by A. E. Murphy
Every single cell in my body begins to burn, I press myself against her again. She eagerly opens her thighs, allowing me to slide in between her legs.
My lips move down her cheek, along her jaw and to her ear where I nibble on the lobe, making sure to tease the little gold stud earring. She moans and pushes her hips up. I feel her tremble beneath me as I suck on the soft skin behind her ear, the thought of giving her a mark appeals to me more than it should. Fuck it, I’m doing it anyway, to hell with my common sense.
When my hand reaches down to grip her thigh as I nibble on her collar bone I realize how far her dress has slid up, most likely showing her panties that I can’t wait to take off with my teeth. This thought alone sends me into a frenzy of lust and need, I move my hand up and under her dress, my hand molds into the curve of her waist, I feel the fabric of her panties under my pinky finger. Lace. Fuck.
She’s pushing me away, “Lucas.” What? I continue working on her neck. “Lucas! Stop!” Ah hell. I halt my movements and slow my breathing whilst pressing my forehead into her neck.
“Dammit woman. What’s wrong?” I sigh and lean up on my elbows. “Did I hurt you?” I was being a little grabby, I hope I haven’t harmed her. That would suck.
“I can’t do this,” she says quietly and pushes me again. I roll off her and lay on the floor beside her. “I won’t be the other woman.” She pulls her dress down and stands before I can even get a glimpse of her panties.
Other woman? Now I’m focused.
“What are you talking about?” I frown in confusion. She points to my hand. My left hand, where my wedding band still sits. Shit.
Fuck.
Crystal.
I stand up, my good mood suddenly gone.
Crystal… I can’t do this.
With an ache in my chest I stand and straighten my clothes. Loryn watches me warily as I grab my jacket. My mind is blank, empty. The only thing that remains is grief. Why do I feel like I’ve cheated?
“Lucas,” Loryn says softly and reaches out to touch my arm. I pull away and head straight to the door of the apartment.
“Lock up after me,” I say blankly and grab her keys. “Don’t answer the door to anyone.”
“Lucas,” she repeats, I ignore her and continue down the stairs. I need to get the fuck out of here.
With an impassive demeanor and a less than lukewarm goodbye, I leave the store. With no intention of returning.
I know I said I’d move on, I know I said I’d try but… how can anyone compare to her? Crystal I mean.
Shit.
My right hand wraps around the ring on my finger, I pull it to the first knuckle as I walk towards my car. Any attempts at removing the ring are thwarted by my lack of willpower where my wife is concerned. I’m not ready to take it off yet. Shit, fuck, shit. With a kick to the tire of my car I tug the gold band off. My eyes burn. It’s time… right? This is what I’m supposed to do. I palm the ring and shove it deep into the pocket of my pants. Then I put it on again ten seconds later before driving away.
After pacing the length of my apartment for about an hour I finally pick up my phone and call the one person who I know will shine a whole new light on this for me.
“Hello?”
“Hi Marie,” I sigh with relief. “I need a new view.”
“Fire away big boy.”
“How do I take Crystal’s ring off?” I bite on my lower lip, feeling like a little pussy for calling someone for advice. I’ve never needed help before, never needed advice. Yet Marie just has an odd way of thinking. She seems to know what to say without being all emotional or giddy. She’s to the point and blunt, sometimes rude with it but never mean.
“A bit of grease and twist.”
“Don’t be an idiot. I mean… gah. You know what I mean. I can’t just take it off.”
I hear her sigh, “Lucas. You’re being an idiot. Just take the damn ring off. You’ve got your memories, you’ve got your photos. Unfortunately she’s gone. You want to move on? Take off the ring.” I hear a male mumble in the background, I’m disturbing her, fuck. “Put it somewhere you’ll be able to see it every day like on your nightstand.”
“You can be a real bitch. You haven’t helped at all.”
“Lucas, she’s dead. It’s the truth. I’m sorry she’s dead, I wish she wasn’t, but she is. Now get a grip, take off the ring and go to bed. You’ll feel better in the morning. You didn’t marry the ring. It’s a symbol of the fact you were taken, you aren’t any longer, Crystal would want you to be happy. Nothing more. Take it off.” And then the line goes dead.
I laugh a little, how did she become so… blunt? It’s really the only way to describe her. I’m not even sure how we became friends. There was that thing with Amelia being in hospital for a dislocated shoulder, after that we just started chatting over Facebook and then over text. Then over the phone. And voila, here we are. Still chatting almost every day. It’s platonic though, definitely nothing happening there. Yes, she’s really fucking attractive but no, I would never have sex with her. She’s not my type.
Loryn suddenly flits through my mind. She… is most certainly my type.
Ok, I’m putting this off. Just do it Lucas.
There, done, now it’s on the nightstand. Get undressed and go to sleep.
You know you’re getting old when you don’t have your kid for a night and you’re that excited to sleep in the next morning, you go to bed early.
I just realized something though, is the fact I am apparently married, the reason she was pissed off all through dinner? It makes sense. Oh well, it’s not like I’m going to see her again. Who cares why she was pissed? Not. Me.
