“Garrett, I’m so flattered, really, I am. But I’m not leaving Mitch. What happened between us was a mistake and I need you to forget all about it.”
“You mean, don’t tell Mitch,” he said gruffly.
“Yes. Please don’t tell Mitch. It’ll only hurt him and he doesn’t deserve that.”
“What about what I deserve? We can be happy together.”
“I’m sure we could under different circumstances, Garrett. You’re a wonderful man and I care about you. I hope you can understand I didn’t do this with malice. I made a mistake.”
“You and I making love was not a mistake. It’s something I have wanted for a long time and I’ll never accept it as a mistake.”
I didn’t know what else to say. I hated that my actions were hurting Garrett and I had a terrible feeling he was going to tell Mitch no matter what I said. So, I just sat there staring at him because I couldn’t think of anything else to do.
“Charlie, I can offer you so much. I wanna give you everything. You’re my everything,” he said, moving toward me. He pulled my body close to his and held me. I could feel his heart beating rapidly against mine. “Mitch is with Heather now and we have a chance to be happy together. Don’t throw it away,” Garrett said softly in my ear.
Garrett seemed unreasonable and I knew I wasn’t going to convince him to keep this a secret. Dread spread over me like a wet blanket, chilling me to the bone. I wasn’t sure how to handle Garrett, as he was being so assertive. I’d never seen him this way.
After a few moments, Garrett pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Just give us a chance. Let me hold you and make you feel safe.”
“Garrett, I can’t. I made a promise to marry Mitch and I wanna keep my promise. I’m sorry.”
“You mean you won’t. You can do anything you want.”
“You’re right, I won’t.”
Garrett got up without another word. He walked out the door, without glancing back. I had hurt him. Shit. For all I knew, he’d be telling Mitch the moment they saw each other.
I lay on my sofa wondering how over the past few days my entire life had imploded. Mitch was going to be so angry when he found out, and who could blame him? I texted him to see if he was awake, desperate to tell him myself, but he didn’t reply. I knew showing up at his house would cause a giant scene and Lillian would get in the middle and make things even worse. I could only hope Mitch was asleep and I could talk to him before Garrett did. But somehow, given how things had been going, it seemed unlikely.
Chapter Thirty
Mitch
I’d been in my room since Heather left. Going out and facing my mother was more than I could stand, and as far as I knew Garrett wasn’t home. Then, I heard a knock on the door. Begrudgingly, I got up to open it, thinking my mother was on the other side. But it was Garrett.
“Man, I’m glad to see you. We really need to catch up.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. You feeling okay?”
“Yeah. My head still hurts at the point of impact, and the headaches come and go.” “Great. I thought if you were up for it we could go shoot some hoops down at the park.”
“Let’s do it. I need to get some fresh air.”
“Mind if I borrow a pair of shorts and a shirt? I only brought a limited amount of clothes.”
“Sure,” I said, turning to open my dresser drawer. I handed Garrett a pair of black shorts and a long-sleeved blue shirt.
“Get ready and I’ll meet you out front. Let’s be quiet and not wake up Mom.”
“Okay, see you in a minute.” Garrett closed the door and I began changing. Shooting hoops was one of our favorite things to do together. Just like old times. Even though it felt like we had done it last week, not years ago. Spending time with him was what I needed.
I met my brother on the front porch like we always did when we snuck out to play basketball. Mom never knew…it was our secret. Doing this made me feel more like myself again and I was grateful for the chance to pick Garrett’s brain.
We began walking toward the park and Garrett was pretty quiet.
“So, do you know why I broke up with Heather after graduation?” I asked.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Is that why you were cold toward her at the hospital?”
“Yeah. She didn’t treat you very well back then, but she seems to be better now. Are you two gonna make a go of it?”
I was surprised at his cavalier attitude. If he knew she’d cheated, lied, and aborted what I thought had been my child, why would I make things work with her now? Surely he’d know I hated deception. That wasn’t a new thing, right? Something’s weird. I was going to get to the bottom of this if it took all night.
“Do you think I should make things work out with her?” I asked, realizing I had to be just as careful with Garrett as I did with my mother. It was becoming exhausting feeling like I couldn’t trust my own family.
“Well, you do love her, she’s who you remember, and she’s really trying hard to be there for you.”
He wasn’t giving me the answer I expected to hear. I assumed he’d advocate for Charlie and I to be together. She was my fiancée, after all. “Well, Heather has a lot of great qualities. Do you think she has my best interest at heart?”
“I actually really do, bro. She does love you even though she made mistakes in the past. Maybe this is your second chance.”
I wanted to tell him that he was fucked in the head if he thought I was going to be with Heather, but I didn’t. My gut was telling me there was more to the story. “What about Charlie, then?”
“I think you should tell her to move on with her life. She deserves better than waiting around for you to remember her, don’t you think?”
By now we were at the court and Garrett began bouncing the ball. With each sound of the bounce, my head hurt and my anger grew. He wanted my girl and he was disguising it as concern for me when he was just really concerned for himself. What the fuck! I seemed to be having an out-of-body experience. Everything was sideways.
