The Deception of Destiny: A Novel

by Jennifer Walters

  “Dez?”

  “Hey Bryan, are you with Gabby right now?” I asked, pressing my lips together to stop myself from crying.

  “Yeah, we are at the grocery store. We are just checking out. Did you want to talk to her? Gabby, it’s your—“

  “No!” I screamed, cutting him off.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “No, Bryan it’s not okay. Can you drop Gabby off at your mom’s and meet me at home please?”

  “Yeah…just…just let me pay for these groceries. I’ll be there in ten.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come in? You really shouldn’t be alone right now, Jill.”

  “I’m sure, I just need some time to go home and shower. I have a feeling it’s going to be a rough next couple of days. I’m going to call Aunt Jane and Uncle Chuck to tell them about Mom.”

  “What about Denise and Kari from her work? Do you want me to call them?” I asked as she shut the door and walked over to the driver’s door.

  She turned to me as I stood there looking back at her.

  “No, I’ll call them. I think it’ll be good for me to talk to them. I don’t mind, really.” She patted my shoulder.

  “Okay.”

  “You need to be with your husband right now. Call me later, okay.”

  “Okay, Jill. Call me if you need anything,” I said, wrapping my arms around her in a big hug.

  As we both pulled away, we wiped our eyes and I headed into my house, waiting for Bryan to arrive.

  “Your mom overdosed?”

  “Yeah, she’s been pretty upset. I guess my dad has been calling her. She was so scared, Bryan,” I said, crying into my hands.

  He sat next to me on the couch and pulled my head into his shoulder.

  “Oh, Dez, I’m so sorry. I know the two of you had your problems, but this is your mom.”

  “Do you think he was really after her? I just wish I could remember what he did to her or what he looked like.”

  He raised my chin so his face was just inches from mine. “I will tell you what, tomorrow I will go into the station and make a few phone calls and find out where he is. If he had anything to do with this, I will find out.”

  “Thanks, Bryan. I’m so glad you are here.”

  “I’m not leaving. Why don’t you go put on a comfy t-shirt and I will meet you upstairs, okay?”

  “Well, I think I need a shower first. I think a nice hot shower would feel so good right now, then I’d love to meet you up there. Thanks, Bryan,” I said as I began walking to the stairs.

  “No problem, Dez. I’m here. I’m just going to make a phone call. Relax,” he said, grabbing his phone and flashing me a smile and those sexy dimples before walking away from me and into the kitchen.

  He’s probably calling Olivia.

  I walked into my bedroom with my towel around me. He was laying on the bed, a magazine in his hands. He looked at me and I saw him blush as I grabbed my t-shirt and underwear from the drawer. This made me feel a little bit better, but I still felt empty and sick inside from the loss of my mom.

  “I have to use the bathroom anyway, you can get dressed in here.”

  As soon as I heard the bathroom door shut, I quickly changed and jumped under the covers before he got back. Was he really going to sleep in here with me tonight? I needed him so bad.

  “Would you like me to stay the night with you?’

  I turned toward him, wondering if he heard my thoughts somehow.

  “I would really like that. I just can’t believe she’s gone,” I cried out, unable to hold back the tears. My eyes were swollen and itchy from all the crying, but somehow I just felt so much better wrapped in his arms as he held me tight throughout the night. I began feeling numb, which was so much better than sick to my stomach. He rubbed my head as I sat there praying that he wouldn’t leave my side. I needed his forgiveness right now more than ever. I don’t think I could go on without him.

  He was always my strength when I needed him the most. My face rubbed against his soft, firm chest and my hands fingered his bulging biceps, calming me down. For just a second, I forgot about my mother’s death and my failed marriage.

  I closed my eyes and that dreadful blonde popped into my head.

  “Bryan, there is something I need to tell you.”

  “Shhh,” he replied, rubbing my hair. Each stroke felt so relaxing as my eyes began to close. “You can tell me tomorrow, just relax.”

  “Okay.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The funeral was short and small. Since Mom didn’t have a lot of friends, just close family and her two friends from work were there. Gabby was too young to really understand what was going on and didn’t even cry during the funeral. Bryan was by my side, holding my hand as the pastor said a prayer for Mom. I no longer felt anything other than numb. Jill invited us over for a brunch after the burial.

  “What did you make, Dez?” Jill asked, opening the tin foil on the pan I was holding.

  “Lasagna,” I said smiling.

  “You know how much I love your lasagna. Gabby, you can go play pool downstairs if you want to. I set up the dollhouse too.”

  “Yay! Thanks Aunt Jill, you’re the best,” she said, jumping up and down before running off.

  “So, where’s Bryan?”

  “He went to run home and change quick,” I said, pouring myself a glass of Chardonnay.

  “Ah. I noticed the two of you have sure been spending a lot of time together lately. Did you tell him?”

  “No, I haven’t told him yet. I have a feeling he’s going to leave now that the funeral is over.”

  “Why haven’t you told him yet?”

  “I just don’t think it’s going to change anything. Plus, what if he confronts Olivia or Casey? What if he ruins things for him getting custody of his son?”

  “Really? What do you owe Casey anyway?”

