Regretfully

by Leighton Riley

  Chloe and Cami were both surrounding Payton’s belly on the couch when we got back inside and it was then that I noticed the paintbrushes. They gave us the signal to be quiet and as we got closer, it was then that I saw their project.

  Payton’s shirt was lifted up to her chest and her pants lowered a little so her belly was fully exposed and the girls had successfully applied a chocolate brown coat of paint in the shape of a pot and had the yellow-gold paint waiting to apply next.

  “What’s it supposed to be?” Ryder inquired as he took a closer look.

  “Winnie the Pooh’s honey pot! Why do you think I got y’all a Winnie stuffed animal as part of her baby shower gift? I needed a prop to go with the painting,” Chloe explained as if it was absurd that Ryder hadn’t figured it out yet.

  Ryder and I sat back and watched for a good thirty minutes while the girls added layers of details to the painting, including honey that was coming out of the pot, shading, and the words ‘sweet as honey’ in white letters in the middle of the jar. Payton stayed in a deep sleep during the whole thing and luckily didn’t move much.

  “Let me go get Winnie. Hang on.” Chloe stood up and stretched her legs before she headed into the dining room and got the stuffed animal. “Alright, picture time just in case she hates it and won’t let us take one later.” Chloe pulled out her cell phone and snapped a few photos at different angles.

  “Daddy needs in the pic, too. Ryder, get in here,” Chloe called him over and took a couple of Ryder kissing her stomach and others showing off the artwork.

  Cami came over and had a seat in my lap after putting the paintbrush down. It was the perfect day. Being surrounded by my friends was all I needed to forget about the rest of my problems— Zander being the main one. I did miss Jagger, though. He got to have a play date with Rebecca’s little girl during the party, and it was one of the few times we’d both been away from him at the same time.

  “Miss him, too?” Cami asked sweetly as she nuzzled closer to me.

  “That obvious?” I looked into her vivid blue eyes, and I swore I fell in love with her more each day. She was so genuine and carefree. Seeing her truly fit in with Chloe and Payton was amazing.

  “Mhmm. We don’t have to stay much longer; I just want to wait for Payton to wake up.” Cami closed her eyes and within a minute or two, she was dozing off as well.

  “How long should we let them sleep?” Chloe asked impatiently.

  “Give my baby mama another twenty. She hasn’t been sleeping well over the past few weeks, and I think it’s taking its toll on her. Bro, how long you want Cami to sleep?” Ryder nodded his head my way, staring at his sister who was fast asleep in my arms.

  “Twenty minutes is fine. We need to get back to Jagger anyway, and I think we could use a nap as a family.” I was exhausted. The whole situation with Zander was stressing me out and it filled my nights with terrors of worst-case scenarios. Having both Cami and Jagger in bed with me sounded like the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

  “You didn’t! Chloe!” Payton screamed once she felt her bare but paint-laden belly. I looked up as she tried sitting up and on the third try, she was successful. Cami was startled awake in my lap from Payton’s outburst and was looking around in confusion. Payton was staring at her belly, but I could tell she couldn’t see the whole picture. Attempting to lean over to see the rest of the drawing, she groaned, realizing it was useless.

  “Come on, baby. There’s a mirror for that.” Ryder held out both hands and helped his fiancée off the couch.

  “And a camera!” Chloe exclaimed, following them to the bathroom with Winnie in tow.

  “Did I fall asleep?” my sleepy-eyed girl pondered as she leaned her head against my shoulder. Her voice was filled with innocence.

  Kissing her forehead, I replied, “Only for a few minutes. I was thinking we could go home and watch a movie in bed with little man. Order pizza in and relax as a family tonight. How’s that sound?” I stroked her hair softly as she nodded.

  “That sounds like the perfect end to the evening. I want a photo with Payton and my brother before we go, though. Shall we go see what she thinks?” Cami rose from the chair, and I followed her to the powder room where we had been a few hours ago. I squeezed her hand and she went into a rosy blush immediately.

  “Seeing your flush skin makes me want to take you right here,” I whispered behind her and gave a firm squeeze to her ass, causing her to yelp.