“So, then Charlie should end up with you, right bro?” My tone was biting, and I was readying myself for a fight. The fight of my life.
Garrett stopped bouncing the ball and just stared at me for a moment. “Yeah, she should. You have Heather and I’ll take care of Charlie.”
“Wow, you’ve got it all wrapped up in a nice, neat package, don’t you?”
“Mitch, I didn’t plan any of this, but I can’t say I’m unhappy that I could be with Charlie. I love her and always have.”
Shooting hoops wasn’t going to be happening. “What’s happened? You obviously have something else to tell me. Why would you think Charlie would give up on me and go with you?”
“When Charlie saw you with Heather at the Italian restaurant, she got pretty lit. She was upset, so I stayed with her.”
“What do you mean, you stayed with her?”
Garrett just raised his eyebrow and gave me a look.
“In our bed?”
“Yes. During the night, she reached out to me and we made love.”
“You fucked my fiancée?” I practically shouted. “What the fuck were you thinking, Garrett? How could you betray me like this?”
“Look, my desire and love for her were more important than my loyalty to you. I’m sorry. I’ve been in love with her for years. Plus, you dumped her for Heather.”
“But that doesn’t make it right, you asshole.”
I lunged at Garrett, catching him off guard, knocking him down to the ground.
“You son of a bitch. I should kill you for this,” I shouted in his face. Garrett pushed me off and got up. My head was pounding, adrenaline surging through me. We were both fighting for the same woman, and I was going to be damned if he was going to take Charlie away from me. What the—? I’m fighting to keep Charlie? Is this why he left in the first place? He was in love with her and couldn’t have her?
I delivered a right hook, hitting Garrett in the eye. He too
k my punch, but gave me an uppercut to the ribs.
“She wants me, Mitch. You’ve already lost her. I don’t wanna have to beat you within an inch of your life. You can have Heather.”
All I could see was red. I picked up my brother and slammed him to the ground. Then I got on top of him and started pummeling his face. That bastard wasn’t taking Charlie from me.
Garrett turned us over and had me pinned, paying back what I’d just done to him. I could feel my face being shredded with each blow he delivered. I had to play this dirty to get out from under him, so I grabbed his balls and squeezed as hard as I could. He screamed out and fell over.
He was crawling away from me and I had my hands on my knees, attempting to catch my breath. My vision was blurry and Garrett was spitting out blood when they showed up. What had begun as a fight between brothers turned into something else entirely.
Chapter Thirty-One
Charlie
Sweat had beaded upon my brow as I awoke from my dream. The guilt from having sex with Garrett was wreaking havoc on my mind. Mitch knowing what I’d done would be the undoing of our fragile relationship, but stopping Garrett was beyond my control. Everything about this was now beyond my control. All I could see was the hurt that was going to be on Mitch’s face when Garrett told him. I had no doubt whatsoever Garrett was going to tell—it was just a matter of when. This mistake was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
Sitting up, I decided I’d sleep the rest of the night in bed, rather than on the sofa. That’s when I heard it. The jiggling of the doorknob. Someone was outside my door. Fear shot through my body and I tiptoed to the door to look through the peephole. Maybe it was Garrett and I didn’t have to freak out. But if it wasn’t…Someone was trying to break in. My mind went blank. I didn’t know what I was going to do if someone got into my townhouse.
All I could make out was that it was a man. He was wearing some sort of ski hat on his head and I knew it wasn’t Garrett or anyone I knew. Why I thought it’d be Garrett at two in the morning was completely stupid. Panic was setting in.
I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife out of the block. If he got through the lock, I’d stab him before he broke the chain. It was the only thing I could think of. So I stood there, watching, listening, waiting…scared shitless. I had a plan, but didn’t know if I could follow through with it. But, my years of taking marital arts in college came rushing back to me and calm spread over me. I could hear my teacher’s voice telling me to breathe and strike hard. Within seconds, the door was ajar and the chain was the only thing between me and my assailant. The ski mask was pulled over his face, so I had no idea who I was about to stab. Holding the knife firmly, I jabbed it through the six-inch space and hit my target.
“Son of a bitch!” he yelled out.
I retracted and stabbed again. And again. And again. Each time he yelled out. I kept the knife in my hand and grabbed my cell phone, dialing 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“A man is trying to break into my townhouse and I just stabbed him! Please…I need the police.”
“Is he inside?”
“No. I stabbed him before he broke the chain on the door. But he’s trying to break the door down by ramming into it. They need to hurry.”
“You stupid bitch. I’m coming for you!” he screamed at me.
“You need to get away from the door and lock yourself in another room. Tell me your address.”
I rattled off my address as I ran down the hall. I locked my bedroom door and then went into the bathroom and locked that door. “Okay,” I said huffing, “I’ve locked myself in my bathroom. Are the police coming?”
“Yes. They’ll be there in five minutes. I’m Gina. Tell me your name.”
“Charlie.”
“Stay on the phone with me, Charlie. I’m going to be right here with you until the police arrive. Do you still have the knife?”