  “It’s not Casey, it’s his son I am worried about. If she is that evil, I can’t be the cause of a life of hell for him. My husband has a choice and if he wants to be with Olivia, there is nothing I can do or say to stop him,” I said, sitting down to pout to myself.

  “Snap out of it. Do you see the way he looks at you? I’m sorry, but if he didn’t love you he wouldn’t be doing all of this for you. I think telling him is only going to add to the new relationship the two of you have already started.”

  “Oh, I don’t know Jill.”

  She put her hand on my shoulder. “Trust me, I know. He is not into that girl or you would know by now. It’s been, what, three days now? Four?”

  “Five,” I answered, taking a big gulp of my wine.

  “Oh, he loves you. I wish I had a guy like yours. He rubs your feet and he picks you up when you need him the most.”

  “Yeah, he’s probably afraid I’m going to become depressed again,” I whined.

  “Yeah, well you don’t look depressed to me, you look like you are grieving.”

  “I just can’t believe she overdosed, Jill. We always said she wouldn’t live a very long life the way she drank and did drugs, but I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I always thought she’d sober up before that.”

  “Mom would never sober up, you know that. We loved her and knew deep down she was an amazing mom. Only in a perfect world would she have ever returned to the mom we knew as kids.”

  “Did I miss anything?” Bryan asked, walking into the kitchen.

  “No, just Jill bragging about how amazing my homemade lasagna is,” I replied.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked Jill.

  “Yeah, kiss my sister and cheer her up,” she replied, laughing.

  “Oh is that right?” he asked as he picked me up, out of the chair and began lifting me over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

  “No Bryan! Stop!” I screamed out, laughing and hitting his back.

  “You asked for it,” he joked, spinning in circles until I felt sick.

  “Let me down, Bryan, please!” I
screamed. “It’s not funny, I feel sick.”

  He let me down and it took me a minute for the room to stop spinning. He picked me up under my arms and I wrapped my legs around him, smiling. I didn’t care that I felt like I was going to be sick from spinning, my mind was lost in the moment as I wrapped my arms around his head and pulled him in for a kiss.

  As our lips touched, I felt happiness shoot through my whole body. I wasn’t stressing about everything happening, I was only thinking about this amazing man coming back into my life again.

  “Oh you two, get a room,” Jill said, throwing a piece of garlic bread at us.

  We laughed through dinner as we talked about memories we had as kids. We talked about how Jill let out the horses when she was four, so Mom would chase them when she was pregnant with me because she wanted to watch Mom’s belly bounce.

  We reminisced about when Gabby was a baby and Mom dyed her hair brown like mine because Gabby cried every time she held her. We were all laughing so hard we were crying. I didn’t realize how much I loved my mom, even though I had to stay away when she was on her drinking binges. We were all going to miss her, but her good memories would forever live on in us.

  The night went on late into the evening, and we found Gabby fast asleep on the couch when we were finally ready to leave.

  “Just let her stay,” Jill said, winking at me.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “I’m sure, now go home and tell your husband that you didn’t screw his best friend,” she whispered in my ear.

  I nodded back, “Thanks Jill, I owe you.”

  “You sure do.”

  We were both silent on the drive home as I thought about whether or not I should tell him the truth. As we pulled up to the house, I saw someone sitting on our steps. We got out of the car as Casey stood up.

  “What the hell are you doing here? Leave now! I know what you did to Dez. Get out!” Bryan screamed.

  “I need to talk to you, just listen, please!”

  I looked at Bryan and touched his arm. He was about to yell something until he felt my touch and he turned to me with a confused look on his face.

  “Listen to him, please.”

  He raised his eyebrows and looked from me to Casey and then we followed him as he unlocked the door and headed into the dining room. We all sat down at the table, Bryan still looked like he was in shock from my words.

  “Destiny and I did not sleep together.”

  “What? Please don’t even bring that up, we’ve moved past that,” Bryan said back, getting up from his chair.

  I stood up too and guided him back down to his chair. “Please, just let him continue.”

  He looked shocked, mortified, even angrier at my words.

  “I don’t understand,” he said to me.

  “In high school, Olivia showed up at my house. It was the night she tried to get you to have sex with her in the hot tub, remember?”

  “What does Olivia have to do with anything? And why are you bringing up high school?” he screamed at him.

  “Listen!” he screamed back. “Olivia showed up at my house upset, one thing led to another and I had sex with her.”

  “You screwed not only my wife, but my girlfriend too and you found the need to rub it in my face after all these years!” Bryan shouted again, as a vein in his forehead popped out in response. He stood up again.

  “Please sit down!” I scolded him. “Listen.”

  He took a deep breath and glared at me.

  “Bryan, she left after high school because she was pregnant with my child. She didn’t want you to know,” Casey admitted, looking down with shame.

  “You knocked her up? What did she do with the baby? I can’t believe you! How could you?”

  “There’s more.”

  “How much more can there be?” Bryan said, now standing. I didn’t even try to get him to sit down again. I was pretty sure he just about had it with me too.

  “Calm down. I didn’t know for nine years. When my dad was dying, she called me out of the blue and told me we had a child. She told me I would only get to see him if I broke the two of you up. Bryan I’m sorry.”

