by TJWEST
I nod my head. “Yeah. Sounds good. Need to get out of this hell hole for awhile.”
“Okay, good.” She smiles. “Oh, hey, did you find out where that number is coming from?”
“Not yet, but workin’ on it.”
She sighs, “Okay. Hate knowing someone is playing phone tag with me - most of all if it’s Carla. Creeps me out.”
I take hold of Sandy and hug her. “I can promise you, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” I sternly say. And I was determined to keep that promise, even if it killed me.
*****
I was profoundly impressed with the IEP meeting; the teacher, speech therapist, case manager, and principal had all attended. I had no idea what to expect during that hour, but I’m so glad I went along with Sandy. It really put things in perspective for me, knowing how crucial Joey’s education mattered. If it weren’t for Sandy, standing up for her son’s rights, he would be under the radar, failing. I was fuckin’ elated with how everyone pulled together and made the right decisions and goals for the next school year.
I think I fell even harder for Sandy, listening to her talk about Joey’s ups and downs and how happy she was that everyone fought for her son, and how hard they worked to help him succeed. I couldn’t be more proud than being at her side, supporting her.
Once the meeting was over, we met Joey outside his classroom. Unfortunately we had to go straight back to Reds; my desk still had unfinished shit that needed my attention.
Sandy dropped me off when I got the text from Rico. I quickly made it to my office, ignoring all possible shit that was waiting for me and immediately called Rico back.
“What do you have for me?”
“Ain’t Carla’s number.” Rico answered.
I clipped, “Then who’s?”
“Some broad. Tammy Fox. Know her?”
“No. But Carla could. Could be usin’ her phone.”
“I’ll keep tabs on her.” Rico assured me.
“Right on bro, thanks.”
We clicked off after that. I wasn’t entirely relieved over the information because I couldn’t be sure if it was Carla or not. Was not going to put it to rest until I was certain it wasn’t.
Chapter 27
Sandy
“Oh, Peta, I’m so sorry sweetie.” I said as I was embracing my best friend. Peta had called when Joey and I arrived home, asking if she could come over for some girlfriend time. She was bawling as she came stumbling into my entryway. I held her by the waist and dragged her over to the couch. She was a mess; red, swollen eyes, mascara smudged underneath and a runny nose. I brought her a box of Kleenex and a glass of wine to soothe the pain.
“I...I...I really thought we had some…..something, ya know?” Peta said, hiccuping through her words. “I’m so stupid.”
“No, you’re not stupid, he is. He’s the one who cheated and now he’s the one who’s gonna miss out on an awesome, beautiful woman. His loss, babe, not yours.”
She whispers, “I really loved his cowboy hat. He’d let me wear it during sex - fuck that was brilliant.”
Shit - TMI, TMI, TMI. I kept my mouth shut. She needed to drown her sorrows and let everything out, even if it was not something I wanted to hear.
After downing her last bit of wine, Peta laid her head on my shoulder. “Hurts so much. I give my heart to him and he crushes it. Thought we had something.” She softly repeated.
“I know you did, honey, I know.” I brought my arm around her shoulders and leaned my head on her head, as we sat back against the cushions.
She exhales, asking me, “Can I stay here tonight? I can’t…..I….don’t want to be alone.” She started crying again.
I continue holding her and stare into her empty wine goblet. “Of course you can. And don’t worry about work tomorrow night, we’ll have you covered.”
“Thanks. You’re the best.”
“Hey, I owe you. You’ve been through fire for me.” We sat in silence for a couple minutes, then insisted she have another glass of wine - which she didn’t hesitate.
As I reached to pour her another glass a text chimed through my phone. It was that same unrecognizable number; the message said - “My name is Rachael. Need to speak with you. In private.” Rachael? Who the hell is Rachael? I glanced at Peta take another big gulp of her wine, with her eyes closed. I didn’t want to burden her with my shit so I didn’t tell her about the text.
I kept it to myself and texted this Rachael person back. “I don’t who u are. Why are u contacting me?”
“But I know who you are. You are my sons fiance’” She immediately wrote back.