  Payton was in tears as she gently rubbed her pregnant stomach. Ryder was behind her whispering in her ear, and it was the perfect shot of them together. Of course, Chloe was already on it and had her camera phone out and put to good use.

  “Thank you all for the best baby shower ever. I couldn’t imagine going through all these life events without each of you by my side. Besides Chloe, I’ve never had this many people in my life at one time who truly cared about me. You are all my family now,” Payton confessed through her tears.

  Payton had a rough go at life before she met Ryder and had found a way to not be alone but not let anyone in, with Chloe being the exception. From the day I met her in Las Vegas to now, she’d grown exponentially and she held herself higher, wasn’t afraid to lean on others, took control of her life, and was unconditionally in love with Ryder.

  Coming in for a group hug, I realized how blessed we were to have each other. Each of us had our hurdles and struggles to get here, but we overcame our challenges and were stronger now. Ryder and I thought we had lost Cami and had to spend a year and a half trying to figure out how to move on without her. Payton lost her parents when she was still a young girl and had to learn how to survive without a family around to support her. She was also almost killed by Chloe’s psycho ex-boyfriend. Chloe had to deal with choosing an unstable psychopath as a boyfriend and how her being with Grayson enabled him to hurt her best friend. Poor Cami was misled into believing she was in love with a sick fuck who wanted to own her. She was left without valid answers and had to work her way through the confusion after her accident.

  This was my family now, just like it was Payton’s. I couldn’t remember the last time I spoke to my parents. I see this group nearly every day, and I wouldn’t want it to be any different.

  Except for having Cami become my wife.

  It was Payton’s wedding day and life couldn’t be any better. Chloe and I had spent the last two days getting last-minute details wrapped up and everything was finished. All we needed were the caterers and the guests. Oh, and Tristen had been cleared as a suspect of Zander’s death. Apparently, they’d found footage from a neighbors surveillance catching the act on camera, ran the license plates numbers, and connected it to the bookie somehow. The police had come to our house and sat Tristen and me down— I was downright terrified of what they were about to say. I couldn’t survive us being apart again. I kept praying that everything would be okay and when they mentioned he was cleared as a suspect, I literally squealed in excitement. We knew he didn’t do it, but for them to say the words— it was like a weight being lifted off my chest. We celebrated that night, a few times.

  Tristen was busy giving Jagger a bath while I was packing our overnight bag when the doorbell rang. Hustling to the door, I gasped in horror when I saw a bruised and bloodied Aria. Her clothes were in tatters, and her hair was matted and disheveled.

  “Oh, Aria. Come inside, baby girl. What happened?” I guided her gently over to the couch and motioned for her to have a seat. Her right cheek was so swollen; she couldn’t open her eye all the way. Her smile was cracked and had dried blood crusted over. She held onto her stomach as the tears fell freely, and she was trembling.

  “I, I didn’t know. He wasn’t with anyone when he walked in, I swear!” she blurted out as her body caved in to protect itself. She winced in pain, and I wasn’t sure where all she was hurt. Most of the blood was dry, and I needed the details.

  “I know, I know, sweetie.” I scooted closer to her and brought her into my arms. I gave her a few minute
s to calm down a bit and waited for the crying to subside before prying for more information. I knew Sutter had broken up with her after finding out she had been flirting with other men, but that was months ago. He wasn’t the violent type, and I wasn’t sure who else it could be. She didn’t have enemies that I knew of.

  I should have been there for her more. She was my friend before the accident, and she led me back to Tristen. I’d talked to her a few times on the phone, and we’d hung out twice since I’d been back, but there was an awkward presence that was in the air when we were together. Feeling like it was my fault, I felt bad that I wasn’t who I used to be. She was quieter and more reserved, but she still paid special attention when I talked about Tristen and Jagger. That drive to want to tell your friends everything wasn’t there, and I felt confused and uneasy after being in her presence.