I head over to James’ to pick up Amelia, it’s lunch time, they’ve had her long enough. Unfortunately the first thing I hear as I walk through their apartment door is.
“You crazy fucking bitch!” Uh-oh, what’s she done to James now. He spins around as I enter the room, his green eyes almost black with anger. He’s wearing nothing but a tee and boxers. Where are the girls? “Where’s Maya?”
I shrug, “I’ve only just walked in. Where are the girls?”
He looks behind the TV and stamps his foot when he realizes she’s not there. Maya I’m guessing. “Summer has them.” Is his only response as he darts over to the closet and opens it, no Maya. “That crazy bitch. MAYA!”
“Dude, chill. What’s going on?” I laugh a little at his angry attitude. “MAYA?”
“Look!” James practically shrieks and lifts up his top. I’m about to ask him why the fuck he’s showing me his body but my words are lost in a sea of hysterical laughter.
Maya has shaved a large love heart in the center of his chest hair and written her name in the middle. “It’s permanent marker!” he shouts. “MAYA!”
The bedroom door opens and Maya casually walks out, James eyes narrow, she goes wide eyed and hides behind me. “Hi Lucas. How are you?”
James crosses his arms over his chest and glares at her, “You… drive me fucking insane.”
“Have you peed yet?” she asks suddenly and starts sniggering, she pokes her head under my arm so she can see him. “You may want to go and pee.”
James pulls the waistband of his boxers forward. “You crazy fucking bitch! You didn’t!”
Maya starts laughing as hysterically as I was a moment ago. Now I’m stifling my laughter in my fist. “I wrote my name on his dick too.” I laugh, and it’s loud.
James lunges for her, effectively shoving me out of the way, I fall backwards onto the sofa and laugh some more as James pins a screaming Maya to the ground. He pulls the permanent marker out of her pocket as she thrashes, screams and claws at him to get free.
I wince as he starts writing his own name on her neck, and it’s big. She screams and bucks beneath him.
“Lucas, dude,” James says and climbs up. Maya starts cackling when he drags her off the ground and throws her over his shoulder. “You might not want to stay for this bit. Ouch. Stop biting me.” He
slaps her on the ass making her cackle harder. “See you Bro.”
With a sigh I head back to the entrance, but not before I hear something smash and hear Maya’s laughter fill the apartment and then suddenly all goes silent. Yep. I’m definitely out of here.
Lucas: Don’t take the girls back yet… shit’s going down between James and Maya.
Summer: Yeah, she asked me to get them. Funny huh? I can’t believe she did that!
Lucas: Thanks for having Amelia. Text me when you’ve dropped them off. X
Summer: No problem, she’s having dinner with my family. Text you soon. X
I head home, with no plans, and absolutely nothing to do. Xbox it is.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mr. Fixit
The next few days pass without issue, I’m happy to report work is great, Maya and James fortunately managed to get the ink off their skin, and I got Amelia back that night and have had her every night since. It’s been a good week, just a boring one.
This morning is yet another dull morning, I’ve just dropped Amelia off at school and picked up some groceries and a newspaper. Now I’m sat on my sofa with a coffee in one hand whilst flicking through the newspaper with the other. My phone begins to ring. I answer it without looking.
“Hello?”
“It’s Maya. I need a favor,” who you gonna call? “Can you pick up Sylvia’s dry cleaning tomorrow? I’d do it but I’ve got meetings all day. She’s got Evelyn and her car is in for repair.” Call Lucas!
“Yeah, sure, what time?” My eyes catch something in the paper as I turn a page. “Text me. I’ve got to go.” I hang up before she can respond and hop up from the sofa. Fuck.
Why is the traffic always bad when you need to get somewhere quick? Come on. Move it jackass! Stupid fucking drivers.
After honking the car horn a million times and flipping off a few people I finally make it. The worst part is, I have to park up the street because of the glass. Fortunately I’m wearing my favorite steel toe capped boots, they can handle walking over a bit of glass and scattered clothing.
When I reach the flaky white door I swing it open, “Loryn!”
The store is dark due to a massive board covering the empty window frame, it was a huge window too, that’s why there’s so much glass. I rush over to the wall where the switches are and turn on the lights. It’s trashed, the store is completely trashed, there’s glass everywhere, the till is in pieces from being thrown at the wall, and clothes are all over the floor. Shit.
Even the refrigerator has been tipped over and the crappy round table is in splinters. My thoughts aren’t on the mess, they’re on the girl. I head straight up the stairs and burst through the door. The flat is trashed too from what I can see in the dark, the TV is… just fragments of plastic and glass. The entire place looks like a bomb site. Fuck.
“Loryn?” I say softly, there’s no need to shout as the apartment is so small.
“Go away,” I flick on the light and notice the bed has been pulled down from its place in the wall, there’s hardly room to walk around. On the bed and under the peach colored blanket is a lump. I’m assuming it’s Loryn in the fetal position.
I take three steps forward and sit on the side of the bed. I hear her sniff, she’s definitely crying and for once in my life, it doesn’t freak me out. All I want to do is comfort her. I slowly pull the blanket down, she tugs it back up and holds it tight around her. Okay then. I untie my boots and pull them off, then I slowly slide under the blanket, ignoring the creaks of the springs as I climb in.
