Forever: a standalone, interracial romance

by Tiffany Patterson

  “She’s not lying.” Mel’s voice is low, distant.

  My stomach drops at those words. I turn her toward me, as she is still facing the now blank screen. “Mel, you can’t believe…” I can’t even get the words out.

  She shakes her head. “I would never believe you’d do something like that ever,” Her voice is sure. “But I also believe her.” She turns back to the screen. “That woman was raped.”

  I crinkle my brows in confusion. “So, you believe both of us? How do you know she’s telling the truth?”

  Mel turns back to me, and the look in her eyes nearly makes me vomit. I know I’m not going to want to hear the next words she has to say.

  “I know,” she says in a low voice filled with pain.

  “Get the fuck out!” I growl at Michael and Tony. We don’t need an audience for what Mel is getting ready to say. I can feel it in the pit of my stomach.

  “Land—”

  “Now!” I glare at both men as they exit the room. It’s not them I’m pissed at, but there’s no one else to take my anger out on. I have to hear what Melody has to say, but at the same time I don’t want to.

  “Tell me,” I press, gripping her shoulders.

  She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before starting. “At the beginning of our sophomore year, Lina and I decided to go to a frat party. She had a crush on this basketball player, and we heard he’d be there. We went, and I danced with a few guys. There was lots of alcohol, of course. I don’t remember how much I had to drink. I sort of remember being handed a drink by one of the guys there.” Her voice hitches, and her eyes glaze over as she recalls the events of that night.

  I want to tell her to stop, but I know she needs to release this so I remain quiet.

  “The next thing I remember is being in a bedroom with one of the basketball players on top of me. My shirt was up around my neck and my jeans and bra were undone. I could feel his fingers inside me and his other hand on my breast. I tried to push him off me, but I could hardly move, and he was too strong. I must have screamed because he covered my mouth with his hand, but before he could go any further, Lina came charging into the room. She had been looking for me. She punched and clawed at him to get off me. He just got up and laughed, saying I wasn’t worth the trouble and left. I could barely sit up straight, let alone walk. She called a cab and had to ask the driver to come in and help carry me to the car. We made it back to our dorm room where I cried for hours. Lina begged me to call the police, but I refused. The next morning she went with me to the campus health clinic. I had blood drawn and the nurse practitioner told me the results looked as if I had been drugged with something, though most of it was out of my bloodstream by then. I didn’t report it because I felt so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I could barely get out of bed for weeks. I almost failed all my classes that semester. If it hadn’t been for Lina covering for me and even doing my homework when I couldn’t, I probably would have dropped out. As it was, I still had to see that player around campus. He’d either ignore me or give me a knowing smirk. At the end of the semester, Lina and I got an apartment off campus to decrease our chances of running into him.” She pauses taking a breath and peeking up at me through watery eyes.

  My heart aches at the thought of her being hurt, and I burn with rage at the fucker who did this to her. “What’s his name?” My voice is low, lethal.

  “No, Landon,” she retorts. “I didn’t tell you what happened to me to try and avenge me. I told you because when I look at Lisa Turner, I see the pain in her eyes and I know she’s telling the truth. It’s familiar because I had the same look for many years until I went and got counseling. She is a victim of rape. It wasn’t you, but someone hurt her. A victim’s memories can be fuzzy, especially when alcohol or drugs are involved. I wouldn’t know what the basketball player who hurt me looked like if Lina hadn’t pointed him out a few days later. Lisa Turner believes that it was you. Maybe she was led to believe it or she remembers seeing you in the same night of the rape. Eyewitnesses and victims aren’t always reliable.”

  I swallowed deeply, still digesting everything Mel has just revealed to me. I still want to find out the name of the son of a bitch who hurt her. I don’t care how many years ago it was.

  “Landon, we should—”

  “No,” I cut her off. “We don’t need to do anything. Tony and his team of hotshot attorneys, and I will get to the bottom of this. I’m taking you home now,” I grunt.

