.”
***
Two hours later, I was outside of the police station.
“Thanks a lot, Peterson, for coming on such short notice.”
“No worries. You’re paying me by the hour.” He chuckled; he was a nice person and had been with me from the day I started the book stores. He’d actually helped me, buying places around the city.
“How big is this?”
“Not to worry. I doubt that bar will file any charges on you. They might have just wanted to scare you so you won’t do it again.”
“Hell, yes. I’m gonna kick that bouncers ass, someday.” My hand turned into a fist. It was humiliating as well as insulting for me.
“Go and get some rest, then. You look like you came out of a sewer.” He slapped my shoulder hard.
“Ouch.” I shuddered in agony.
“What happened?” Peterson asked.
“Nothing, just a little pain.” I had to hold his shoulder for support. The world was swirling around me.
“I think, Mr. Peterson, I need to take him to emergency first. I’m getting a bad feeling here.” Trisha came forward and helped me to steady myself.
“Yeah, that seems like a good idea. Do you need my help?”
“No, Trisha, I’m fine. I just need some whiskey and I will be running on my own legs,” I said, panting hard.
“No way I’m leaving you like this. We are going to emergency right now,” she said, and dragged me to the cab.
***
“Is he going to be fine, doc?” Trisha asked doctor who attended me.
“Yes, he would be okay if he gets enough rest for his body. But if he drinks again, he may hurt his liver. He drank too much this time.”
Trisha was holding one hand on her mouth.
Apparently, the oblique where the bullet cut me a month ago had damaged my liver. And if I drink more, my liver would fail. Bummer. I was so hoping to drink away my life and enjoy it in the fog of unconsciousness. Now, Nikki would keep haunting me like a ghost. My heart twitched with her memory.
“I found one interesting thing in his body.” He pushed the scan report over the light board. “Look at his shoulder muscles. It was twisted before and somehow it’s back to normal. I checked his medical record and he experienced a cycling pain and now he won’t feel that.”
Trisha was listening to him without understanding a single thing he was saying, I could tell. But his words tickled my mind. “Do you mean I can go back to MMA?” A beam of light flashed toward my future.
“You are not going anywhere until you get some rest.” Trisha scowled me.
“Okay, babes.”
“Yes. If this pain is what put you out of the game, now you may go back, but with caution.”
Yes. My mind cheered up with the news. MMA was better than alcohol and booze. I could just live on the thrill it gave me. I wish I had been beaten by that bouncer a long time ago.
“But you have to rest for at least fifteen days before starting with any sport,” the doctor said firmly.
“Aye, aye captain.” I couldn’t stop grinning.
“I’m going to take care of you for these fifteen days,” Trisha said.
“Sure, Trisha.” I stood up, still with pain, and kissed her on her forehead. My happiness was spreading in my body and the pain was vanishing. “Let’s go to home. I’m so hungry now.” My mind was already making plans for my diet, energy drinks and training sessions.
“Thanks, doctor,” Trisha said.
“Take it easy, young man.” The doctor pressed my shoulder gently.
“I will.” I wouldn’t jeopardize my career this time with foolish decisions anymore. I waved him goodbye and walked outside.
“It’s gonna be fun, Trisha. What do you think of being my event manager?”
“Event manager?” she asked, puzzled.
“Yes, once I get back to MMA, I’m gonna need one. And you are the only one I can trust right now.”
“That sounds great.” Her face lit up with a sweet smile.
Chapter 10
Nikki
Three days had passed since I had slept at Carrie’s place. Stephen turned out fine; he was just hungry, which Carrie couldn’t understand. Gerome moved into my house, since he had no other place. I thought he would try to come closer, but it turned out he was busy enjoying drinks and his old friends, all MMA fighters, apparently. We hardly came face to face, and whenever we met, he rumbled and mumbled about his sacrifice and emotions, concerns. Whenever I couldn’t listen to his crap, I walked out of there. I didn’t care what he thought. The fact that he came back annoyed me a lot. Fortunately, he was taking it slow and didn’t try to come onto me, or make any other move I would feel awkward about.
But this was how I spent my days physically; emotionally, it was a different story. My own thoughts about Tristan were screwing up my day and night. The decision I’d come to was biting me. I was just trying to find excuses to go and meet him, but till now, the fact that Gerome was my husband held strong.
The distance from Tristan was killing me. I didn’t hear from him and he didn’t try to call I tried calling him twice, but his cell was switched off. I wasn’t sure what should be my next move. I was in a situation that I wouldn’t have wished on my archrival.. On one hand, it was Stephen and his real dad, and on the other, it was Tristan. Tristan was the real thing I’d found in my life, even more real than Gerome. What should I be doing right now? Carrie wasn’t any help; she thought I should be with Gerome, the real father, and that it would help Stephen in his future life. She was right, but my heart wasn’t going to listen. I knew I had no feelings left for Gerome. He wasn’t a nice man when he was with me and I loathed him then. He was the reason I’d become a drug addict and he’d brought only misery to my life.