I gasped. Holy crap, what?!!! Quinn’s mother? Oh, my God! “How did u get my #? And why are u contacting me and not Quinn?!!!” My hands were shaking I was so stunned! I couldn’t believe this!
I jumped a little when I felt Peta’s hand on my back, asking, “You okay?”
“Yeah, just read something on my phone.” I didn’t exactly lie but didn’t exactly tell her the truth either. “How about you? How’s the wine?” My nerves were still on edge but my best friend needed me. I ignored my phone by turning it on silent and flipping it over on it’s screen so I wouldn’t see anymore texts; whoever this woman was she was gonna have to wait.
“Wine is fine, but I’m not.”
“I know…..I have to check on Joey. I’ll be right back.”
Peta held up her goblet and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”
I grabbed my phone, hesitating to look at the screen. Before I went to check on Joey I scurried to my room, sitting on the edge of my bed and turned my phone over - another message appeared: “It is complicated. Is there a way we can meet?” This totally can’t be happening right now! I can’t just up and meet her! Why now? What has possessed this lady to get my number and demand to meet me when she has no idea who I am? Why hasn’t she been in touch with Quinn? So many questions were reeling through my head I thought it would explode. Quinn has been through so much in these last few months - from the death of his father, Blaine wanting to meet Joey, now his mother coming back, from God knows where - how was I going to handle this next dilemma? Were we ever going to catch a break from such drama? Were we ever going to be able plan our wedding?
I wanted to ignore the text but I knew I couldn’t. Was I stupid for even thinking of meeting her? Shit, here goes nothing. “Tomorrow morning. Starbucks on Rain Street & PCH @9.” I hit send.
I instantly received another message: “I’ll be there.”
Oh, God, what have I done?
I think I’ve lost my mind! Quinn is going to kill me when he finds out! But I can’t help it. I need to see what this stranger wants. If it’s one less thing for him to deal with then I’d rather it be me - I can’t tell him until I know what’s going on though. Oh, shit, I’m truly in the dog house.
After I lost my friggin’ brain cells I managed to check in on Joey; he was having difficulty with some english so I had to email his teacher for some information about how to do this one assignment - he couldn’t quite understand how to explain it to me. In the mean time, I had Joey do some catching up on his reading - he was behind on a few chapters.
I, then, went back to Peta; she was still sitting, drinking, and looking quite lifeless at the moment. I sat back down next to her. “Think of making dinner, you hungry?” I asked.
“Have you thought about painting this room? Needs a splash of something. Bit drabby in here.” Peta slurred.
“Huh?”
“The color. How about teal on that wall…..” She points to the wall where the TV was mounted on. “.....I like teal - teal is a good color. Vibrant. We could have a painting party this weekend.” She suggested.
“Uh, yeah, maybe. Teal is nice, but - “ I agreed but got cut off.
“Quinn is a good guy. You’re so lucky. So glad you’re happy with him. Good guy.” Peta’s voice trails off.
I grab her hand. “Yes, he is. You’ll find your good guy someday. He’ll come around
- maybe not today, but he will, sweetie.”
“If only Quinn had a brother, huh?” She took another drink of her wine and continued to babble. Her bringing up Quinn’s brother left a pit in my stomach. She didn’t know he used to have a brother, and didn’t know anything about his past. It was a topic I couldn’t discuss.
“I need to start dinner, okay?”
“Mm’k.” She responded in a daze. Peta was definitely calm now and will most likely have a killer hangover in the morn. But, I was here for her and would take care of her.
I managed to prepare dinner, despite the current events, through some “Imagine Dragon” and “30 seconds to Mars” playing from my iPod - It helped numb everything that was taking place. I was stirring the pan of vegetables when I felt Quinn’s full, muscular arms wrap around my waist, followed by a sweet, soft kiss on the collarbone - immediate chills coursed throughout my body.
“Hey, babe.” He huskily said to me.
“Hi.” I replied, turning around and giving him a hot, wet kiss.