  After she’d finally calmed down enough, I pulled apart from her and really got a good look at her. She was broken. Her normal carefree attitude and spunk was gone. She was timid and couldn’t look me in the eyes. Something bad had happened to her, I just didn’t know how to ask. Tristen would be out soon with Jagger in tow, and we were supposed to be on our way to the chapel. Jagger didn’t need to be exposed to the bad in the world just yet, and I didn’t know how Tristen would handle seeing her that way. They had a friendship, too, but I didn’t know the extent of it.

  “Come back to my room with me, ‘kay? It’ll be more private, and we can clean you up better in there.” I stood and lent both arms to help her stand. On wobbly feet, she walked weakly beside me as we made our way into my room. Jagger’s door was ajar and I peeked in to see a confused and pissed off Tristen. Shaking my head, I mouthed ‘no’ to him and shut the door quietly. She didn’t need an audience.

  “Shower. I feel dirty. I need him off of me,” she said in staggered breaths.

  “Who, Aria? Who did this to you?” I inquired as we walked to the master bathroom and I sat her on the deck of the bath tub. I walked over to the shower and turned on the warm water and grabbed a few towels.

  Squatting in front of her, I brushed her hair back behind her ears so I could see some of the damage. “How about we get you in the shower and then doctor up some of these cuts? Do you need help getting in the shower?” I didn’t want to take away her privacy, but her movements on the walk to the room were uneven and from the faces she made, I knew she was in serious pain.

  Looking up with a wavering lip, she nodded and broke down in another round of tears, only this time there were sobs of pain mixed in. Carefully lifting her shirt, I saw the deep red and purple bruises along her ribs, and I had no doubt at least one was broken. Someone beat her to a pulp, and I wanted to make her pain go away. At the same time, kick whoever’s ass did that to her.

  I tried not to react to the terrifying marks on her body as she stood so I could undress her. Other than stepping out of her jeans and lifting her arms to take off her shirt, she didn’t move. She wept the entire time. Her clothes hid some of the worst injuries. She had no panties on and her bra had one strap that was hanging freely. Her nipples were swollen and red.

  “I think you need to go to the hospital, Aria. Just to make sure everything is alright. Let’s get you showered, though,” I told her calmly.

  “He used a condom. I don’t need the hospital. I just need to get the feel of him and her off me and I want my own bed.”

  Oh, shit. My heart hurt for her.

  “Where were you at? It wasn’t Sutter, was it?” I went to check the water and guided her inside but left the door open so I could keep an eye on her. My hair was already done for the wedding and the steam from the shower was starting to affect it. I didn’t care about how I looked, but I needed to figure out how to be in both places at once. I couldn’t leave Aria in this condition, but Payton and my brother’s wedding was in just a few hours. Aria closed her eyes and let the water stream over her battered body. Having a moment to gather my thoughts, I knew I needed help with this. Sending a quick text to Chloe, I let her know I wouldn’t be able to come early and to let Payton know everything was alright. I also texted Tristen and told him that I didn’t know what to do and hoped he had an idea.

  Her turning the shower off startled me out of my own thoughts of what could have happened to my friend. Handing her a towel, I stood and walked with her over to the bed. Now that all the blood has been washed away, I was able to see how severe some of her bruises were. She remained silent, watching me take in the horror of it all.

  “I need to know what happened. You mentioned a man and a woman. Did you know them?” I wanted to approach the topic carefully but was honestly scared of what she’d tell me.

  “I wanted to feel desirable again. I went out to the bar and Bryson bought me a drink and was saying all the right things. He was sweet, said he needed to unwind after work, and was a complete gentleman. After a while, he invited me back to his place, and I agreed. We— we were fooling around on the couch when I faintly heard the door open, but I was too caught up in the moment. He was making me forget about my failed relationship with Sutter, and it felt like it was just me and him, nothing else mattered at that moment. Shit, Cami. I was so dumb. He said he was single, though.” She slid onto her back and cried out as she grabbed her ribs.

  “You didn’t know he was lying. That isn’t your fault.” I caressed her knee and urged her to continue.