“That’s it. I’m going to meet him and clear things up. I’ll just ask him what I should do,” I muttered to myself and called Carrie.
“Carrie, can I drop Stephen at your place for couple of hours? I have an urgent meeting with my lawyer,” I said without asking her anything. Lying was the only option I had. I couldn’t tell her that I was planning to meet Tristan; she would have stopped me right there .
“Hmm, yup, why not? Just bring that sweetheart over and I’ll look after him.” She giggled.
***
Fifteen minutes later, I was driving to Tristan’s house. The traffic was loud and dense, but my mind was wrapped in all the possibilities of meeting him again. I was wondering how he would treat me. Accept me? Or just reject me? Why is it so hard to think about refusal? The thought of him rejecting me sparked a pain to the core. No, I can’t let that happen.
My heart was pounding faster as I got close to Tristan’s home. I parked my car a few blocks away from his home. I wanted to give him a surprise. I might try to sneak into his house, like the old way. A smile covered my face from ear to ear. The thought of seeing him again was exciting and breathtaking, especially after the last sex we’d had.
“Oh, Tristan, you are driving me crazy now.” I’d never been so horny in my whole life, but after meeting Tristan and experiencing how amazing sex could be, I’d automatically changed. And I like it.
I walked fast. I wanted to meet him, hug him and taste his lips, smell the familiar muscularity and declare that Gerome’s arrival hadn’t affected our relationship.
But none of it happened. I stood frozen before I could reach his main gate. A petite girl was walking out of his front door. Her clothes were scattered and her hair messed up, like a hooker come out of a car after having sex.
It was Trisha. What the hell is she doing in Tristan’s house and why is she looking like that. Another face appeared out of the door. It was Tristan, with a beard. He grabbed Trisha’s arm and hugged her tightly.
I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen. Why would Trisha come out of Tristan’s house early in the morning and why would he hug her with affection? Nothing seemed right in between those two. But in just two days? Tristan never looked like a player, but seeing the real him opened my eyes to the truth.
Why, Tristan? Why? I wanted to burst open the door and ask him why he did that to me, why he betrayed me. He didn’t even ask me once. And I was battling with my own dilemma, either to choose my husband or him. I was trying to be on his side when that bastard was enjoying a one-night stand with his receptionist.
I turned back with eyes flowing. My heart was throbbing, like somebody had just pierced a knife in my heart. I wanted to sit on the ground and cry until I passed out, but my legs kept walking until I reached my car. I got in, somehow. It wasn’t me anymore, I was walking like a robot. But I couldn’t control it anymore. I rested my head on the steering wheel and let it out completely. I just couldn’t bear the thing I’d just seen. It was devastating and heart-breaking.
Ten minutes later, I wiped my eyes and started the car. I couldn’t be there crying for a bastard who didn’t deserve me.
While driving back home, I passed through a children’s park. I stopped there to see how children were playing. I saw an amazing thing there. Most of the children were there with their dad. Maybe it was a common dad day or something, but most of the kids had come with their fathers, and the amusement I saw on the kids’ faces when their dad picked them up—no matter what was happening with me, those small kids and their fathers lightened my mood. Maybe Carrie was right, after all. May be genetics is the right way to go to chose his dad. May be Stephen deserved his real dad to be with him. Yes I will give Gerome a chance to be a better person this time. I know Tristan, you love Stephen, but I need to see if Gerome can be a better dad.
I started toward home, and as my thoughts settled back on Tristan, my temper kept rising. My head could have busted that day if it wasn’t for those kids in the park. How could Tristan betray me like that? How could he be so nice to me, show me care, and in just one day change to an evil person? How could he? I was so angry that I punched my horn a thousand times on the way back home. I’d trusted that man with all my heart. I even opened my dark secrets to him, but still he started enjoying himself with a whore in just two days. “Fuck you, Mr. Scott. I’ll show you that I’m better than you.”
Without waiting for the parking gate to open fully, I pushed my car in and banged my car roof on the half-opened parking gate. Airbags hit me hard on my chest and mouth. I was locked in the web of airbags, unable to escape from it.
“Fuck you.” It was irritating and frustrating, I wanted to kill those bag and then kill someone, maybe just Tristan. How could you betray me, Tristan?
The security guard came running. The crashing sound of the gate must have alerted him.“What happened, ma'am? Are you all right?”
“Do you think I’m having a cocktail party here? Get me out of here.”
“Are you okay, ma'am, or shall I call 911?” he shouted.
“Fool, do you see me doing fine?” I screamed from the bottom of my lungs.
“Sorry, ma’am, I couldn’t hear you at first.”