“Mmm, want you right now…..” He stated as he grabbed my behind and squeezed. “...but I can see we have company.”
“Yeah. Peta went through a bad break-up. She’s going to stay here tonight.”
“Good call, Shorty.” Quinn agreed. “Gonna go so say hi to Joey.” He gave me one more kiss and a smack to my butt as he trollied off.
I giggled as he walked away but couldn’t help but think about Rachael. Guilt tore through my heart; I just pray Quinn won’t feel betrayed when he finds out.
I was able to get Peta to eat a little dinner, but not much. She was pretty much drunk off her ass by the time dinner hit the table. Thank goodness Joey hadn’t noticed how lit my girl was; not sure I’d like to explain why Peta was slurring as she was eating.
Once Joey was down for the night, I sat with Peta for another glass of wine. We didn’t talk much since she was falling asleep - body sprawled out on the couch and long legs laying on my lap - she was content and drowsy.
I took my last gulp of wine and heard my friend slightly snoring. Out like a light. On the coffee table, I had left her a bottle of water and some painkillers - she was gonna need it. I slowly lifted her legs from my lap, walked into the kitchen, placed our goblets on the counter and headed toward my bedroom. I took a deep breath before I entered; I didn’t want Quinn to notice my nerves about tomorrow. I couldn’t tell him. Not yet.
I entered the room and heard the shower turn on. I slip out of my gray pencil skirt, white blouse and strip down to nothing so I could join Quinn. The bathroom was steamy and warm. I enjoyed seeing the outline of his body from the shower door - he really was the perfect specimen. Sometimes I still couldn’t believe he was actually mine, and he actually loved me - little ole me. I slowly snuck behind him and placed my hands on his muscled back - I loved his back; so defined and strong.
“Babe.” Quinn breathed.
I breathed back, “Hey.” I wrapped my arms around his torso and leaned my exposed breasts against his soapy back. God, I could stay here all night and never tire of feeling his body close to mine. “You feel so good.” I said with a smile.
He tangled his fingers with mine and responded, “Right back at ya.” He turned to face to me, lowering his face to reach my lips. His hands took hold of the sides of my cheeks, kissing me soft and slow. He then lowered his hands down to my behind, gently squeezing, backing me up against the cold shower wall. I squealed a little from the coldness, but Quinn’s body heat overtook the chill, bringing on the burning wetness and wanting, straight through my insides. Hands caressing all the goodness of his body I couldn’t wait, so I grabbed onto his shaft and started stroking; I got a nice seethe out of his mouth, making me stroke even faster. Before I knew it, I was lifted by Quinn’s powerful arms and was forced to wrap my legs around his waist. He took hold of his cock and slid inside my body. We both grunted as we felt ourselves connect - it was heart-stopping.
“Fuck, baby, you feel fuckin’ phenomenal.” Quinn huskily, muttered.
My back was sliding up and down against the wall, feeling him slither inside and out, making me whimper. I brought my fingers to my clit and rubbed until I felt the pleasure of release. His hardness, my fingers - fucking amazing!
Moments later Quinn pumped harder, faster, all the while still wrapped tightly around his slick body; the grunting and grinding brought on the piercing release of his orgasm. Mindblowing.
We had settled in bed after our shower; kissing, and holding one another, skin to skin. My head was on his chest, with my arm draping over his waist. He felt so warm and smelled amazing. “Buddy of mine found a name of the person who’s been shittin’ with you.” Quinn informed me.
At that moment my heart felt like it had stopped.
“Baby, you’re tense. It’s okay. Nothing to be scared over.” He tried reassuring me, but nothing could stop me from worrying - not when I began digging a hole for myself once I had agreed to meet Rachael.
I whispered, “I’m not scared. What’s her name?”
“Tammy Fox.”
Huh? What!? Okay, what the fuck is going on!
“Tammy? Who is she?”
“Have no fuckin’ clue. Rico’s keepin’ tabs on her.”
I was so confused. Was Rachael really Quinn’s mother or was she playing some kind of sick joke on me? Was Rachael her name, or was it Tammy? Was I being set up and stupid enough to fall for this trap?