  Mel sighs, but relents. I can tell she is worn out from the day's events. First, whatever happened with her student obviously upset her and then seeing Lisa Turner’s press conference affected her even more. Reliving her assault was the final blow. She needs to rest. “Okay,” she agrees weakly, as I place my hand at her waist and guide us to the door.

  “We’re heading out. I’ll be back in the morning. We need to talk,” I tell Tony and Michael, but don’t wait for their response as I go to open the glass door to Michael’s outer office for Mel to walk through. I take her directly to my car, and send a text to Walter to have someone pick up her car and bring it home.

  “Gabriella was hurt,” Mel confesses on the way home. “Her boyfriend beat her up. That’s why she has been missing from school for the last couple of days. She has a fractured wrist, bruised ribs, and bruises all over. She thinks it’s normal. She believes all relationships are like that. Her dad hit her mom and her aunts were all hit. She saw your case on the news and thought…” she trails off.

  My chest tightens knowing what Mel has left unsaid. Her student thinks I hit her. I can barely breathe from the rage, guilt, and shame bubbling inside me. “I-I’m sorry, babe,” I say, reaching for her hand.

  “Don’t apologize. I set her straight. I let her know that you would never hit me and I was able to convince her to tell the police what happened. I just wanted to see you after seeing her. I felt drained and needed you to hold me.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat and bring her hand to my lips, remaining silent. Once we make it in, I take Mel’s phone and turn both ours off and escort her up the stairs to our bathroom. I slowly undress her before removing my own clothes, turn on the water, and hold her hand as she gets in the shower. I climb in behind her and pick up her washcloth and the soap to begin gently washing her body, and she does the same for me. We spend twenty minutes in the shower washing each other, caressing one another, and silently consoling one another. The rage I’d felt earlier when she told me what happened to her in college, recedes to the recesses of my mind, but I will never forget or let go of trying to figure out who this basketball player is.

  Once finished in the shower, we dry ourselves off, and I put on a pair of boxers and hand Mel one of my jerseys to wear. No words have been spoken since we arrived home, but we don’t need words right now as we climb into bed. We spent the rest of the day in bed watching old reruns with Mel curled up in my arms.

  Chapter Eleven

  Melody

  It’s the following day, and I decide to take the day off so I can go up to the hospital for Gabriella’s discharge. She and her mom have decided to go stay with Gabriella’s aunt for a little while, just outside the city, to avoid any possible backlash that may occur from talking to the police about her boyfriend.

  “How long do you think your meeting with Tony will last?” I question Landon as we both get dressed to leave. He is putting on a pair of workout shorts and a t-shirt to head to the team facility for a workout first, and then to his lawyer’s office. I hate how much of his time and energy this case is consuming. I secretly want him to invite me with him to be his support, but he doesn’t.

  “I’m not sure, babe. I’ll call you when I’m there to let you know how long I’ll be. Maybe I’ll make a reservation at Fogo de Chao’s tonight. Would you like that?” he questions, switching topics.

  I nod. “Yes, but Lan—”

  “Good, I’ll have Walter set it up for eight o’clock. Love you,” he says, giving me a quick peck on the lips and cutti
ng off my response. I watch him head out of our bedroom door with his duffle bag in hand and I want to scream. My husband is a piece of work. Even after what I shared with him yesterday, he still thinks he needs to protect me from the truth of what is happening. If anything, telling him about what happened to me in college likely has made him even more adamant about protecting me from his case. I know I have to do something to help him, and if he won’t allow me to be his support system, then I have to take matters into my own hands.

  Making my way downstairs into the living room where we’d left our phones the day before, I turn mine on and rummage through my contacts. I find the person I’m looking for and hit dial.

  “Hello?” his deep voice comes across the phone line. This is the first time I’ve spoken to him since that night at Paradise Island and the first time I’ve ever called him. It seems silly to be nervous with someone who has seen you naked, yet I am.