“Get me out of here, please, I’m choking now.” The bag was so irritating that I lost my calm.
Somehow, the security guard rolled the airbag back and I could get out of that fucking car. But then I noticed it was Gerome who’d gotten me out of the car and not the guard.
“Are you all right, honey?” he asked, with an innocence on his face.
Why did I hate this person, When he is the father of my son?
“I’m fine, Gerome. Just a minor accident.”
“This sucker must have left it open, right?.” He scowled at the face of security guard so hard that he stepped back four steps.
“Calm down, Gerome. He didn’t do anything. It was me who hit the gate.”
“Are you sure? I’m not sure I trust this guy. .” He was still scowling the guard.
“No, it’s fine. Let’s get inside. I need a drink to calm down.”
“Yes, baby, you need one. Get changed, and I’ll bring you some wine.” He smiled and patted me on my shoulder.
His touch, after so many years, felt pleasant. The invitation for wine meant that he was looking forward to our relationship. I should give it a try.
***
I changed into a sober top and a knee length short. I didn’t know how the interaction would go—not that I was hoping to make it go forward, but I certainly wasn’t declining that it would go to third, fourth or may be even to home base. The anger for Tristan was boiling inside me; I wanted to take it out somehow, and maybe betraying him in return was one way to get over him. After what I’d seen at Tristan's house, I wouldn’t feel guilty for my choice. After all, Gerome was my husband and we’d never gotten a divorce.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by Gerome’s voice. “Hey, babe, looking nice.” He smiled like a child.
“Thanks, you are looking fresh, too.” He looked like he’d just come out of the shower. He smelled like shampoo rather than cologne. The same old familiar shampoo smell. “And the same shampoo.”
“Glad you still remember it.” He placed two glasses on the table and put a wine bottle in between those. “Australian special.” He pointed to the wine.
“Thanks for remembering what I like.” I smiled weakly.
“I remember everything about you, baby. I’m the sucker who was forbidden to contact you by your evil dad.”
“Let’s not talk bad about him. He is gone and may he rest in peace.” I felt awkward at his words.
“Sorry if I hurt your feelings, but you try to understand my feelings.”
“I know Tri...” I bit my tongue. “Gerome, that’s why I said we would talk later when we first met. Truly, it was a shocker for me. I didn’t expect you to be alive.”
“I didn’t, either. I never thought I would see you again.” He filled the glasses.
“When I look at the past now, it all seems blurry and different. Thank God it looks so much clearer now.” At least I knew what Tristan wanted.
“Cheers to the future.” He lifted his glass, and drank it all in one blink.
“Cheers.” I lift the glass and slowly took the first sip. Indeed, it was finest wine from Australia.
“We seem to be in a situation here, Nikki.” Gerome finally spoke after twenty minutes of silence. He had finished three glasses of wine like it was soda. And I had just finished few sips of my first glass.
“Yes, you seem to have improved your wine drinking speed.” I appraised him with my eyes.
“That’s not the thing I’m referring to, Nikki. Sucker.”
“Don’t overuse that word. You know I hated that.”
“I know you hated me as well. But that doesn’t mean you stopped using me.”
“What?” I giggled.
He set his glass hard on the table. “Are you seeing someone else, Nikki?”
“What if I am?” I was in a mood to tease him more. I raised my glass to take a sip while looking at him through the transparent glass.
“What about us, then?” He looked straight in my eyes.
“What about us? We are good. We are still husband and wife, technically.”
“Why don’t you show me that you still love me?” He grabbed my hand and pulled me on him. My glass jumped out of my hand and I fell down on table, but he grabbed me with his other hand before I could hit the surface hard.
“What is this, Gerome?” I said, irritated.
“I just want to taste you, like old times.” He chuckled. He was drunk.
“You are drunk, Gerome. Go now. We will talk tomorrow.”
“Not until I taste your lips, sucker.” He pulled me forward and marked his lips on mine. He tasted a lot different than Tristan.
“Tristan...” I suddenly realized I just couldn’t do that with Gerome. Tristan was branded in my mind, like a birthmark.
“Who?” Gerome pushed me away. “Who did you call me? Tristan? Who the hell is he?”
“None of your business, Gerome, and if you try to force me into anything, next time remember I own this place and I can kick you out any time.” I frowned on him.
He looked disgusted. He tried to say something, but then stopped and turned around.
I watched him leave my room and I went back inside the bathroom to wash my lips and get his taste out of my mouth. Sadly, he couldn’t replace Tristan and I doubted anybody could.
Chapter 11
Nikki
My dream ended because of a knock on the door. It was a very happy dream, in which I was living far away with Tristan and Stephen. Far away from everyone, especially Gerome and my dad. It was a happy day, indeed. We were celebrating Tristan’s birthday. But the damn servant outside the door woke me up.