“Shorty, you okay?” Quinn asked, squeezing my waist. “Like I said, nothing to worry about.”
“I’m okay, and I’m not worried.” I lifted my head and kissed him.
My gut was telling me to go ahead with the plan for tomorrow morning, but then the guilt was going to out-weigh me. I closed my eyes and wanted to believe I was doing this for the right reasons: to protect Quinn. After meeting Rachael, Tammy, whatever the hell her name is, I could go ahead and tell him. For now I had to keep it to myself, whether if it was the right thing or not.
The next morning, after saying goodbye to Quinn and Joey, I settled for a few minutes with Peta; she was still asleep. I was curled up in a big arm chair, facing the couch, drinking a cup of coffee. Nothing else was on my mind except the fact that I was going behind my fiance’s back to meet his mother - if the woman was his mother, that is. I looked at the time on my phone and it was getting close to nine. I downed the rest of my coffee and set it in the kitchen sink.
I take a last glance at my best friend and quietly leave the house.
I was relieved when Quinn hadn’t questioned me when I told him I had an errand to do before I went to Reds. He actually insisted on taking Joey to school, which helped my morning out, considering I wanted to be at home just in case Peta had woken up. Of course the guilt was beginning to become more than I could bear - I put all that aside once I parked in front of Starbucks.
I wasn’t sure who I was looking for; the picture I had seen of his mother and Jake was really old - she could look very different now. Or this actually could be a trick and she wouldn’t even be here.
God, I’m so stupid.
There was a line at the counter, with five people waiting to order their coffee. I was about to stand in line when, from the corner of my eye, I saw her. Rachael - Tammy; she was in the far back, secluded corner, looking straight at me. It really was her! She gave me a slight smile and took a drink of her coffee. Before I went toward her I stood in line for a regular coffee. I had to have something in my hands - if anything, I was damn afraid of smacking her.
I couldn’t deny the resemblance; from a far distance I could see that she had the same chocolate brown eyes, and bone structure as Quinn. To compliment her features, she had full dark red lips, and short light brown hair. I found her very attractive.
I mixed my coffee with sugar and cream, then inched my way toward the stranger. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my heels clicking on the ground and the erratic beat of my heart, pounding through my chest. I was a nervous wreck, but I wasn’
t going to give that away - I had to be strong and figure out what the hell she wanted from me.
Once I made it to the table, she put her coffee down and said to me, “Please, have a seat.”
I was so unsure of this woman, that I was hesitant to follow her gesture, but dammit I needed answers.
I got myself situated, by taking a slow sip of my coffee and clearing my throat. “Is your name Rachael or is it Tammy?” I softly asked.
She gave me another smile. “Quinn was always quick to finding out answers. Was always smart, but never did use it to his full advantage.” She responded rather smugly. Ignoring her criticism, I kept my cool and asked her again, “Are you, or are you not Rachael or is it Tammy?”
She licked her lips and nodded. “Rachael. Tammy is another name I had taken many years ago.”
I didn’t waste any time about why I was here, “Okay, Rachael, what do you want from me?”
She lightly chuckled, “No wonder my son loves you, you’re a quick little thing as well…... I like that.”
I had no idea what was going on here; she didn’t seem the least bit sad or guilty about abandoning her son - maybe she was putting up a front, but whatever she was doing it was odd and I couldn’t understand it “Look, I’m not here to get acquainted with you. I want to know what you want?” I clipped at her.
She cleared her throat and pulled out a white envelope from her purse. “Of course….I have something I’d like you to give to Quinn.” She pushed the envelope in my direction.
I didn’t pick up the envelope, but instead asked, “Why not just give it to him yourself?”
“He wouldn’t want to see me.” She replied in a low, sad tone.
“You don’t know that.”
She shook her head and chuckled without any humor, “I know my son, Sandy. He hates me for leaving him.”
“And do you blame him? You abandoned him at a very bad time in his life.”
“You don’t know the reason behind that, and no, I don’t blame him. That is why I’m asking you for this favor.”