  “What did you do?” His expression softened a little bit when he looked at me again.

  “Olivia gave me a Roofie to slip into Dez’s drink.”

  “You raped her!” he screamed, running around the table and tackling him.

  “Stop it, Bryan! Stop it! He didn’t rape me!” I yelled, trying to pull him off Casey. He needed to finish.

  His elbow came back and hit me right in the face. My nose began bleeding profusely as Bryan quickly stopped and ran to get me a towel.

  “I’m so sorry Dez, why did you try to pull me off him? Aren’t you mad what he did to you?”

  “Bryan, I knew, he told me,” I admitted, holding my nostrils closed with the towel.

  He began backing away from me, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Please, let Casey finish,” I pleaded.

  He turned and looked at Casey.

  “I didn’t tell you at the time because Olivia told me if I didn’t break the two of you up she would never let me see my son. You don’t understand, she is mean to him, hits him. He hates her and wants to live with me. I told Dez I needed Liv to sign the paperwork before she could tell you, for my son’s safety.”

  “You don’t owe him anything!” Bryan screamed to me with such anger, I felt like I didn’t even know him.

  “It’s his son, Bryan. I couldn’t do that to his son,” I began crying.

  My eyes were swollen and my nose was bleeding. I didn’t expect the night to end like this.

  “Did she sign the papers?” Bryan asked.

  “No, she won’t answer my calls and she knows you’ve been with Destiny.”

  “I just can’t believe she’s been playing me all this time,” Bryan said, turning to me. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me you didn’t remember sleeping with him. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, you didn’t know,” I said, putting my hand on the side of his face.

  “I’m sorry, Bryan,” Casey said, walking up behind him.

  Bryan turned around fast, putting his hands around Casey’s neck.

  “Get the hell out! Get the hell out and don’t ever come back!” he shouted, pushing him out the door and slamming it in his face. He locked the door and came back to me on the chair and kissed my forehead.

  “I’m so sorry baby, I love you so much. I am such a jerk, such a jerk.”

  “I love you, Bryan.”

  I pulled the towel away from my face, realizing it wasn’t bleeding anymore and threw it on the ground. I ran up to Bryan and wrapped my arms around him and squeezed as tight as I could.

  “Nothing is ever going to get between us again, Dez. I promise.”

  “Are you going to talk to Casey again?” I asked, worried.

  “I’ll figure this all out tomorrow. I just couldn’t listen to him anymore.”

  “I understand,” I said, resting my head on his chest.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  I woke up with my head on his chest and a smile on my face. I lifted my head and strained my neck to see if his eyes were open. I must have woken him up with my movement, because his eyes blinked open and he rubbed them with his free arm.

  “Well, I must say you continue to surprise me, Dez.”

  I moved away so I could see him easier and rested my head on my hand with my elbow as the base. I didn’t want him to get a whiff of my morning breath, so I talked without opening my mouth too wide.

  “Why do you say that?” I asked, smiling.

  “Cuz you are just amazing,” he replied, looking up at me.

  I rested my chin on his chest and stared into his eyes as he raised his head by folding the pillow underneath him as he talked.

  “I’m not amazing. I almost lost you.”

  “Are you kidding me? I didn’t trust you. I thought you slept with my best friend. This is mor
e my fault than yours. My crazy ex-girlfriend from high school has been setting up our marriage for failure and I didn’t even notice. How did I not not catch this?”

  “I don’t know. What matters now is that we move on, together,” I said, sitting up.

  “I need to make this right.”

  “How? What do you mean? What are you going to do?”

  “I have a plan, I’m going to make this right, okay? Just trust me,” he said, sitting up and kissing me.

  His kiss lasted longer than planned as I pulled his head in every time he tried to pull away. The kiss became harder as he pushed me onto my back and ran his hands down my body.

  “We can finish this tonight, I need to fix this,” he said, getting up and putting his shirt on.

  “What’s your plan? I wanna know.”

  I struggled to keep my swollen, dry eyes open. As I rubbed my eyes, I began thinking about my mom again. I should have done something to help her while she was alive. Why didn’t I try harder?

  “Just trust me, okay. I will be back by dinnertime.”

  I nodded at him as he kissed me on the forehead and grabbed his keys off the nightstand. I rolled onto his side of the bed and smelled his pillow as I hugged it in my arms. I was too tired to think about what he was up to. I trusted him and that is all that matters. Now I just need to focus on getting up and getting ready so I can pick up Gabby from Jill’s.

  By dinnertime, Bryan still wasn’t home yet and I started to get worried. I cooked dinner for Gabby, she took a bath, and I just started reading to her when I heard the front door open. As I read, The Velveteen Rabbit, I couldn’t think about one word I was reading aloud. I wanted to rush downstairs and find out what he was doing all day. I didn’t even realize Gabby was sleeping as I finished up the last page and put the book down and pulled up her blanket to tuck her in.

  “I love you Gabby,” I whispered, tiptoeing out of her room and quietly shutting the door.

  I headed down the stairs to find Bryan sitting on the couch with papers in his hand.