  “Jeremy?” I hesitate, biting my lower lip. I nervously glance at the door, hoping Landon hasn’t forgotten anything and won’t come back for it as I’m on the phone.

  “Mel? How are you, darlin’?” His voice is charming, friendly, which puts me more at ease.

  “Well, I’ve been better,” I admit.

  “Yeah, I see your husband has been dealing with some shit lately.”

  I blow out a breath. “That’s actually what I’m calling about. I know Landon wouldn’t do what that woman says he did and I need help proving it. He’s been working with lawyers and his manager, trying to get this resolved for weeks. I think he might need some extra help, but he won’t let me get involved.”

  The line remains silent for a few heartbeats. “And you’re calling me for help?” Jeremy’s tone sounds steady, unsurprised at all by this call.

  “Yes. Landon has told me you were in the military and you know some security personnel or private investigators. I just want someone who can look into Mindy’s background and find out what she’s hiding. I know his lawyers are probably doing that as well, but I need someone who maybe can use back channels. I can pay you. Cost is—”

  “Darlin’, don’t insult me like that.” I can hear the mirth in his voice and I relax even more. He remains silent for another moment. “You know, I may know a scorpion who can help you out,” he tells me.

  “A scorpion?” I am completely confused by his statement.

  “Yup. Give me a day or two, and I’ll call you back with an update.”

  “Thank you so much. I normally wouldn’t ask, but Landon has been through so much with this an—”

  “No need to explain. You’re doing your part to stand by your man. Everyone deserves that kind of loyalty. I’ll call you within two days with more information.”

  “Thanks. Bye.” After hanging up I feel a sense of relief I haven’t felt in a while. I’m not sure why, but Jeremy’s confidence helped to assure me. I then become nervous thinking about how Landon will react if he finds out I went behind his back to get Jeremy involved, but I push those fears aside. I will do whatever I need to do to help my husband.

  ****

  Five days later and Jeremy came through on his promise. He called three days before to tell me he’d set up a meeting for me with someone named Coral, who he also referred to as Scorpion. Thankfully, it’s a Saturday and Landon had a team meeting for most of the afternoon. I told Landon I was going out to visit Gabriella at her aunt’s house and then meet up with Paulette for a late lunch. Instead, I am actually meeting this Coral woman at the Double Tree Hotel at the Standing O restaurant.

  I walk into the restaurant and glance around. There are a few patrons sitting at the tables. I’m not even sure what Coral looks like. When I asked Jeremy to send me a picture or to give me a description he said she would know me.

  “Just a club soda with lime, please,” I tell the male bartender, as I take a seat on one of the stools.

  “Here you are,” he says, giving me a charming wink before moving on to refill another patron’s drink.

  I sip from my drink and continue to glance around the restaurant, trying to see if I can identify this mystery woman. I take note of a brunette sitting alone and glancing at her watch. I wonder if that’s her, and start to get up to check when I feel someone tap me on my shoulder. I turn to stare into a pair of the most intense hazel eyes I have ever seen. It’s not the color of her eyes, but something behind them. I immediately get the sense that this is not someone you’d want to mess with.

  “You must be Melody,” she says as her lips split into a small smile. This softens the intensity of her eyes just enough.

  I take in her mocha skin, short tapered hair cut with the top colored auburn and the sides, dark which I presume is her natural color. She stands a few inches taller than me and most of her figure is slim, which is obvious through her plain white V-neck, black skinny jeans, and ankle boots. I raise my eyebrows in surprise when I take in the noticeable baby bump she is sporting.

  “Six months,” she says, rubbing her belly.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”

  She waves me off. “Don’t worry about it. Hell, most days I can hardly believe it. Anyway, I’m Coral, and you’re Melody.” She extends her hand, and I take it. “Let’s go sit down, shall we?”