  “She kicked me in the stomach while I was on my knees. We were so caught up in the moment that I don’t think he heard her come up behind him. He was surprised, but he knew he was caught. Tried playing it off like it was my fault but with the position we were in, it was clear that he was enjoying it and in control of the situation. I tried pulling away to protect myself, but she just kept screaming that I was a whore and her fists kept striking my face and body. Looking over, he was still jerking off while his girlfriend beat me. I tried running, but it was useless. The sick thing was that after she got tired of screaming and hitting me, she went to him and finished him off. Forgave him on the spot and left me in shambles, picking up my clothes and limping out of there. It was the most terrifying thing in my life.” She wasn’t crying anymore, but the look on her face was void of emotion. The non-expression frightened me more than the crying.

  Looking at my phone, I had twenty minutes before I had to be at the chapel. It would give me just enough time to throw on my dress and makeup and try to fix my now frizzy hair. I had two new text messages, also.

  Chloe: I got you babe. Let me know when you get here… I’ll help you get ready

  Tristen: Can you bring her with you? Carter said he would stay with her during the ceremony and reception. You have to be here, baby girl, but don’t leave your friend like that. Love you hardcore, babe

  Smiling at Tristen’s response, I loved how he was so thoughtful of others. I went to the closet and saw a dress that Tristen must have set out for her to put on. Mine was already at the chapel since I had planned on getting ready with the girls.

  “I have to go to my brother’s wedding, but I have a friend of Tristen’s who is going to stay with you and keep you company during the ceremony. You can’t be alone right now, and I still think you need to go to the hospital. Let’s get you dressed, and I’ll help you to the car.” I felt horrible making her come with me, but I didn’t know what my other choice was.

  I brought the dress over to the bed and rummaged through my drawer for a new pair of panties that she could wear. Tristen had just bought me a few, and I knew some still had the tags on them.

  “I don’t want people to see me, Cami. All I want is to be alone and to handle the pain in the privacy of my own home. Please take me home.” She managed to pull herself into a sitting position but was still holding her ribs, her shoulders hunched over.

  “I’ll tell Carter to hang out with you in the bridal quarters. There’s a couch in there, I know, and no one will see you. I have to get there, though, or I’ll miss it. Please, Aria. I can’t leave you like this, but I won’t expose
you to everyone, I promise.”

  Nodding solemnly, she stood and tried to put her underwear on but cried out in pain. Helping her put one foot in at a time, I slowly got her dressed. As soon as we were done, I walked out to the car with her and got her inside the passenger seat. Pulling out my phone, I called Tristen quickly.

  “Hey, babe. I need you to have Carter out in front of the chapel when I pull up. She needs to go to the hospital, and he can get her started while the ceremony is going on. Put Carter on the phone.” I peeked inside the car, and I couldn’t tell if she was passed out or asleep. Both scared me to death. “Carter. I’m going to pull up, and you’re going to take our friend to the closest hospital. Her information is in her purse. She was beaten pretty badly. I don’t know what she wants people to know, so the less questions you have to answer, the better. I’ll be there as soon as the ceremony is over, but she’s in too much pain to wait. Can you do this for me?”

  I opened the car door as Carter agreed, and I just wanted to cry from the events of today. I wanted to be there for her and would never leave her under normal circumstances. I needed to be in both places at once. Payton and Ryder expected me to be there, and I was one of Payton’s bridesmaids and I couldn’t let them down. Aria didn’t have anyone else that I knew of who could help, and Tristen was assisting Jagger be the ring bearer.

  Looking over at Aria, she was struggling to get comfortable but was at least conscious. As I drove the few miles to the chapel, I thought about the situation I was in. Should I stay with Aria? Would Payton and Ryder understand? Tristen had mentioned how good of a guy Carter was and obviously had enough confidence in him to help us out. I was being pulled in both directions and knew that I’d feel awful about it either way.

  I turned into the parking lot and saw Tristen and Carter by the front steps. Smiling at how dashing Tristen looked in a suit, I quickly remembered the situation at hand. Carter walked around to the driver side just as I put the car in park and Tristen was right behind him.