“Yes.”
“Do you hear him in your place?”
At that moment, I heard a crashing sound, like glass breaking. “Where are you, you fucking bitch?” he ranted.
“He’s inside. He’s breaking things. How much longer?”
“Three minutes, Charlie. Stay quiet. Are your lights on?”
“Yes.”
“Turn them off. If he breaks through the door, you’re going to need to be able to see him before he sees you.”
“Okay,” I whispered. Getting up to turn off the bathroom light, I could hear him beating against my bedroom door. Tears streamed down my cheeks knowing he’d be at my bathroom door in no time.
“Is he getting closer, Charlie?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
The moment of truth had arrived. The bathroom doorknob was turning and he was banging his body against the door. I braced my feet against the door, pushing with all my might.
“Open this door,” he commanded. That’s when I knew who he was. I finally recognized his voice.
“Or what, Eric?” I yelled back.
“I know who he is…Eric Machado, an old boyfriend,” I told Gina.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I recognize his voice.”
“Who the hell are you talking to?”
“911. The police will be here any second.”
Everything went silent, except for the pounding of footsteps. He was running away and I could hear the sirens coming toward me.
“What’s happening, Charlie?”
“I think he’s leaving,” I gasped out. My voice became high pitched and I couldn’t control it.
“Are you hurt in any way?”
I turned the bathroom light back on. “My arm is bleeding. I scraped it while stabbing him through the door.”
“Are the lacerations deep?”
“I think so. I’m bleeding a lot.”
“Do you have someone who can take you to the hospital?”
“No.” I was beginning to feel faint. A knock on the door grabbed my attention.
“Miss, it’s Officer Sanders with San Diego PD. Are you all right?”
Beginning to unlock the door, I dropped my phone and fell to the floor. “I think I need…I need help.”
The officer pushed the door open and I gazed up at him. He took the towel hanging on the rack and began to apply pressure to my arm as I faded out.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mitch
As I lay on the cold hard ground, searing pain shot through my body. What had begun as my brother and I beating the shit out of each other turned into us attempting to fend off four young thugs. They appeared out of nowhere and had caught us off guard. I’d like to think we’d done our best defending ourselves, but one punch and I was knocked out. The odds were against us since we were outnumbered and had already been beating on each other. Garrett was lying a few feet away and wasn’t making a sound. He was so still…so quiet.
“Garrett. Can you hear me?” Nothing. He was motionless and I knew he was hurt pretty badly. The gang had used the playground equipment as weapons. At one point, I think he’d been choked with the chains from the swings. What if they killed him? No, no. It can’t be that bad.
Sirens blared in the background. Hopefully someone had the good sense to call the police or an ambulance. We both needed help desperately. At least we had ended up near the basketball court and there was some light so we could be seen.
After zoning out for I don’t know how long, I heard voices.
“Sir, are you okay? Can you hear me?”
I tried to say yes in my normal voice, but I couldn’t, so I reached out with my hand.
“Okay Shane, this one is conscious. How’s your guy over there?”
“Unconscious. Looks like he’s lost a lot of blood.”
I kept my eyes on the officer. “We have two ambulances coming. They’ll be here any minute. Just try to relax. Do you have any identification on you?”
I shook my head. No ID but I had my phone. Never left home without it. I motion
ed to my pocket, hoping that in the fight it hadn’t been broken. The officer pulled it out and said, “I’m going to say names and you nod if that’s who you want me to call.” I nodded. When he said Charlie’s name, I nodded again. The officer called her. “No one’s answering. I’ll keep scrolling.” When he said Mom, I nodded again.
He began talking to my mother as the paramedics arrived on the scene. They went to Garrett first as he was in more serious need. Then paramedics came for me. I kept going in and out of consciousness as they drove me to the hospital. Each time I was lucid, I saw Charlie’s face. Then I saw her in bed with my brother. The thought of them together made my chest pound and my heart rate go up on the monitor I was attached to.
“Sir, try to relax. We’ll be at the hospital any moment.”
How could I relax? I’d beaten up my brother after he told me he’d slept with my fiancée and wanted her for himself. Then we’d been attacked. Relaxing wasn’t in the realm of possibilities.
As we were both being rushed through the hospital corridors, I heard the doctors talking about getting us into surgery immediately. I also heard my mom’s voice.
“Are they going to be okay?” she asked the doctor.
“Both of your sons are injured pretty badly. We won’t know until we get them into surgery. The nurse has some forms for you to sign and we’ll let you know as soon as we know anything.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Charlie
Opening my eyes, I realized I was in the hospital. I looked down at my arm and I had a long gash with stitches. My parents walked in as I was glancing at the IV attached to my other arm.
“Sweetie, we got here as soon as we could. The police told us someone tried to break in? What happened? You weren’t…he didn’t…?” My mother couldn’t finish her last question as she put her hand over her mouth.
“No, I’m okay. Nothing happened to me. Well, I cut my arm while shoving a butcher knife through the crack in the door in an attempt to stop him from coming in.”
Forgotten By You (Redeeming Love #2) Page 12