  I agree and fall in line with her as we find an empty table. Within seconds, a waitress is at our table filling glasses of water.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m confused. Jeremy said something about a scorpion, but then he gave me your name,” I begin once the waitress leaves us with the menus.

  Coral rolls her eyes. “That damn Jeremy… Scorpion is a former nickname. I don’t go by it any longer. Well, I don’t as often, now that my husband has made an honest woman out of me,” She laughs.

  For some reason I feel at ease with this woman. I can tell she can be dangerous, but somehow I know she’s not a threat to me.

  “So yeah, just call me Coral.”

  Our waitress walks back over, stopping Coral from asking her next question. We place our orders. I ask for a turkey club and Coral orders the cauliflower soup.

  “As I was about to say,” she starts again. “Jeremy told me about this situation with your husband.”

  I’m shocked to hear that she knows Landon and I are married.

  She nods. “Yes, I know you’re married. No, Jeremy didn’t tell me, but I have ways of finding things out. I won’t tell anyone.”

  I have no idea how she was able to read me so well, but it convinces me even more that this woman is capable of handling this job.

  “I’ve got the information you’re looking for,” she says right before the waitress delivers our food.

  “Already?” I question. I had no idea it would be so soon. I figured she would need at least a few weeks to dig up information on Mindy and investigate what happened to Tina, the second accuser.

  She nods, chewing and swallowing a spoonful of her soup. “Yup,” she says after wiping her mouth with her napkin. “I was able to work quickly on this since my husband had to come to Philly this week on business. I came with him. Of course, I damn near had to beg to get him to let me tag along. I swear this pregnancy has made him crazier than it has me.” She pauses and looks up at me.

  I can’t help the smile on my face. I know Landon will be the same way once I become pregnant.

  “And these damn pregnancy hormones have me over-sharing…just spilling my business to everyone,” she shakes her head.

  I laugh. “My friend, Paulette, was like that too when she was pregnant. She would cry at the drop of a hat.”

  Coral grunts. “Don’t even get me started on how sappy I am these days. Anyway, as I was saying, I’ve done some digging on Mindy and Tina. I have some good news and some bad news.”

  My stomach drops when I hear there is bad news, but I lean in, needing to hear all of what Coral has to say. I watch as she leans over and pulls out a manila envelope from her shoulder bag.

  “Okay, so let’s discuss Mindy first. This is all good new
s for you, at least.” She pulls out some pictures from the envelope. “This is a picture of Mindy on one of the nights she claims to have been with Landon.”

  In the picture Mindy is seen walking into a hotel. I recognize it as one of the hotels Landon stayed at during an away game.

  “Looks like she’s telling the truth, but the inside security cameras show she goes up to the eighth floor to visit one of the other players’ rooms. Not Landon’s.”

  I sigh in relief as Coral pulls out the next image of Mindy entering the room of one of Landon’s former teammates as he holds the door open for her. He was traded at the end of last season.

  “And this is a clearer picture from a camera on Mindy’s street showing the car of the chief of police parked at Mindy’s home the night she says she was attacked by Landon,” Coral says, pulling out another security image. “From this angle we can see the license plate number. The make and model are the same as your husband’s Lexus, but the license plate proves it’s not him.”

  My eyes widen in shock. I can’t believe what I am seeing. “The chief of police attacked Mindy?”

  Coral shakes her head. “No, they were having an affair. There are a number of other pictures of them together. But I spoke with a former friend of Mindy’s, and it turns out she had become severely angered over Landon dumping her, and then getting with you. She plotted to get him back, and when that didn’t work, she opted for revenge. She seduced the chief and then it looks like she committed these injuries to herself and pointed the finger at Landon. The chief is married and could possibly lose his job for the indiscretion so he opted to keep his mouth shut when she came forward. I have a recording of a very important conversation I had with him just last night,” she says, pushing a flash drive across the table toward me.

  I pick up the device and stare at it as if it has all the power to make this issue go away. I can feel the weight of this case being lifted as Coral continues to talk.