“Loryn, baby, are you hurt?” I ask softly.
“No,” she replies, her N sounds like a D, probably from all of her crying.
My body relaxes, that fear of her being hurt now nonexistent. Still, the trauma this entire ordeal has probably caused may be worse than being physically broken. I hope this isn’t the case.
My arm finds its way under her neck and my other pulls her back into my chest. I wrap myself around her and kiss her neck softly before burying my face in her hair. She cries softly for a while, her body tense. After a few minutes she turns in my arms and presses her face into my chest. I listen to her sob, I don’t speak I just stroke her hair softly and let her cry herself to sleep.
As soon as her breathing becomes even, I slowly climb out of bed being careful to not wake her, and then I call James, “We have a problem. I need your help.” Because there’s no way I can fix all of this by myself.
I write a note for Loryn and leave it on the pillow next to her head. I need to go purchase tools from the Hardware Store. I also need to pick up some breakfast for Loryn. Fortunately this doesn’t take long, the roads are clear and service was pretty fast wherever I went.
By the time I get back to the store I’m shocked and happy to find Maya, James and Marie all gathered outside, all head to toe in coveralls, Maya’s are purple and designer, you can tell by the diamanté writing on the back. Crazy bitch. I smile broadly and hand the bag of food to Maya.
“Take this up to Loryn, go keep her company.”
Her mouth drops open, “but…”
“Babe, you can’t even paint with a roller let alone handle glass and shit. Take these to Loryn and cheer her up, you’re good at that. We’ve got this.” She huffs and stomps away. James looks at me and laughs, “If I ordered her around like that I’d end up with a scorpions in my shoes.” I don’t doubt this one bit.
“Tools are in the boot, you guys handle the clean-up, I’ll get to work on the big boy stuff,” I wink at Marie who rolls her eyes.
James helps me unload the tools as Marie starts sweeping up the broken glass.
“What exactly happened?” he asks and plays with an extendable Stanley knife. I snatch it from him like a parent would snatch something dangerous from a toddler. In James’ case, this is an accurate description. “Hey.”
“I’m unsure yet, all I saw was the first piece of the article in the newspaper. It happened yesterday morning. At Three AM.” I sigh a little. I should never have stopped talking to her. “I have a strong feeling Dana has something to do with this.”
“And you are involved because of Dana?” he scoffs and grabs the power drill. I hope he doesn’t notice that I haven’t brought the tools he got me for Christmas. Sure they were extremely expensive tools but not very good at all. I like to stick with what I know. Preferably the brand I’ve always used.
I shake my head and then scratch it awkwardly, “No. It’s Loryn. The owner. We umm… she’s a nice girl.”
He stops in his tracks and a smile stretches his lips, “You like her?”
“In the sense that she’s great to talk to then yeah. I like her.”
“So… you like, like her?”
“What are we? In High School right now? Get a grip. Yes I like her but nothing will ever come of it.”
We head inside, I place the bags on the kitchen floor, “Because of Crystal?”
I shrug, “Something like that. Can we just get this done?”
“Kyle’s coming to help. He knows his way around fixing things or whatever. I figured you may need a little help when it comes to all of the…” he raises his fingers as air quotations. “Big boy stuff.” That’s great, this is good news. “What about the window?”
“I called in an order on my way to the store. Express delivery, should be here in a few minutes to measure it up.” For once I don’t feel so damn useless in front of my little brother. “Right, let’s get cracking.”
I get to work on fixing the doors, fortunately Kyle, who is one of James’ closest friends, shows up when I’m only ten minutes into it. We decide instantly we’re going to need a new door. So he sets off to purchase one of them. I head upstairs to fix a lock on the apartment door. When I walk in I instantly spot Loryn still asleep on the bed, Maya presses her finger to her lips to shush me and continues filling a box with sharp pieces of glass and plastic that she’s swept up.
“She was still asleep when I came up, she hasn’t woken yet, must be exhaus
ted,” she says quietly and points to the drill in my hand. “Do that later, don’t wake her.” I nod, kiss her cheek and walk over to the bed, Loryn is laid on her stomach. Her dark hair braided back. Was it like that earlier?
“I braided her hair,” Maya shrugs. She’s so weird. “It was getting in her eyes, nothing more relaxing than having your hair played with.”
“She’s not a baby Maya.”
“No, but she does have nice hair.”
“Freak.”
“Whatever,” she pushes me back to the stairs. “Go do man stuff.”
Marie stops, wipes her sweaty forehead on her sleeve and takes a swig of water. “What are we going to do with all of the clothes?”
“Too much glass, they’re going to have to be thrown away,” James says, Kyle hums in agreement. I nod my consent as I fix the door to the frame with Kyle’s help. “She could turn this place into a clothing boutique or something. There’s great floor space.”
“She’s a qualified beautician, she could turn it into a salon or something,” Maya suggests as she comes from the kitchen with two bags full of junk, she hands them to James. “She’s still sleeping.”
I quirk a brow at her, “You’ve been snooping.”